ELL Book
ELL Book
ELL Book
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, including photocopying and recording, or stored in any retrieval system
without permission in writing from the publisher.
First printed October, 2003; reprinted February, 2004; reprinted June, 2004; reprinted September, 2005;
revised and reprinted September, 2007.
We acknowledge the assistance of the OMDC Book Fund, an initiative of the Ontario Media Development
Corporation.
10 9 8 7 6 5
To my father, Geoffrey Summers (1920–2003),
who first taught me about social justice
and the power of education to transform the world.
Acknowledgements
This book could not have been written without the generous support and contributions of
friends and colleagues. Many of the activities are based on the classroom practice of the many
colleagues with whom I have worked over the years, and many of the photographs that enliven
the book were taken by colleagues. As well, colleagues and mentors read and commented on
various drafts, saving me from ghastly mistakes and pointing me in new directions when neces-
sary. Any errors that remain are entirely my own.
I would like express specific thanks to the staff, parents, and students of the following schools,
for allowing photographs taken in their schools and classrooms between 1997 and 2003 to be
used in this book.
CD Farquharson Junior Public School, Toronto District School Board
Cedar Drive Junior Public School, Toronto District School Board
Country Hills Public School, Waterloo Region District School Board
Cummer Valley Middle School, Toronto District School Board
Maryvale Public School, Toronto District School Board
Pineway Public School, Toronto District School Board
R.J. Lang Elementary and Middle School, Toronto District School Board
Rockford Public School, Toronto District School Board
Scarborough Village Alternative Public School, Toronto District School Board
Sir Sandford Fleming Secondary School, Toronto District School Board
Summer Language Program, Toronto District School Board
West Hill Public School, Toronto District School Board
Western Technical-Commercial School, Toronto District School Board
I would also like to express my thanks to the colleagues who contributed many of the
photographs.
Maaike Buma, Waterloo Region District School Board
Carol Gordon, Toronto District School Board
Bev Horton, Toronto District School Board
Kathy Lazarovits, Toronto District School Board
Al Weinberg, Toronto District School Board
The following experts commented on various drafts of the manuscript and gave valuable advice.
Jim Cummins, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
Marjatta Holt, English Language Program, University of Toronto
Suzanne Holunga, The Language Centre, Toronto
Veronica Lam, Toronto District School Board
Irene McKay, George Brown Community College, Toronto
Stephanie Paulauskas, The Language Centre, Toronto
Hetty Roessingh, University of Calgary
Jura Seskus, English Language Program, University of Toronto
And as always, thanks to the students, teachers, and student teachers with whom I have worked
over the last three decades and whose experiences, ideas, and questions are included in this book
in various ways.
Contents
Introduction 9
Terms 9
Organization 10
How to Use This Book 11
I A Welcoming Environment 13
5
Teaching Grammar 86
To Learn More … 89
6
Incorporating Students’ Languages 189
Cooperative Learning 190
To Learn More … 198
Glossary 279
Index 287
Credits 301
7
Introduction
Terms
I have used ESL to refer to the English-as-a-second-language programs that
are commonly available to English language learners. In many school
districts, as well as in educational policy documents and curriculum
guidelines, and in many other books on this topic, students who are
learning English are called “English-as-a-second-language students” or
Introduction 9
“ESL students.” It is important to note, however, that English is, in fact, a
third or fourth language for many of these students.
In addition, the term ESL student implies that the learner is receiving
English language instruction from a specialist language teacher, whereas
this is frequently not the case. Many students who are new to English
when they arrive in an English-language school never receive ESL support.
Others who receive ESL instruction for the first year or two and who
continue to need support for language learning are no longer receiving any
support from an ESL teacher.
I have chosen to use the term English language learners to describe
students who are in the process of learning English, whether or not they
are receiving support through a designated ESL program. This choice is
consistent with the recent work of some of the leading scholars in the field
of bilingual and second language education, such as Jim Cummins of the
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.
Though I have kept technical language to a minimum, all teachers need a
certain basic vocabulary to understand the process of second language
acquisition and plan instruction for English language learners. Key terms
and concepts are highlighted throughout the book.
Organization
The 13 chapters of Adding English are organized into four sections.
I A Welcoming Environment
The two chapters in this section are intended to help you and your
colleagues provide an inclusive and welcoming environment for
newcomers and for students of various linguistic and cultural
backgrounds, whether they are native-born children enrolling in
Kindergarten or newcomers from a country on the other side of the world.
10 Adding English
III The Language Learning Environment
This section discusses what is involved in language learning and how
teachers can support the process. It outlines the advantages and
disadvantages of different ways of organizing second language instruction
and explains how you can organize your classroom to support second
language learners. The section concludes by suggesting activities for
students who are just beginning to learn English.
Introduction 11
I A Welcoming Environment
13
1 English Language Learners
from Far and Near
New Immigrants
Some English language learners in your classroom may have arrived as
immigrants last week, last year, or several years ago. Though most new-
comers plan to stay, some arrive as international — or visa — students
who intend to return to their homeland after completing their educa-
tion. Others arrive as refugees who may have fled their homeland in
Some children who were born in North traumatic circumstances. Some may have been separated from their
America begin learning English when they family or have witnessed the death of family members.
start school.
Native-Born Children
Others who are learning English as a second language may be
native-born children who speak a first language other than English and
encounter English for the first time only when they enter school. Most of
these children are the sons and daughters of immigrants who speak a
language other than English at home. In North America, Australia, and
New Zealand, however, some live in Aboriginal communities that pre-
date the arrival of Europeans. Others, such as Mennonites and Amish,
The English language learners in this class- Students from French-Speaking Communities
room come from countries around the
world and speak many languages.
Some countries have more than one official language. In Canada, for
example, both English and French are official languages. Students from
French-speaking communities, however, may live in areas where there
is no French-language school. As a result, these students, too, may be
new to English when they start school. In addition, new immigrants to
Canada may settle first in Quebec, and their children may begin school
in French before moving to an English-speaking area and enrolling in
an English-language school. These children may have been in Canada
for several years or they may be Canadian born. Although they are not
newcomers, they still need support in learning English.
Language Instruction
Students arrive with varying levels of English proficiency and may
need different kinds of English-as-a-second-language support. Chapter
10 includes an overview of models for providing ESL support.
Most beginning language learners need intensive support to acquire
English. They may be intimidated at first, especially if the grammar
system and script of their own language are entirely unrelated to
Adjustment Period
For many English language learners and their families, the period of
adjustment and acculturation to a new land and a new school system is
painful. Even native-born children find a new school environment
intimidating at first. Those who have come to their new school from
other countries may also be coping with feelings of loneliness, home-
sickness, and displacement. Even when a family has been planning the
move for months or years, the reality of life in a new country is often a
shock for adults and children alike.
Most newcomers pass through four stages of adjustment after arriv-
ing in a new country.
• Stage 1 — Arrival and first impressions: During the first few days
and weeks in a new country, immigrants may experience feelings
Program Adaptation
Students who arrive from other countries need to continue their educa-
tion at the same time as they learn English. To help them do this, the
mainstream curriculum, which is designed for proficient English speak-
ers, must be adapted to enable second language learners to participate.
In linguistically and culturally demanding subjects such as social stud-
ies and language arts, major adaptations may be required. Even in
mathematics, which may appear to be less linguistically demanding,
skills such as problem solving and communication may require a level
of English proficiency that newcomers do not yet possess. Chapter 13
provides specific guidance on adapting the mainstream program for
language learners.
Some newcomers may have experienced significant disruption in
their education or come from countries where their access to education
was limited for socioeconomic reasons. As a result, these students may
not have developed the age-appropriate literacy skills or academic
background in their own language. Because they have not had the
opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge possessed by other stu-
dents their age, these educationally disadvantaged students would
have difficulty relating to the age-appropriate curriculum even if it
were offered in their own language. As a result, they need an intensive
program of language and literacy instruction, as well as academic
upgrading, to help them learn English and catch up to their age peers.
I N F O R M ATI O N F O R P AR E N TS
To help parents feel comfortable and confident about their child’s start
in the new school, provide them with basic information about school
routines. Don’t overload the family with new information during this
first encounter, however. Welcoming procedures are intended to estab-
lish a relationship so that orientation can continue during the weeks and
months ahead.
• Observe how the child uses language in the classroom. How does
the child establish social relationships; follow oral directions and
classroom routines; use the first language; interact with peers in
English; engage in partner, small group, whole class, and individ-
ual activities; retain key vocabulary from one day or week to the
next; and use strategies to gain meaning or communicate in En-
glish (e.g., ask questions, use first language resources, and initiate
interaction)?
To create an English writing sample, students may describe what they see
in a picture like this or use the picture as inspiration for writing a more
detailed story.
Writing Assessment Topics Provide bilingual dictionaries for students to use. The purpose of
Give students a choice of topics. Those who this assessment is to find out how they handle a writing task, using all
have studied English as a foreign language the resources available. If a student asks you for a word, say and write it
in their home country or who have already so that the student can copy it and continue writing. You might, how-
participated in an ESL program in another ever, ask him to identify the words he looked up or that you gave him.
school may be able to respond to one of the
Take a holistic approach to assessing these writing samples. Con-
following topics:
sider the writer’s purpose, and the relevance of the information and
• Write a letter to a friend in your own how it is organized before turning your attention to word choice and
country. Tell your friend about your first
surface features such as sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation.
days in your new country.
• Write a letter to introduce yourself to your It is also helpful to collect a writing sample in the student’s first lan-
new teachers. guage. Even if you have no immediate access to bilingual support, a
• Describe your favorite teacher in your for- writing sample can provide the kind of information outlined earlier in
mer school. this chapter.
• Describe a holiday that you celebrate in
your country. PROVISIONAL PLACE MENT
• Do you think boys and girls should go to
separate schools? Why? Newcomers must be placed in programs that offer them the best chance
of achieving success and satisfying their aspirations. As a result, their
initial placement should be provisional or tentative. Decisions about a
student’s placement affect her or his entire school experience. Unfortu-
nately, newcomers are sometimes placed in classrooms where the only
likely outcome is failure, either because the students are inadequately
prepared for the subject or because the teacher is inadequately prepared
for the students. To minimize errors of this kind, review the initial
placement in a couple of weeks and at regular intervals afterwards.
Most secondary school students need to be placed in an ESL class
and, perhaps, one or two content courses designed specifically to meet
the needs of English language learners. If courses like this are not
Parental Involvement
A supportive relationship between home and school helps immigrant
students adjust successfully to their new environment. To foster this
supportive relationship with their multilingual, multiracial, multicul-
tural communities, schools must welcome the presence and
participation of all students, their parents or guardians, and the wider
community.
• Communicate effectively with the parents of all students. Some
parents may have difficulty understanding written communica-
tion in English, such as school handbooks, report cards, newslet-
ters, and information about field trips. Even if the parents
understand English, these communications often assume that they
also understand the school system. Important documents should
be translated into the languages of the students in the school.
• Introduce newcomers as speakers of their first language and point out that
they are also learning English. Avoid referring to a new student as
someone who doesn’t speak English. No one likes to be described in
terms of what he or she cannot (yet) do. Every student arrives with
at least one language already established, and it is important to
acknowledge this. Write the student’s name and the name of the
language on the chalkboard and point out her or his country of ori-
gin on a world map, or ask the student newcomer to do so.
• Learn how to pronounce the new student’s name. As you say it, write it
on the chalkboard so that all students learn it. If the name is long,
you might ask the student to write and say it slowly so that you can
• Make time for personal contact with new students at least once during
every lesson. Check that new students are involved in meaningful
learning tasks, even if these are not the same as those other stu-
dents are working on. See Chapter 13 for advice on how to adapt
the program for English language learners.
Class Photographs
Photographs of the students can be used to create a class display or
photo album, as well as for other purposes. You will, however, need a
parent’s permission to display photographs of students under 18. Those
older than 18 can sign their own releases. Consult the principal to find
out whether your school or jurisdiction has standard release forms and
whether these are available in various languages. A blanket release that
covers the entire school year or an entire semester can be sent home at
the outset. When new students arrive, this form can be completed dur-
ing the initial reception interview.
When taking photographs, use a digital camera if possible, so that
you and the students can use the pictures for other purposes. They
might, for example, be displayed on a class Web site or used to embel-
lish students’ projects.
Questionnaires
Getting to Know You Questionnaires help lay the groundwork for individual conversations
• What is your name? with students. To help you learn about their linguistic and cultural
• Where were you born? background, as well as how they feel about school and the subject(s)
• If you were not born in this country, when you teach, ask students to fill them out at the beginning of the year or
did you come to this country? semester.
• What language do you usually speak at
The questions shown on this page can be adapted to suit students of
home?
• What language do you usually speak with any age and level of English proficiency. If you are working with youn-
your friends? ger children, shorten the questionnaire and simplify the questions.
• What language(s) can you read? Learners who are new to English may need the help of a bilingual peer
• Which language do you read best? to complete the questionnaire. Mainstream teachers who work with the
• If English is not your first language, which
same group of students for most of the day might conduct the survey
language do you prefer to use for thinking
and problem solving? orally over several days. Don’t forget to survey students who arrive
• Have you been to school in any other later in the term.
country?
• What do you like most about school?
• Is there anything you don’t like about Language Surveys
school?
• How do you feel about this subject? Later in the year or semester, language surveys can be used to explore
• Are you involved in school activities or linguistic diversity in greater depth.
sports teams?
• What are your interests outside school? • Begin by sharing demographic information about your city, neighbor-
• What else would you like me to know
hood, or school (e.g., percentage of English speakers, percentage of
about you?
speakers of other languages, and percentage of immigrants). Ask
students to identify evidence of linguistic and cultural diversity
they have observed in the school, the community, or the media,
and invite them to bring examples to class (e.g., books, magazines,
newspapers, flyers, and announcements printed in various
Language(s) in Your Life • Create and distribute a language survey like the one shown on this
1. Is English your first language? page and ask students to administer the survey to a partner or to
2. How long have you been learning respond privately in a journal. This survey encourages students to
English? reflect on the contexts in which they choose to use one or another of
3. What other language(s) do you speak their languages. The results can be fascinating. Some children may,
and understand?
for example, use different languages with different family mem-
4. What other language(s) can you read or
write? bers. Others may prefer to use one of their languages in specific sit-
5. What is your strongest language? uations, such as counting, telling jokes or stories, reading poetry,
6. What language(s) do you use with your and singing. Learning about their classmates’ language back-
parents? grounds encourages monolingual English-speaking children to
7. What language(s) do you use with your
become interested in languages and helps promote a positive
brothers and sisters?
8. What language(s) do you use with your approach to learning new languages.
grandparents?
9. What language(s) do you use with your • Integrate mathematics. Encourage groups to represent the survey
friends? data on graphs, charts, and tables and to create percentage and
10. Are you learning any languages now?
ratio problems for other groups to solve. A group might, for exam-
11. What language(s) do you think you
might learn in the future? ple, create a graph showing the languages spoken by class mem-
12. What are some advantages of knowing bers. Before drawing the graph, discuss the criteria for including a
more than one language? language (e.g., Will the graph include only languages students
learned as babies or all the languages students now know? Will it
include languages that students can speak but not read and write
or languages that they are just beginning to learn?).
• Ask students to interview each other about how, when, and why they,
their parents, or their ancestors immigrated. Some students may
need to consult family members to discover this information, and
some may wish to bring family photos or artifacts to show the
class.
Inclusive Displays
The visual environment of the classroom transmits important messages
about students’ membership in the classroom community. Students are
more likely to feel a sense of ownership and inclusion if classroom
exhibits reflect their lives and work, as well as their contributions.
• Be creative about finding space for displays. Don’t limit displays to bul-
letin boards. You might, for example, suspend material on clothes-
lines strung across the classroom. And don’t forget hallways! If
you are a middle or secondary school teacher working with classes
that rotate through the same classroom or if you share a classroom
with teachers, creating displays is more challenging — but not
impossible. Consider creating mobile displays on poster boards or
in binders that can be put away between classes.
• Incorporate other languages and other varieties of English into the class-
room and the curriculum by creating multilingual displays and
signs, comparing how various languages express ideas, and pro-
ducing dual-language versions of projects and assignments.
Encourage students to consult adults. This will help students
expand their knowledge of their first languages and provide par-
ents with opportunities to become involved in their children’s edu-
Celebrating linguistic diversity helps all cation. See Chapter 10 for more suggestions for incorporating
students feel valued. students’ languages into the program.
Section I
Heroes-and-Holidays Approach Multiculturalism-as-a-Subject Multiple-Perspectives Approach Social-Action Approach
Approach
Examples Examples Examples Examples
• School concerts featuring music, • Stand-alone units focusing on • Multicultural content is • Curriculum deals directly with
dance, and traditional clothing of specific cultures (e.g., black integrated naturally into bias, prejudice, and
various cultures. inventors and scientists, the curriculum. discrimination.
• Multicultural feasts featuring contributions of specific groups). • Diverse perspectives are • Students examine
food contributed by parents. recognized (e.g., consequences of taken-for-granted institutions,
• Special displays for Chinese New arrival of Europeans in Americas practices, and beliefs.
A Welcoming Environment
Year. from point of view of Aboriginal • Students learn how to challenge
peoples, Europeans, and inequity.
contemporary environ-
mentalists).
51
For more detailed information for language teachers and teachers of
English language learners, see:
Fillmore, L.W., and C.E. Snow. What Teachers Need to Know About Lan-
guage. ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, 2000.
This article and several related articles are available at <www.cal.org/
ericcll/teachers>.
Freeman, D.E. and Y.S. Freeman. Essential Linguistics: What you Need to Know
to Teach Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Introduction to basic concepts of linguistics for teachers, with practical
examples of classroom application.
Phonemes
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that can affect meaning in a
language. For example, the English sounds represented in print by th
and t are phonemes because, although they are produced by moving the
tongue, teeth, and lips in somewhat similar ways, experienced English
speakers can perceive the difference between words such as thin and tin,
and tenth and tent.
In phonology, vowels and consonants are not letters of the alphabet,
but sounds. Though the English alphabet has 26 letters, for example,
English speakers produce more than 40 sounds. The exact number of
sounds depends on the variety of English spoken. Some other lan-
guages have more sounds than English, and some have fewer.
Symbol Examples
k keep, akin, bark, bike, ink, coil, question, chorus, acknowledge, anchor, back
d do, radio, undo, did, bend, water, butter, metal, medal, waiting, wading
" give, begin, ingrown, leg, rogue, song, exact, examine, example
s sent, also, assent, list, kiss, cent, scent, ascent, listen, ice, locks, lox, psychology
w well, wait, await, unwilling, what, while, one, anguish, language, Ouija
z zoo, razor, ozone, ooze, prize, comprise, prison, gives, lies, loses, exact
Voiced Unvoiced
b bat p pat
d den t ten
v vine f fine
z zip s sip
ð thy θ thigh
$ vision ʃ fission
d$ joke tʃ choke
ɑ pot, got, bought, father, law, cot, caught, offal, awful, shone, Sean, clod, clawed
uw too, two, to, cruise, tune, noon, neutral, through, threw, true, blue
ay by, buy, mine, lie, fly, find, fine, site, sight, sign, high, height
Generalization Examples
In about 75 percent of two-syllable words, the first language accent student English teacher
syllable is stressed.
Some two-syllable words can be used as nouns or Keep a record of the experiment.
verbs. When the word is a noun, the first syllable is Record every step of the procedure.
stressed; when it is a verb, the second is stressed.
An important characteristic of English is the forget connect alter around pronounce student
reduction of the vowel sound in unstressed syllables.
The vowel in unstressed syllables is usually
pronounced /ə/ (e.g., written — /rItən/).
In compound nouns, the major stress is on the first handbag newspaper firefighter watershed
part of the word.
In compound verbs, the major stress is on the second overcome understand undermine overlook
part of the word, and the minor stress is on the first
part.
Rhythm
English speech has a characteristic rhythm, or stress pattern, that is dif-
ferent from that of many other languages. In connected English speech,
the stresses or beats are spaced evenly through sentences. All sentences
with the same number of major stresses take about the same amount of
time to utter because the time between stressed syllables is the same, no
matter how many minor stresses and unstressed syllables separate
these syllables. The unstressed words and syllables are compressed or
reduced to make this possible.
Read the following sentences aloud:
● ● ●
John speaks French.
John is speaking English.
Jonathan is speaking Romanian.
All three sentences take about the same amount of time to say,
although the second and third have more syllables than the first. The
unstressed syllables are compressed and de-emphasized to make this
possible. In many other languages, equal stress is placed on all the sylla-
bles in words. When speakers of those languages attempt to give equal
time or emphasis to every syllable in an English word or sentence, the
effect is strange to the ears of English speakers. Some students need to
hear and repeat new words, on their own and in longer phrases and sen-
tences, to distinguish and produce the stress patterns of English.
SENTENCE STRESS
Stressed and Unstressed Words In an English sentence, the words that carry the most information are
stressed. These are often called content words. Words that carry less
Content Words Function Words
(stressed) (unstressed) information are usually unstressed, even though they perform gram-
matical work — unless the speaker wishes to create a particular
Nouns Articles: a, an, the emphasis. These words are often called function words.
Main verbs Prepositions: to, of, Because the characteristic rhythm of English affects the way words
Adverbs on, in, etc.
are pronounced in connected speech, beginning learners of English
Adjectives Auxiliary verbs: is, often have trouble understanding speech, even though they may recog-
are, have, has, do,
Question words: does, etc. nize the same words in isolation or when they are carefully enunciated.
why, when, etc.
Demonstratives:
Modal auxiliary • The reduction of function words can cause phrases to sound like
verbs: can, will, single words. In normal speech, for example, the individual words
this, these, etc. must, etc.
in the following phrases are not distinct:
Conjunctions: but,
so, and, etc. fish and chips sounds like /fIʃəntʃIps/
Relative pronouns: a jug of milk sounds like /əd$,"əmIlk/
which, that, etc. all of them sounds like /ɑləvəm/
pronouns: I, you, it, going to sounds like /"ɑnə/
us, etc. got to sounds like /"ɑdə/
What do you mean? sounds like /wɑdəyəmiyn/
• Contractions are common in connected speech. Beginning learners
may have difficulty recognizing contractions in both speech and
writing.
Intonation
Intonation refers to characteristic patterns of rise and fall in pitch. Eng-
lish has three basic levels of tone: high, mid, and low. These are used in
two main intonation patterns: rising-falling and rising.
• A rising-falling intonation pattern is used for most statements, as
well as for questions that begin with a question-word, such as who
or what. The pitch of the voice rises to a high tone at the major stress
in the sentence, then falls through the rest of the sentence to end at
a pitch lower than that of the first part of the sentence. Say the fol-
lowing sentence aloud and listen to the way your voice begins at
mid-tone, rises to a high tone, then falls to a low tone.
I had to go to the su permarket.
• A rising-falling intonation is used in each clause of a complex sen-
tence, dropping lower still at the end of the final clause.
Although he came l ate, he fin ished the work.
• A rising-falling intonation is also used in tag questions when the
intent is to seek agreement.
She’s a good teach er, is n’t she?
• A rising intonation is used in questions that require a yes-or-no
answer. The pitch begins to rise on the major sentence stress — and
continues rising.
Teaching Pronunciation
Younger children who are learning English seldom need a great deal of
help with pronunciation, although some sounds may be difficult for
some students. Learners older than 11 or 12 are more likely to have trou-
ble with specific words, sounds, and intonation patterns and will
probably need focused instruction in some areas. Listen carefully as stu-
dents speak or read aloud. You may notice that individual students or
members of specific language groups have specific pronunciation diffi-
culties. Some students whose first language does not include [w], for
example, may substitute [v], so that wet sounds like vet; on the other
hand, students whose first language includes [w] sound but no [v] may
do the opposite.
This chapter discusses some of the features of English grammar that can
be difficult for English language learners. It also presents approaches to
grammar instruction and feedback that can be integrated into daily lessons.
These approaches enable teachers to set aside the red pen, stop spitting and
growling, and provide effective instruction and supportive feedback.
What Is Grammar?
Grammar refers to the language patterns that indicate relationships
among words in sentences. Take, for example, the English words give,
book, teacher, and student. These words can be combined in many different
ways to create a sentence that makes sense in English — and the way they
are combined indicates the relationship among the words. Who gives the
book? When? To whom? Which book, teacher, or student? How many
books, students, or teachers? Is this a question or a statement?
The following are some of the ways in which these words can be
organized or transformed grammatically:
Morphology
As the smallest contrastive unit of grammar, morphemes are the build-
ing blocks of words. The word words, for example, is made up of two
morphemes: the first is word, and the second is the suffix -s, which
means more than one.
Morphemes are different from syllables. Some single-syllable words,
such as word, do consist of one morpheme. This is not always the case,
however. Words, for example, is a single-syllable word that consists of
two morphemes.
Derivational morphemes are affixes (prefixes or suffixes) that are
added to words to form new words (e.g., possible — impossible, impossi-
bility). To learn more about derivational morphemes, see Chapter 5.
Inflectional morphemes provide grammatical information about
gender, number, person, case, degree, and verb form. Though most
inflectional morphemes are suffixes, some irregular forms do exist (e.g.,
men is the plural of man).
GENDER
In many languages, nouns are assigned a gender. They are masculine,
feminine, or in some languages, neuter. Grammatical gender often has
little to do with biological gender, however. In French, for example, girl
is feminine (la fille), while it is neuter in German (das Mädchen). Table is
feminine in French (la table) and masculine in German (der Tisch). En-
glish does not make this distinction, though cars and boats are some-
times referred to as “she” or “her.”
In some languages, different forms of a word indicate whether a per-
son is male or female (e.g., le directeur and la directrice in French).
English, too, sometimes uses different forms to indicate biological gen-
der, especially when describing occupations (e.g., waiter and waitress).
Recently, however, gender-neutral forms, such as server, have become
more common.
Some English pronouns also indicate gender (e.g., he-she, him-her,
his-her, and his-hers), while others do not (e.g., I, you, and we). In some
PERSON
Person is a grammatical form that applies to pronouns and affects the
form of verbs. Pronouns may be first, second, or third person, as shown
on the following chart.
Pronouns
Conjugation of Be
Present Tense Past Tense
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural
First I am we are I was we were
Second you are you are you were you were
Third he (she, they are he (she, they
it) is it) was were
Learner Errors
Subject-verb agreement is a continuing source of difficulty for second
language learners, even at advanced levels. Students may produce
errors such as, She never come here, They was very late, and Why don’t he
like it?
CASE
In English grammar, case refers to noun and pronoun forms that indi-
cate grammatical relationships to other words.
English nouns have only one morphological case, indicating posses-
sion. This is indicated in writing by adding the suffix -’s or -s’ (e.g., the
boy’s books, the boys’ books, and a summer’s day). This suffix may be pro-
nounced /s/ (e.g., the cat’s basket and the cats’ basket), /z/ (e.g., the boy’s
book and the boys’ book), or /Iz/ (e.g., the fox’s den and the foxes’ den).
English pronouns have three cases: subjective, objective, and posses-
sive, as shown on the following chart.
Learner Errors
English language learners often experience difficulty learning pronoun
forms, especially in the early stages. As a result, beginners may produce
Learner Errors
Learners may overgeneralize the use of -er and -est, producing con-
structions such as, She is the intelligentest student in the class. Learners
may also omit the definite article in superlative forms, as in, He is tallest
student. Many second language learners — and some English speakers
— confuse less and fewer, as well as least and fewest. They may produce
errors such as, I have less books than you do, or This one costs the fewest
money.
VERB FORMS
The form of the verb may indicate tense (past, present, or future) or con-
cepts such as completion or continuation. Verb forms may also be active
or passive. For example:
Auxiliary Verbs:
Some verb forms are created by combining the auxiliary verbs be, have,
or do, with some form of the main verb, as in she is studying, I have stud-
ied, or did you study? The form of the auxiliary verb changes to indicate
the tense, as in she was studying, she will be studying, or she had been
studying.
Present Participle:
Some verbs forms use the present participle, such as going or teaching, in
combination with some form of the auxiliary verb be, as in I am going, she
was teaching. The present participle is also used as an adjective, as in an
interesting lesson, a boring lesson, a charming person.
Past Participle:
Some forms of regular verbs use the past participle (e.g., wanted, moved,
kissed). The suffix is pronounced /Id/, /d/, and /t/). Some past partici-
ples are irregular, as in broken, written, seen. Past participles may be used
in combination with some form of the auxiliary verb have, as in I have
finished, she has moved, or they have gone. Past participles are also used in
combination with some form of the auxiliary verb be to form the passive
voice (e.g., the homework is done, the homework will be done, the homework
was done). Another use of the past participle is as an adjective, as in a
bored student, a used car, a broken window.
Learner Errors
English verb forms are complex and even advanced learners make
errors when using them. They may:
• use present-tense forms instead of the past, especially in the early
stages of learning English, producing sentences such as I see him
last night.
• over-generalize regular past tense endings, as in I forgetted to do my
homework.
• have difficulty with the written form of some -ing forms, where the
final consonant of a root must be doubled before adding the suffix,
as in run/running.
• take a long time to learn the forms of irregular verbs, and produce
errors such as I have broke it.
• confuse the use of present and past participles when used as adjec-
tives, as in I was very boring in that lesson or I am not very interesting in
that.
• pronounce the past tense suffix incorrectly, so that words such as
moved or breathed are pronounced as two syllables (as they were in
Shakespeare’s time!).
Syntax
Syntax refers to the way words are organized in sentences to create
meaning. Many second language learners have difficulty with specific
features of English sentence structure, especially when the syntactic
conventions of English differ from those of their first language. A
WORD ORDE R
In English, word order is very important and is more rigid than it is in
many other languages. Word order is used to distinguish subject from
object, nouns from verbs, adjectives from nouns, and so on. Changing
the order of words in a sentence can change the meaning of the sentence.
The typical word order in English is subject + verb + object.
Subject Verb Object
Lee kissed Mary.
Mary kissed Lee.
Learner Errors
Speakers of other languages may mix up or misinterpret word order in
English, especially in the beginning stages. German speakers, for exam-
ple, may place the verb at the end of the sentence, as is the rule in
German (e.g., I have the homework not finished), and Spanish speakers
may place adjectives after nouns (e.g., a flower pretty). Furthermore,
learners of all language backgrounds may not perceive differences in
meaning when the order of words is subtly rearranged (e.g., She had her
hair cut and She had cut her hair).
DETERM I NERS
Determiners precede nouns and add meaning in some way. As shown
on the chart, they may give information about number and quantity or
answer the question, Which?
Determiner Examples
Verbs
Category Function Examples
Lexical Main verbs that carry She arrived late.
meaning I live in Toronto.
I work on Tuesdays.
Auxiliary Be, have, and do She didn’t arrive on
combine with lexical time.
verbs to create new I have lived here for
forms three years.
I am working tonight.
Do you speak English?
Modal Can, could, will, would, I may arrive late.
shall, should, may, I could live here
might, and must forever.
combine with lexical I should work tonight.
verbs to convey
important nuances of
Students used magnetic letters to practice
meaning
using the verb form shown on this mag-
netic board.
Verb forms in English usually indicate tense, or time. English has three
“simple” tenses: the simple past, simple present, and simple future.
• Verbs in the simple present and the simple past tense consist of one
word (e.g., go/went).
• The simple future consists of the modal verb will and the base form
of the lexical verb (e.g., will go).
Some verb forms indicate other concepts as well as past, present, or
future. For example:
Some languages have more verb forms than English. In Russian, the
ending on past tense forms changes to match the subject: a different
form for I, you, we, etc. Other languages have fewer verb forms. In Chi-
nese, verbs never change form. Tense is either implicit in the context or
indicated by an adverbial expression such as yesterday or long ago.
An additional problem for many learners of English is that the gram-
matical tense of a verb does not always match its meaning. For instance,
it is correct, but somewhat unusual, to ask, What will you do tonight?
Most English speakers would probably ask, What are you doing tonight?
Similarly, most English speakers do not say, The train will arrive at eight
o’clock. They are more likely to say, The train arrives at eight o’clock. In
addition, going to is used more often than will to indicate a planned or
expected event (e.g., I am going to graduate at the end of June).
Learner Errors
Learners of English often have difficulty with the verb system of Eng-
lish because the verb forms in their first language are different.
• Some languages do not distinguish between the simple present
(e.g., I eat) and present continuous forms (e.g., I am eating). As a
result, learners of English may say, I eat my dinner now.
LI NKI NG VERBS
The verb be performs many roles in English. It functions as an auxiliary in
continuous forms (e.g., I am working) and in passive-voice forms (e.g., The
money was stolen). Be also functions as a linking, or copular, verb that cou-
ples or links a subject to a complement that may be a noun, adjective, or
prepositional phrase (e.g., She is a teacher, We are tired, and It’s in my bag).
Learner Errors
Many other languages either have no equivalent of be or they use it in
different ways, especially in the present tense. As a result, second lan-
guage learners often omit this verb and produce sentences such as, I too
tired to study last night or She in the garden now.
MODAL VERBS
The verbs can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, ought to, and
must are modal verbs. Modal verbs convey important nuances of mean-
ing, such as permission or prohibition, intent, obligation, ability or
possibility, probability, and certainty.
Consider the meaning of the following sentences in which modal
verbs indicate the degree of certainty:
• It might rain tonight. She could have done it. (possible)
• It may rain tonight. She may have done it. (probable)
• It will rain tonight. She must have done it. (certain)
Modal verbs also signal important differences between suggestions,
advice, and orders, as the following sentences illustrate:
• You could go tonight. You might rewrite that. (a suggestion)
• You should go tonight. You should rewrite that. (advice)
• You must go tonight. You will rewrite that. (an order)
Modal verbs do not have many forms. For example, must has no past-
tense form: the past-tense equivalent of he must go is he had to go. Nega-
tive statements with modal verbs are formed by inserting not (e.g., You
must not go and Can’t you finish that?).
The meaning of modal verbs varies with the context. Though must,
for example, usually indicates obligation or compulsion (e.g., he must
go), it has an entirely different meaning in an expression like he must be
in love, in which it indicates certainty on the part of the speaker. Simi-
larly, may in a sentence like, You may go, indicates permission, whereas
You may do well on this test indicates possibility.
Learner Errors
The irregular forms and nuances of meaning of modal verbs present
many difficulties for learners of English who may produce errors like, I
will must go, and I must went.
Because other languages often use different structures to convey the
ideas expressed in English by modals, many learners produce sentences
such as, She can to do that, and You should going there. Forming questions
with modal verbs also poses problems for learners who often apply the
PASSI VE VOI CE
Verbs in the passive voice are formed by combining a form of the auxil-
iary be with the past participle of a lexical verb. As the chart shows, the
passive voice can occur in any tense, even though the past participle is
used in all forms.
Academic and bureaucratic writing often makes greater use of the
passive voice than other styles.
As the following sentences show, the passive voice is used when the
focus is on the persons or objects affected by an action rather than on
who carried out the action.
• Active voice: The army surrounded the enemy forces. (Focus is on
what the army did.)
• Passive voice: The army was surrounded by the enemy forces.
(Focus is on what happened to the army.)
The passive voice is also used when the agent is unknown and to
avoid identifying the agent.
• Many European cities were destroyed during World War II.
• Millions of Africans were captured and transported to Europe and
the Americas.
Passive-voice verbs are also frequently used to describe processes
and systems and in administrative language.
• The experiment was carried out.
• The trees are felled, and the logs are floated downstream.
• The use of calculators is not allowed during tests.
• The examination will be written in the gym.
• The project is to be completed and handed in on February 6.
Kind of Sentence Question Word Auxiliary Verb Subject Main Verb Object
Learner Errors
In many languages, questions are formed by switching the place of sub-
ject and verb. As a result, many learners of English ask questions such
as, Like you pizza? Though this form was acceptable centuries ago,
including in Shakespeare’s time, it is no longer used.
In some languages, questions are communicated simply through the
use of rising intonation. Though this technique is also used in English, it
occurs only when someone is seeking confirmation (e.g., She speaks Eng-
lish?).
In addition, questions are formed in some languages by adding a
question word at the beginning or end of a sentence — without chang-
ing the form of the verb. As a result, many second language learners
produce questions such as Where she lives?
PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal verbs are verbs that combine a verb and an adverb or a preposi-
tion (e.g., get up, put on, take out, get away with, give in to). Together, the
two — and sometimes more — words form a verb that means some-
thing different from the separate meaning of the individual words.
Consider the following sentences:
• Tiko called up his friend.
• Tiko called up the stairs.
Though phrasal verbs are common in languages that are closely related
to English (e.g., German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian),
they are rare in other languages. As a result, learners often have trouble
understanding the differences between phrasal verbs such as put off, put
out, put on, and put down, and even more trouble sorting out the differ-
ence between expressions such as, Let’s put it off until tomorrow and His
manner puts me off.
Phrasal verbs also present difficulties because the words in some are
separable; in others, they are not. If the words are separable, the parts of
the phrasal may be separated, and they are always separated when the
direct object of a sentence is a pronoun (e.g., I put on my coat, I put my coat
on, I put it on — not I put on it). If the two words are inseparable, they are
never separated (e.g., I got over my disappointment, I got over it — not I got
it over).
Learner Errors
Much exposure and practice are required to internalize the rules about
which phrasal verbs are separable and which are not. Though native
speakers acquire these rules at an early age and use them automatically,
it is not unusual for learners to produce sentences such as, I read on it up
in the encyclopedia, or I ran him into at the library.
Learners of English may also have difficulty understanding the dif-
ferences between I stood up to him, I stood him up, and I stood up for him.
They may fail to communicate effectively if they produce a sentence
Function of Infinitives and Gerunds such as, I saw through him, when the intended meaning is I saw him
through.
Infinitive I want to I expect to
go. go. I N F I N I TI VE S AND GE R U N DS
Object + I want you I expect An infinitive is the base form of a verb and is often combined with to to
infinitive to go. them to go. form the to-infinitive (e.g., to eat, to go, to live). Like participles, gerunds
Object + I will let I can’t are -ing verb forms, but they differ from participles because they are
infinitive – you go. make you used as nouns (e.g., healthy eating, rough going, easy living). As the chart
to go. shows, infinitives and gerunds perform many functions in sentences.
Gerund I enjoy I avoid No easy rule explains which verbs are followed by infinitives (e.g.,
reading. reading. want, expect, hope, decide, and refuse) and which are followed by gerunds
(e.g., enjoy, avoid, risk, finish, and deny). To add to the difficulty for learn-
Possessive I appreciate I can’t bear
+ gerund your being your ers, some verbs (e.g., like, begin, start, and remember) may be followed by
here. leaving. either, depending on the specific meaning to be conveyed. Saying, I
INDIRECT SPEECH
Sometimes called reported speech, indirect speech causes great confu-
sion for learners because of the complex rules governing the sequence of
tenses. Other changes may also be necessary when transferring direct to
indirect speech.
• Indirect speech requires the backshifting of tenses.
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
I will do it. I told her (that) I would do it.
I have never met him. She said (that) she had never met him.
I don’t like him. She said (that) she didn’t like him.
What did you eat? The doctor asked what he had eaten.
PRONOUN REFERENCE
Pronouns such as it, he, this, which, and whose refer to antecedents, which
are words that have appeared earlier in a sentence or paragraph. The
greater the distance between an antecedent and pronoun, the more dif-
ficult it is for a listener — or reader — to keep the antecedent in
short-term memory. Consider the words them, most, and they in the final
sentence of the following paragraph, for example. What is their an-
tecedent?
Strangely, of the eighty pyramids built on the west bank of the Nile, not a
single body has been found in any of them. Most, including the Great
Learner Errors
Students may find it difficult to understand text that includes many sen-
tences like the one in the example in the preceding section. Note that
sarcophagus causes no difficulty because this word is defined in context;
rather, the problem is caused by the need to track the antecedents of
them, most, and they.
LITERARY STYLE
Some academic and literary texts are written in a style that involves
variations from the usual word order of English. Consider this sentence:
“Most, including the Great Pyramid, contain a granite sarcophagus —
the outer casing of the coffin — but empty they remain.” The more usual
word order for the final phrase is they remain empty.
Even young children encounter unusual syntax in the literature they
read and that is read to them. Word order such as that shown on the
chart can confuse second language learners and native speakers alike.
Literary Normal
Learner Errors
Though students may understand every word in expressions like those
shown on the chart, they may have difficulty figuring out the meaning
of the sentence. They may, for example, expect sentences that begin
with words in reverse order (e.g., Should you …) to be questions.
EM BEDDI NG AND SUBORDI NATI ON
Embedding refers to the inclusion of a linguistic unit in another linguis-
tic unit. This may involve separating the main verb from its subject by
adding one or more phrases (e.g., Canada, unlike the United States, has
a parliamentary form of government). Subordination refers to the join-
ing of a subordinate clause to a clause of higher value often by using
connectors (e.g., You can go as long as you have finished your home-
work). Academic and literary texts often contain complex sentences that
embed elements that distance the verb from the main subject and
CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
Conditional sentences express a relationship in which one situation
depends on another. Often introduced by if statements, they express
three kinds of condition: real or possible conditions, hypothetical condi-
tions, and impossible or unrealized conditions. As the chart indicates,
these conditions may refer to the past, present, or future.
Conditional Sentences
CONDENSED SYNTAX
Technical, academic, and administrative prose often contains con-
densed expressions and reduced forms that cause tremendous
difficulty for English language learners. Reduced relative clauses, such
as air under pressure (i.e., air that is under pressure) and articles left in lockers
(i.e., articles that students have left in their lockers) can be especially
troublesome.
Learner errors
English language learners may misinterpret some of these expressions.
They may, for example, understand a phrase like organisms found in
water as organisms found water. Note that even in their expanded form,
these expressions often use passive verbs, which themselves pose diffi-
culties for many students.
Teaching Grammar
Research has shown that grammar instruction in isolation has little
effect on learners’ ability to create grammatically correct sentences.
Though students may be able to identify the correct form in grammar
exercises that focus on specific forms, they may be unable to transfer
these uses to real communication. For more information on the effects of
instruction, see Chapter 8.
When planning instruction to help students recognize and internal-
ize new grammatical patterns, keep the following principles in mind:
• Grammar is best taught and practiced in an authentic context. A
new structure is more likely to stick in learners’ minds if they have
immediate and frequent opportunities to use it in real
• Provide learners with the tools they need to talk about language. Stu-
dents need a basic vocabulary about language if they are to discuss
and ask questions about the language patterns they are having
trouble with. By the time they are nine or 10 years old, most chil-
dren can learn and understand basic terms, such as noun, verb,
adjective, adverb, preposition; singular and plural; verb tense; and
suffix and prefix. Older learners can be introduced to concepts
such as subject, verb, object; active and passive verbs; articles; rela-
tive clauses and so on. You can teach these concepts by using
400 BCE First Celts arrive in Ireland and begin settling the British Isles.
As a result, the first languages spoken in what is now England were not English at all, but
varieties of Celtic.
55 BCE Roman legions begin invading and conquer Britannia, launching four centuries of Roman
occupation that end in the 5th century CE.
The linguistic effect of the occupation was minimal and is evident today mainly in place names,
such as London (from Londinium) and Manchester (the suffix derives from castellum, the Latin
word for fort).
449 CE Groups of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from what is now northern Germany begin invading Britain,
pushing Celts into present-day Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall.
Over the next two centuries, England (from Englaland — land of the Angles) gradually became a
country. The English spoken during this period is known as Anglo-Saxon or Old English and is
the basis of contemporary English sentence structure and vocabulary. Fundamental words such
as man, woman, child, brother, sister, house, eat, drink, and sleep, as well as nearly all function words,
such as to, for, but, and, the, and or, are Anglo-Saxon in origin. Without these words, it would be
impossible to construct an English sentence.
597 CE Anglo-Saxons begin converting to Christianity, which paves the way for Latin, the language of
the Roman Catholic Church, to become the language of religion and scholarship.
Over the next centuries, many Latin words related to religion and law entered Old English, and
the Latin alphabet was adapted to represent Old English, replacing most of the runic characters
used in early English writing. Because the sounds of Latin and English were not exactly the same,
however, some runic characters were retained. The symbol Þ, for example, was retained to
represent the initial sound in words like thick and this. By the late middle ages, this character had
evolved and was similar in appearance to the letter Y. This is the origin of some present-day
commercial uses, such as Ye (The) Olde Tea Shoppe. By the end of the Middle Ages, Latin letters
had replaced all runic characters.
1066 Normans, the French-speaking descendants of Vikings or Norsemen who had settled in the part
of France known as Normandy, begin their conquest of England.
This event sparked the next major stage in the evolution of English. For the next several centuries,
England was multilingual: Norman French was the language of court and the courts, Latin of
religion and education, and English of the common folk, who were in the majority. Welsh and
1337 The Hundred Years War between England and France begins.
This war accelerated the decline of French in England, and English became more widely used. It
replaced Latin as the language of instruction in schools, and writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer
chose to write in English rather than French. Over the next centuries, the printing press was
influential in stabilizing English, though spelling and vocabulary continued to vary from region
to region.
Today As a result of the many borrowings, English has a much larger lexicon than any other language.
Most of these words have come into English from other languages, and about 200,000 are in
regular use. Though widespread literacy and the mass media have helped stabilize English, the
language continues to evolve. New words are continually added — and the meanings of old ones
change — to express new or changing concepts. Today, most new words are formed by
compounding (e.g., photocopy, screensaver, and spellchecker).
Which Words?
Though your instructional goals may include helping students learn
2,000 to 3,000 new words a year, this does not mean that you should try
to teach all these words. Students will acquire many high-frequency
words incidentally, through daily activities, meaningful classroom
activities, and regular interaction with more proficient English speak-
ers. Low-frequency words and subject-specific vocabulary require
more direct attention, however. Students may also need assistance to
expand their repertoire of connectives, the words and phrases that link
ideas (e.g., prior to and subsequently).
High-Frequency Words
To communicate in English, language learners must acquire the
high-frequency words that are used every day in a variety of contexts.
These include common nouns, such as boy, girl, mother, father, school, and
Low-Frequency Words
When students are beyond the beginning stage of learning English,
teachers must focus on low-frequency words and word families that are
more likely to be learned and used in school than in daily life. Most of
these words, which are also known as general academic vocabulary,
are based in Latin (e.g., accurate, analyze, and consequently), though some
are from Greek (e.g., chronological and technological). Many of these
words are not essential for communication; high-frequency words can
be used to express most of the same concepts. In general, people of
higher socioeconomic status and greater education tend to use more
Latin-derived vocabulary in daily conversation (e.g., vocabulary instead
of words, possess instead of own, register instead of sign up, participate in
instead of join in, and converse instead of talk).
The academic word list, developed by the School of Linguistics and
Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New
Zealand, was published in 2000 and, in addition to the words on the
general service list, contains 570 word families that are frequently used
in academic texts. These words begin to appear in the Grade 4 curricu-
lum. Only about 25 percent of the words on standardized reading tests
for Grade 4 are high-frequency words found on the general service list;
the other 75 percent are academic or low-frequency words.
The graded word lists on the following page show the dramatic shift
that occurs between grades 3 and 4. Until Grade 3, the lists consist of
basic high-frequency words; by Grade 4, nearly all the words are low-
frequency Latin-based words.
Knowledge of general academic vocabulary is essential for reading
school texts and writing school assignments. In addition, the use of
these words is often associated with education, intelligence, and high
social status. Students must learn not only what these words mean, but
also when it is appropriate to use them. Though these words may create
a favorable impression in academic contexts, using too many in
Like the meanings of the 2,000 most common words, the meanings of
some low-frequency words vary according to the subject area. The
word balance, for example, has a special meaning in business and
accounting courses. In history, a student may encounter the expression
balance of power; in environmental studies, balance of nature describes an
ecological concept; in law and civics, balance of mind refers to a legal
notion of criminal responsibility; in economics, balance of trade is an
important concept; in physical education, balance is a physical skill; in
developing an argument in many subject areas, a balanced view is desir-
able; in physics, balance is both a concept and a tool; and in the arts,
balance refers to harmony in the way the elements of a composition
relate to one another.
A general-purpose academic vocabulary can be developed by read-
ing aloud to students and by involving them in extensive independent
reading, as well as through focused instruction. Students must also
develop effective vocabulary acquisition strategies (e.g., using context
or word analysis to figure out meaning and using dictionaries effec-
tively) to help them deal with unknown words. To learn more about
these strategies, see Chapter 12.
Subject-Specific Words
Subject-specific or technical terms, such as photosynthesis, denominator,
equilateral, metaphor, and biome, occur only in a limited range of contexts
or subject areas. These words derive from Latin and, especially in sci-
ence and technology, from Greek. English language learners at all
Learning subject-specific words is impor- stages must learn important subject vocabulary. A 16-year-old begin-
tant if students are to achieve success in ning learner, for example, may need to learn the word trigonometry
science courses. before kitten.
10. help 10. out 10. many 10. head 10. number 10. jealous
11. I 11. put 11. never 11. light 11. often 11. lizard
5
12. in 12. ran 12. next 12. made 12. several 12. mechanic
13. jump 13. say 13. once 13. part 13. start 13. mysterious
14. of 14. soon 14. open 14. people 14. such 14. portion
15. one 15. there 15. room 15. read 15. table 15. savage
16. play 16. two 16. school 16. same 16. today 16. scarlet
17. said 17. well 17. them 17. small 17. try 17. signal
18. see 18. what 18. think 18. town 18. wash 18. statue
19. she 19. with 19. up 19. turn 19. wrong 19. stout
20. that 20. yes 20. where 20. wish 20. yellow 20. vicious
97
Although subject-specific words may appear to be hard to learn, they
are often less challenging than general academic words, because teach-
ers pay attention to teaching new technical terms when they introduce
concepts. In addition, subject-specific vocabulary is usually defined or
explained in textbooks, which often provide a glossary. It is important,
however, to help students see links among words. This may help when
they encounter new words that contain the same roots or affixes, such as
photo, bio, and chlor.
Some subjects — especially science — involve so many subject-spe-
cific terms that the task of learning them may be overwhelming for
English speakers and English learners alike. So much attention may be
paid to these words that some of the more generally useful vocabulary
may be neglected. Many of the specialized terms students must learn in
some subjects are not fully internalized and may be forgotten as soon as
the course is finished. As a result, it is important to focus on essential
conceptual words. If students do not need a word to understand the big
idea, the word is probably not important enough to take up space on the
vocabulary agenda.
WORD ROOTS
Every word contains at least one root that carries its basic meaning. The
words form, formal, formation, information, and informational, for example,
all contain the root form.
Some roots, such as form, word, root, and Canada, are free morphemes
that can stand alone as individual words. Some words contain more
Extensive Reading
According to Stephen Krashen, an expert in second language acquisi-
tion, reading extensively is the best way to promote vocabulary
development, increase awareness of sentence structure, and encourage
a life-long love of reading. Some researchers suggest that students pick
up new words 10 times faster through reading than through explicit
vocabulary instruction.
Most native speakers of English with large vocabularies developed
their knowledge of words through extensive reading. In addition, peo-
Reading extensively is a powerful way to ple who read a lot are likely to improve their spelling without any
expand vocabulary. focused spelling instruction. As long as the text is interesting and con-
tains no more than five percent new words, reading can be a pleasurable
way of expanding vocabulary, learning about life in North America and
about other cultures, enhancing awareness of English sentence struc-
ture, and developing awareness of various writing styles.
ab- a-, an- from, away, abnormal, abolish, abduct, atheist, abstract, absent, anarchy
up, out, not
ad- a-, ac-, af-, ag-, to, toward add, admit, address, advertise, adhere, accept, affix, affluent,
al-, an-, as-, at- affiliate, agree, allegiance, announce, ascend, attach
com- co-, col-, con-, with, combine, cooperate, collect, contain, correct
cor- together
dis- di-, dif- not; apart, disagree, dislike, distasteful; distance, diffuse, different
away
ex- e-, ef- out, beyond extract, expand, exceed, educate, erase, effluent
in-(1) ig-, im-, il-, ir- not inactive, indecent, incomplete, ignorant, ignoble, impossible,
illogical, illegal, irreversible, irreparable
in-(2) im-, il-, ir- into include, inform, invite, inhale, infect, import, immigrate,
illuminate, illustrate, irradiate
ob- op-, of-, oc- against, objection, obtain, opposite, oppose, offer, offend, occasion,
toward occur, occult
sub- suc-, suf-, sug-, under, close submerge, subvert, succeed, suffix, suffer, suggest, support,
sup-, sur-, sus- to surround, suspect
-ty, -ity noun (abstract) safety, beauty, loyalty, unity, charity, necessity
-er, -or noun: person or teacher, ruler, hanger, doctor, actor, protractor
instrument
Focused Instruction
Students also require focused instruction on new vocabulary as it arises
in daily lessons in various subject areas. This enables them to learn aca-
demic vocabulary in a meaningful context and provides opportunities
for them to use new words immediately. For specific strategies such as
word walls, cloze activities, and vocabulary notebooks, see Chapter 12.
Communicative Competence
Discourse Competence
Discourse competence involves the ability to understand and produce
utterances or writing, such as stories, conversations, and reports, that
are longer than sentences. It includes the effective use of reference
words, understanding and using a wide variety of connective words
and phrases, and the ability to recognize and produce specific forms or
genres of language.
Nonverbal Language
Nonverbal language consists of body language, such as gestures, eye
contact, facial expressions, and body posture or movement, as well as
less visible but equally important behavior, such as the use of silence
and the use of physical space. Nonverbal language varies from culture
to culture. The following examples of differences in nonverbal language
may sometimes lead to miscommunication.
• Most English speakers beckon with the hand palm up; in other cul-
tures, this may be insulting. In some, it is usual to beckon with the
hand held palm down, which may look similar to the rather dis-
missive English gesture that means go away.
• Rules governing eye contact often vary. Many English speakers
interpret looking someone in the eye as a sign of trustworthiness,
sincerity, or interest. In some cultures, however, it is considered
impolite to make or maintain eye contact for more than a fraction
of a second, especially when the social status of the participants in
a conversation is different. It may be considered rude, for example,
for a child to sustain eye contact with a teacher or other adult.
• The interpretation of facial gestures, such as winking, raising the
eyebrows, rolling the eyes, looking upward, and smiling, may
vary from culture to culture. In some cultures, displaying an open
mouth is considered rude, which is why some students — espe-
cially females — may attempt to conceal a smile or laugh behind
their hands.
• Handshaking, where it is practiced at all, may be restricted to per-
sons of the same sex, to certain age groups, or to a particular kind
of relationship or situation. The handshake may also be gentler
than in North America, where a firm handshake is often consid-
ered a sign of forthrightness and strength of character.
• Head movements that indicate yes and no are not universal. In
Bulgaria, for example, a brief shake of the head means yes, and a
sharp toss of the head upwards indicates no. English speakers may
completely misinterpret these gestures.
• North American hand gestures, such as thumbs up or circling the
thumb and forefinger to indicate okay, are considered obscene in
some cultures.
• In some cultures, formalized body movements communicate
respect. In Japan, for example, students may have a repertoire of
bows, while South Asian students may join their hands in front of
the body and bow their heads.
• The physical distance that speakers maintain during conversation
varies. In some cultures, standing close to a conversation partner is
usual; in others, more personal space is required. Without being
aware of it, speakers from various cultures may move toward or
away from each other to regain their own position of comfort.
Strategic Competence
Confident language learners use a range of communication strategies
to compensate for their incomplete knowledge of English and maintain
communication, even when the level of conversation is significantly
beyond their level of proficiency. Some English language learners may
be so anxious about getting things right, however, that they cannot
speak fluently or respond quickly enough in conversation or in class-
room discussions.
Confident language learners also use a variety of conversational
strategies, which are semi-fixed expressions that help people initiate or
enter a conversation, steer it in the direction they want to go, and termi-
nate it smoothly. Less confident students may be able to respond to
questions and prompts but lack the strategies required to initiate or
“steer” a conversation. As a result, they do not participate as much or as
effectively as they would like.
Take (or offer) a turn I’d like to say (add, suggest, ask) …
I have an idea (point, comment, question).
Can I get a word in?
Let me suggest (explain, add).
Do you have any suggestions (ideas)?
What about you?
Let’s hear from _____. (We haven’t heard from ____.
Seek clarification or Sorry, I didn’t get that. Would you explain it again?
repetition Did you say …?
Would you run that by me again?
Would you repeat that?
Would you go over that again?
Come again?
Pre…storic? (repetition with rising intonation)
Show appreciation Thanks (thank you) (for your help, time, etc.).
I appreciate your help (support, etc.).
You have been very helpful (kind, supportive, etc.).
That’s a good idea (suggestion, etc.).
You have been a big help.
Videos
University of California. Nonverbal Communication. Video
series. <www.berkeleymedia.com>.
Two videos in the series focus on cross-cultural communica-
tion: A World of Gestures: Culture and Nonverbal Communication,
1991; and A World of Differences: Understanding Cross-Cultural
Communication, 1997.
… is ephemeral. Listeners must grasp the message … is relatively permanent and available for
right away. Although speech may be recorded, the reference. Readers can take their time processing and
intent of the speaker is usually to be understood here re-processing a text. The writer can predict neither
and now by a specific listener or group of listeners. exactly who readers will be nor when and where the
text might be read.
… is interactive. Listeners and speakers can seek … provides no opportunity for the reader to
immediate clarification or check each other’s question the writer. Because the writer must
comprehension. Local and personal references (e.g., communicate across time and space, vagueness and
expressions such as this one) are used frequently. ambiguity are avoided. Vocabulary is carefully
selected and sentences are carefully constructed to
convey the writer’s exact meaning.
… uses stress, intonation, and pauses to distinguish … uses layout and punctuation to organize ideas,
between questions and statements, provide distinguish between questions and statements, and
emphasis, and divide utterances into manageable provide emphasis.
chunks. Many of these features cannot be
represented in print.
… is usually unedited and full of pauses, fillers (e.g., … is much more dense, consisting of complete
um, well, you know), sentence fragments, false starts, sentences and featuring little repetition or
and repetition and redundancies. These features redundancy. Each sentence must usually be
actually support comprehension, giving the listener understood in order to follow the text. The writer
time to process the message and hear important composes carefully, often in a series of stages,
words and ideas more than once. Although there are rereading and polishing the text until it is judged
times when oral language is formal and delivered in finished.
complete sentences, this is often rehearsed language,
probably from notes or a script: it is really written
language read aloud.
… is usually informal, especially when unrehearsed. … is more formal, especially in textbooks. It consists
It consists of relatively short declarative sentences of longer sentences, featuring more embedding and
and questions, and uses common vocabulary. The subordination, greater use of impersonal structures,
level of formality depends on the audience and such as the passive voice, and Latin-based
purpose. A request to a peer, for example, might be vocabulary that is less common in day-to-day
phrased differently from a request to a stranger or interactions. The level of formality depends on the
authority figure. kind of writing; e-mail messages may not be written
in carefully crafted prose, and computer-based
interactions are especially likely to be informal.
… has a regional or social class accent or dialect that … is usually in the standard dialect and has no
may help or hinder comprehension, depending on accent, unless the writer wishes to represent different
whether the speakers are familiar with each other’s kinds of speech in print.
accent or dialect.
Tamil uses a syllabic writing system. Each of the characters shown represents a complete syllable consisting of one vowel
and one consonant sound.
Somali uses the same Roman alphabet as English, with the exception of p, v, and z. The letters occur in different combina-
tions, however, and do not always represent the same sounds as they do in English.
This poem is from a letter, signed T.S.W. and Some alphabetic writing systems, such as Spanish and Arabic, are very
published in The Sunday Times of London on regular, with a nearly one-to-one sound-symbol correspondence. En-
January 3, 1965. glish is widely regarded as the most irregular or unpredictable of all the
I take it you already know alphabetic systems, and this irregularity sometimes causes nearly as
Of tough and bough and cough and dough? much difficulty for native speakers as it does for those learning English
Others may stumble but not you, as a second language.
On hiccough, thorough, rough and through. Fortunately, English is not entirely irregular, or no one would be able
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
to read it. In fact, English spelling is about 75 percent regular. The irreg-
ularly spelled words, however, include many of the most frequently
Beware of heard, a dreadful word, used words in the language and are the words that young children and
That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it’s said like bed, not bead?
second language learners learn first. As a result, second language learn-
For goodness’ sake, don’t call it “deed!” ers who have already learned to read and write a highly regular
Watch out for meat and great and threat alphabetic system, such as Spanish, may experience considerable diffi-
(They rhyme with suite and straight and culty decoding and spelling English words, pronouncing them as they
debt). look and spelling them as they sound.
A moth is not a moth in mother
Nor both in bother, broth in brother, WHY I S E NGLISH SPELLING SO WEARD W E E R D W E R E D W I E R D W E YE R D
And here is not a match for there W E I R D?
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear, Many of the anomalies of English spelling originate in the history of the
And then there’s dose and rose and lose?
Just look them up — and goose and choose, language. Some of these oddities, such as the changes that occurred
And cork and work and card and ward, when the Latin alphabet was imposed on the Old English sound system,
And font and front and word and sword, were mentioned in the previous chapter. Other changes also occurred.
And do and go and thwart and cart —
Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start! • After the Norman conquest of Britain, French scribes respelled
A dreadful language? Man alive, many English words. They introduced the qu- convention, for
I’d mastered it when I was five! example, so that the Old English spelling cwene became queen, as
Direction of Print
Many languages, such as Hebrew, Farsi, and Arabic, are written — and
read — from right to left. Chinese may be written from top to bottom or
left to right.
Horizontal Alignment
Students may have trouble writing on the lines if the script of their
home language does not include letters of varying height or depth or if
the letters hang from a line rather than sit on it, as is the case in many of
the languages of India.
Section II
Vocabulary Grammar Organization Cultural Knowledge
Low-frequency words, mostly Passive voice (e.g., The logs are Paragraph and essay structure Textbooks sometimes refer to or
Latin-based (e.g., comprehend) floated downstream) build on assumed knowledge or
• topic statement (thesis) experience (e.g., camping in a
Various forms of words (e.g., Condensed expressions (e.g., national park). Students of
Genres of Writing
In the early elementary school years, most writing is expressive, narra-
tive or poetic. As students move into Grade 4, however, this begins
to change and they are also required to produce writing in various
non-fiction genres. By the time they reach high school, most of their
writing consists of non-fiction.
Non-fiction genres, such as recounting, reporting, explaining a pro-
cess, describing a procedure, persuading, and discussing, are organized
according to conventions that are not necessarily universal. In English,
for example, persuasive writing argues a particular point of view and
usually begins with a thesis or statement of opinion, goes on to provide
evidence, and concludes by restating the thesis. In some languages,
such as Chinese, to begin by stating a point of view may be considered
arrogant and opinionated. It is more usual to provide evidence and
expect the reader to come to the desired conclusion without ever actu-
ally stating a personal opinion. English-speaking teachers might
respond to writing like this by asking, “What’s your point?”
In English, the writer is also expected to focus on one main point. In
Russian and other Slavic languages, however, it is usual for a writer to
allude to other interesting related information which, in English, would
be deemed irrelevant or off topic.
Many English language learners have learned to write according to
the conventions of their own language and culture. Though their under-
standing of how writing should be organized is not wrong, they do need
to learn some of the most important ways of organizing ideas in a persua-
sive piece and other common non-fiction genres. Here are key
characteristics of six common non-fiction genres in English.
Recounting
• Setting the scene (e.g., Last week, we went to the museum)
• Recounting events, usually in chronological order (First, … Next,
… Then, … ). Usually uses past tense.
• Closing, usually a commentary on the experience (e.g., I enjoyed
our visit to the museum because…, or I learned …).
Reporting
• Identifying the topic, often with some kind of classification (e.g.,
Whales are huge mammals that live in the sea. There are many dif-
ferent kinds of whales, such as …).
• Describing components, functions, characteristics, behavior, etc.,
usually in the present tense, as well as using prepositional phrases
( e.g., On top of the head is a …) and comparing or contrasting.
This section is about language learning and how teachers can provide
programs, create an environment, and develop activities that promote
language learning.
Chapter 8 begins by discussing how children learn their first language
and how acquiring additional languages is both similar to and different
from this process. The chapter then outlines ideal conditions for promoting
language acquisition and answers frequently asked questions about how
this process is affected by factors such as the learner’s age, the length of
time learners have been in an English-language environment, their
motivation, and the effects of instruction and correction.
Chapter 9 provides an overview of how schools and school districts
commonly organize second-language instruction and discusses some of the
advantages and disadvantages of the various models.
Chapter 10 describes practical ways of establishing a classroom
environment that promotes language learning while validating students’
linguistic backgrounds. These strategies are equally appropriate in
mainstream and ESL settings.
Chapter 11 describes language-teaching techniques for students who are
just beginning to learn English or who are just beginning to learn to read
and write.
139
8 Understanding Second Language
Acquisition
Summing It Up
The behaviorist, innatist, and interactionist models of language acquisi-
tion are not necessarily mutually exclusive or competing. Children and
second language learners acquire some aspects of their first language —
especially the sound system — through imitation and practice. At the
same time, they acquire grammar by using innate cognitive processes to
seek patterns, generate and test hypotheses about these patterns, and
refine their hypotheses until they eventually produce the adult form. To
use these processes effectively, they must engage in social interactions
with more proficient language users.
• They are not expected to understand or produce language that is too far
Interacting with more proficient English beyond their current stage of development. In fact, until they are about a
speakers helps language learners. year old, children are not expected to produce language at all. Parents
and other adults recognize that children go through developmental
stages when learning to talk, and as a result, they modify their own
language and expectations when interacting with young children.
Summing It Up
For students who are learning English as an additional language, many
of the conditions that support first-language learning may be missing.
Teachers can, however, transform classrooms into supportive lan-
guage-learning environments by replicating as closely as possible the
nurturing and supportive conditions in which young children learn a
first language helps learners acquire a second language. Chapter 10
describes strategies for achieving this.
Summing It Up
• Older students have an initial advantage in learning vocabulary
and grammar because they can draw on their greater knowledge
of language.
• Young children learn the sound system of a new language much
more effectively, and in the long run, their overall performance
surpasses that of students who begin later.
• Experts disagree whether it is the maturation of the brain or the
learning environment that places older language learners at a
disadvantage.
• Unlike their younger brothers and sisters, students who are nine
and older require explicit guidance to learn vocabulary and spe-
cific structural features of English. See Chapter 12.
• Like younger children, older students will learn a second language
more effectively in a nurturing and supportive language-learning
environment. See Chapter 10.
Consist predominantly of oral language used for The level of competence required to understand
social communication and meeting day-to-day “teacher talk,” lectures, and other educational
needs (e.g., playing a game, talking about personal presentations, as well as to read textbooks, write
experiences, shopping, and using public transit). reports, and complete research projects and other
academic tasks.
Learners use BICS in familiar, supported contexts. Learners are required to use CALP in more formal
There may be a personal relationship between the situations, often with no opportunity for interaction
speakers, or they may be interacting in familiar and (e.g., when listening to a lecture or reading a
practiced roles. The interaction is often face-to-face, textbook). The content is often unfamiliar and
providing an opportunity to ask questions and conceptually demanding. Instructional English is
clarify meaning. The content is usually familiar and impersonal and abstract, and usually includes many
conceptually undemanding. Sentence structure is multi-syllable words of Latin and Greek origin.
simple and vocabulary consists of common one- and Chapters 4, 5, and 7 discuss various aspects of
two-syllable everyday words (e.g., word, childish, instructional English.
later, and homework).
According to Cummins, many students achieve Most English language learners learn English very
basic interpersonal communication skills within two fast, but their English-speaking peers are also
or three years. Research has shown, however, that constantly improving their own language
teachers may be misled by a student’s proficiency in development as they mature and move through
BICS, however, perceiving them to be more school. Thus, although the gap narrows from year to
proficient in English than they really are. This means year, it can take five to 10 years for second language
that many students do not receive support or learners to catch up. Students who arrive with
accommodation for language learning after the first limited literacy development in their first language
year or two. may take even longer — and many never catch up.
Summing It Up
• Most students acquire the basic interpersonal communication
skills required to meet their day-to-day needs within the first year
or two.
• Most students need five or more years to develop the same cognitive
academic language proficiency as their English-speaking age peers.
• In order to acquire CALP, English language learners need the help
of all their teachers to understand academic text, expand their
vocabulary, and develop more complex sentence patterns.
• Bilingual education can accelerate language acquisition and
enhance academic achievement.
Summing It Up
• The continued development of students’ first language supports a
higher level of development in English.
• Students’ languages have a place alongside English in the
classroom.
• Students’ languages support their sense of identity and help main-
tain effective communication within the family and the commu-
nity.
Summing It Up
Grammar instruction works when it focuses on patterns that are devel-
opmentally appropriate and when new forms of language are taught
and practiced in meaningful contexts.
Summing It Up
Discrete language skills such as phonics have a place in the overall lan-
guage program. These skills do not, however, guarantee the
development of the vocabulary knowledge, background knowledge,
and comprehension skills that are required to achieve academic success.
This knowledge is best developed by reading extensively and through
explicit instruction in vocabulary and comprehension skills.
“What Would Happen If…People Can Fly”. Errors like these are a normal
part of the language acquisition process.
• Always respond to the message first. The most important part of any
communication is the information conveyed.
• Don’t expect students to use the correct form right away. Students may
need to be exposed to hundreds of models and receive feedback
hundreds of times over a period of months or years before they
acquire some structures.
Summing It Up
• Making errors is part of the language-acquisition process.
• Constant correction may limit participation and increase anxiety,
thus limiting development.
• Respond to errors judiciously and respectfully, providing neces-
sary feedback without embarrassing students.
Summing It Up
• Many learners need a silent period when they are not pressured to
speak in class.
• Cooperative learning strategies encourage students to talk.
• Students’ receptive competence is usually significantly higher
than their productive competence.
These students understand much more in How Can I Promote a Positive Approach
English than they are able to express. to Language Learning?
Students will approach the task of learning English more positively if
they have a genuine desire or motivation to learn the language, a sense
of confidence in their ability to do so, and some effective learning strate-
gies to draw on.
Motivation
The learner’s motivation is critically important in acquiring a second
language. Students who are willing to put forth the persistent effort
needed to become bilingual have an integrative motivation for lan-
guage learning. Other learners may focus on learning as much language
as they need for a specific purpose, but otherwise seem satisfied with a
more limited level of proficiency. This orientation is called instrumen-
tal motivation. Some students seem to care little about learning the
language and may actually resist doing so.
I N TE G R ATI VE M O TI VATI O N
Integrative motivation refers to a desire to interact effectively with
native speakers of the new language in many situations: academic,
social, in the workplace, and so on. Integratively motivated students
display positive attitudes toward speakers of the target language, ask
questions about the language, read English books on their own, seek
opportunities to use English with peers and adults, have friends who
are native English speakers, and are interested in learning the latest
English phrases and jokes.
To develop integrative motivation, learners must have positive expe-
riences with native speakers. They must feel welcomed, included, and
respected. You can make this happen by providing structured opportu-
nities for students to make cross-cultural connections and friendships
(e.g., by organizing cooperative learning groups and helping students
become involved in extracurricular activities). Integrative motivation is
also enhanced by involving students in a wide variety of language
RESISTANCE
Some students resist acquiring English completely for reasons related to
identity and self-esteem. They may feel that their sense of identity is
threatened by pressure to abandon their linguistic and cultural back-
ground in order to embrace English and assimilate into the dominant
culture. Students’ self-esteem may also be threatened if the second lan-
guage appears to be more valued by the wider community than the first.
Students who are isolated from the mainstream, who find it hard to
fit in, and who feel culturally rejected by teachers or peers are unlikely
to develop positive attitudes toward the new language — and may
actively avoid the kind of contact that supports acquiring English. They
may bond exclusively with members of their own cultural and linguis-
tic group, for example. This behavior may be viewed negatively by
peers and teachers and may further isolate these students from oppor-
tunities for linguistic and social integration.
To encourage resisting students to develop a more positive attitude
toward English, teachers must show respect for their language and cul-
ture, allow space for their language to co-exist with English in the
school, and provide many opportunities for them to interact positively
with English speakers.
Confidence
Some students are intimidated by the idea of learning English and can-
not imagine ever learning the language well enough to be successful in
school. If the situation is threatening — if there is a risk of ridicule for
pronouncing words incorrectly, for example, or if students are required
to make oral presentations with inadequate preparation and support —
Summing It Up
• The attitude of English language learners will be more positive if
they have positive experiences with English speakers.
• Students will feel more confident of their ability to learn English if
the learning environment is supportive and they have strong role
models.
• Students will develop a more positive attitude toward learning
English and take some control of their own learning if they learn to
use effective language learning strategies.
Strategy Examples
Summing It Up
It is important for teachers to respect the linguistic background of all
students and to provide instruction and feedback in a way that does not
threaten students’ self-esteem and sense of identity.
BI LI NGUAL E DUCATI ON
Children learn best in the language they know best. This is not a new
concept: half a century ago, a UNESCO report identified the first lan-
guage as the most effective medium of instruction for all children. In
many countries, various models of bilingual education have been
developed in accordance with this principle.
If the necessary resources and expertise were available in En-
glish-speaking countries, it would make sense to educate non-
English-speaking children in their own language, at least until they are
proficient in English. Bilingual programs — especially those designed
ESL PROGRAMS
In jurisdictions where bilingual education is not feasible, the next-best
alternative is a strong ESL program that compensates for the fact that
the students are learning in a language other than their own. Self-con-
tained ESL programs, ESL core programs, ESL resource support
programs, and ESL integration programs are common in school dis-
tricts across Canada. Schools and school districts often provide more
than one of these models, depending on local needs and resources.
Grammar-Translation Approach
The grammar-translation approach, the traditional method of lan-
guage instruction, was perfected in the teaching of Latin and was also
used in teaching modern languages. Depending on when and where
you went to school, this may have been the way you were taught a for-
eign language. This method is still frequently used to teach English in
Audiolingual Approach
The audiolingual approach was developed in reaction to gram-
mar-translation, which had proven unsatisfactory in promoting
proficiency in authentic communication, especially in oral language.
Audiolingual methods were used in the armed forces during World
War II, especially with intelligence personnel.
This part-to-whole approach, which is sometimes called the struc-
tural approach, is based on behaviorist psychology and descriptive
linguistics. Behavioral psychologists, notably B.F. Skinner, viewed lan-
guage development as conditioned behavior, and applied linguists
developed descriptions of the patterns or structures of a given language
based on scientific analysis of the language in use, rather than on using
rules and terms based on Latin grammar.
Advocates of the audiolingual approach focus on habit formation
and structural accuracy, with a strong emphasis on listening and speak-
ing. The target language is the dominant language of instruction, and
there is minimal description of grammar rules, which are to be acquired
through induction: perceiving and learning a pattern by examining
many examples.
Lessons often focus on grammatical structures, which are presented
in a specific sequence. Present-tense verbs are taught before past-tense
forms, for example, and modal auxiliaries are taught before conditional
forms. The usual sequence of instruction is listening, speaking, reading,
and writing, and students may spend time in a language lab, listening
and responding to recorded dialogues and drills as the teacher monitors
their performance.
LE S S O N S F R O M F R E N CH I M M E R S I O N
In Canada, French immersion students whose first language is not
French receive content-based French language instruction in most sub-
jects, although in the beginning stages they often respond in English.
2. Teach key words before the lesson. Select a few key words from the text
or lesson and teach their meaning by providing a picture, using ges-
tures or mime, giving the word in the students’ languages,
providing synonyms, using the word in a highly supported context,
or drawing an analogy.
3. Repeat and rehearse new words. When you introduce a new word,
articulate clearly. Say the word again as you write it on the chalk-
board or point to it on a classroom chart. Instruct students to repeat
it chorally and add the word, as well as an example of its use, to a
classroom word wall. Information on word walls and other ap-
proaches to vocabulary development are included in Chapter 12.
4. Recycle new words by reintroducing them in a new setting or use
recently learned words to introduce or expand a concept. To inter-
nalize the meaning of new words, students need to hear and use the
words several times in highly supported contexts.
5. Print, rather than write. Remember that cursive script may be espe-
cially difficult for students who are not familiar with the Roman
alphabet.
6. Provide plenty of concrete and visual support, such as models, toys,
math manipulatives, pictures, charts, flash cards, vocabulary lists,
posters, and banners. Demonstrate and provide hands-on activities.
7. Use key visuals to present key concepts. Key visuals are teacher-devel-
oped graphic organizers such as T-charts, Venn diagrams, flow
charts, concept maps, and timelines. Key visuals lower the language
barrier, enabling students to see relationships among ideas and to
develop thinking skills, such as classifying, connecting cause and
effect, following sequence, and comparing or contrasting informa-
tion. More detailed information on key visuals and their use is
included in Chapter 12.
• Note specific, habitual errors so that you can provide direct instruction
later. Unless all the students in the class share the same problem,
however, it’s often best deal with errors privately or with a small
group.
• Enlist the support of the more proficient English speakers in the class by
emphasizing that every lesson is a language lesson as well as a les-
son in science, music, mathematics, or another subject. Explain to
the class some of the factors involved in learning a second lan-
guage. Suggest that students watch how you deal with the errors
learners make when they are speaking and follow your example
when they interact with one another. Make this an expectation for
classroom behavior.
Focusing on Specific Errors • Focus on a consistent error of a specific type. Some errors may show
that students have either not acquired a particular language pat-
The following stories illustrate how teachers
can help students focus on a single error tern, such as plural endings or subject-verb agreement, or have
rather than overwhelming them by flagging adopted a faulty or incomplete pattern. Many students, for exam-
every mistake. In the first, the teacher has ple, go through a stage of generalizing the regular past tense -ed
focused on possessives; in the second, on the ending and applying it to most verbs. They may write things like,
formation of past tense verbs. “She gived it to me.”
In deciding which errors to focus on, select a language conven-
Method 1 (for beginners)
tion that is comprehensible at the student’s present stage of devel-
In April my sister get marry. We have big party in opment. For example, a student who records in a lab report, “We
my uncle house, it was more than 100 peoples come heat (the) water,” “We hot (the) water,” or “Water hot” is not ready
there. for a lesson on passive verbs (“The water was heated”). Still, he has
My sister name Deepa and her new husband successfully communicated one step in the scientific process.
name Hari. Hari have two sister, 14 and 16, I like In responding to students’ written work, focus your attention on
Hari sister. Hari make good joke, I like him too. the target error only and ignore the others. Doing this can be diffi-
Hari family in Hamilton so my sister leave home cult at first, because a teacher’s instinct is often to “fix” things.
to live in Hamilton. I miss my sister but she call me
• Select common errors as the language feature of the week and flag them
every day. Last weekend I go my sister house in
for explicit instruction and practice. Post a chart of examples on the
Hamilton. I go on bus. classroom wall for reference. Encourage students to edit their own
work carefully, paying special attention to the featured structure.
Method 2 (for more proficient learners) Recognize that students may need repeated instruction and prac-
Yesterday we went on field trip to museum. This tice over a period of months or years to acquire some patterns.
* was first time I ever visit museum in Canada. We
* saw dinosaurs who live million of years ago. There • Don’t correct students’ errors for them! Learners learn little when
are not any dinosaur in the world now, because others correct their work. It is more beneficial if they make the
they all died in Ice Age. Dinosaurs are extinct. I corrections themselves. When reviewing students’ writing, select a
saw one movie about dinosaurs that came back to specific error and flag it every time it occurs. With beginning
students, underline the error, as illustrated. With more proficient
life, it was Jurassic Park, I hope that never really
students, place an asterisk or other symbol in the margin next to
will happen. It was beautiful day and we had the line in which the error occurs.
* launch outside, I very enjoy our trip to museum. Hold a conference with individual students or teach a mini-
lesson to a group, giving explicit instruction about the specific lan-
guage feature you flagged. Older students may be able to
understand written explanations. At the end of the conference or
mini-lesson, encourage students to return to their piece of writing,
find the errors you marked, and correct them using what they have
learned about the language feature.
• Establish class guidelines for using languages other than English. Hold
an open discussion and encourage students to establish guidelines
about when it is — and is not — appropriate to use their first lan-
guage. Encourage students to share their perspectives by asking
questions like, “How does it feel to be shut out of a conversation?”
and “How does it feel to try to express yourself in English when
you are still learning the language?”
• Encourage students to write first drafts and outlines in their own lan-
guage. Many students are able to produce work of a much higher
quality if they can do some of the preliminary thinking and plan-
ning in their own language.
Cooperative Learning
Many experts recommend organizing cooperative learning groups to
provide opportunities for English language learners to practice using
English and to receive feedback that promotes language acquisition. In
addition, evidence suggests that students from some cultural back-
grounds may be more comfortable in a classroom that balances
collaboration with more traditional competitive activities and
GROUP BRAINSTORMING
Use group brainstorming to generate ideas. Establish guidelines before-
hand (e.g., all ideas are accepted without judgment; there is no
commitment to a particular idea; and everyone has the right to pass). To
encourage groups to work collaboratively, give each just one large sheet
of chart paper and one marker.
Students might, for example, brainstorm to create a KWL (What We
Know—What We Want to Know—What We Learned) chart to activate
their previous knowledge in preparation for starting a new topic or
reading or for generating ideas for projects. At the end of the unit or pro-
ject, instruct group members to revisit their chart to check which
statements in the Know column should be revised and which questions
in the Want to Know column they can now answer. Then tell them to fill
in the Learned column.
The chart following was created in preparation for a social studies
unit on the Middle Ages.
Medieval Times
GROUP REHEARSAL
Similar to think-pair-share, this activity is completed in a larger group
and is an effective way of rehearsing vocabulary and expressing key
ideas.
Begin by posing a question to the class (e.g., What does adjacent
mean?). Give students time to confer briefly, then call on one or two to
share their ideas.
These students are sharing their answers to
a think-pair-share question. THREE-STEP INTERVIEW
The three-step interview enables students to discuss ideas with a part-
ner before speaking in a larger group or before the whole class.
• Step 1: Students form pairs, and one interviews the other, asking
questions about a topic (e.g., Is it more important to spend money
on building new roads for cars or on improving public transit?).
Encourage the interviewers to ask follow-up questions and probe
for details or explanations.
LEARNING TEAMS
Learning teams require students to work together to review or apply
new concepts, ensuring that everyone on the team understands. This
activity works well for rehearsing tests or assignments and prepares
students to write a similar test or complete a similar assignment on their
own. After presenting new material, for example, you might instruct the
learning teams to discuss a review or extension question.
Learning teams also work well with problem-solving activities.
Group problem solving in mathematics, for example, helps students
practice using mathematical language and basic vocabulary.
• Assign a math problem to each learning team. The groups might
work on the same problem or several different ones.
• Explain that everyone on the team is responsible for ensuring that
all group members understand and are able to explain a solution.
The goal is to be able to say, “We all understand it now.”
• Tell team members to begin by making sure that everyone under-
stands all the words in the problem. Then instruct students to discuss
the problem and try out various solutions until they agree on one.
Finally, tell them to help one another rehearse the explanation because
you may call on any one of them to present the team’s solution.
• When you check solutions, do not ask for volunteers; select
students at random. Reduce stress by encouraging other group
These students are supporting one members to come to the aid of a student who gets stuck. This is
another’s learning by reviewing key learning opportunity, not a test. You might also try pairing a
concepts and vocabulary together. beginning language learner with a bilingual student to help
explain the solution in English.
CO O P E R ATI VE PR O J E CTS
Cooperative projects provide opportunities for students to become
experts on different topics or subtopics and to make a unique contribu-
tion to the class. Though this method is especially suitable for
end-of-course assignments and independent-study projects, students
Step 3: Base Groups need plenty of experience with projects and teacher-directed group
Sharing information work before attempting a cooperative project.
Synthesis/application • Identify a general topic or issue for investigation (e.g., Are our
Reporting to the class
country’s natural resources in danger?) and work with students to
brainstorm a list of subtopics like those shown on the following
page:
• Encourage students to make suggestions for refining and catego-
rizing the questions. Use the questions to create a concept map
showing the organization of the projects.
• Divide the class into groups to explore the subtopics. Rather than
assigning students to specific groups, you might encourage them
to join groups on the basis of their interest in the subtopic. If a
group is too large, students can discuss how to subdivide it further
to create smaller groups.
• Students meet in their groups to identify tasks for each group
member. They may need to conduct preliminary research to find
out what their subtopic involves.
• Organize a steering committee with a representative from each
group. This group meets with you regularly to coordinate tasks
and timelines.
• With your assistance as required, students conduct research, using
the library, interviews and surveys, visual media, Internet
resources, and so on. For suggestions on helping students with
research projects, see Chapter 12.
• Students synthesize their information and prepare a group
presentation.
• Each group presents its information to the whole class. Ensure that
the rest of the class takes notes on the presentation or instruct the
groups to prepare a handout on their presentation.
Cooperative projects can also be used to investigate issues that have
arisen within the school, such as whether the school should organize a
Christmas concert or whether students should be required to wear uni-
forms. Teams of students can gather information on various aspects of
the issue and make recommendations. One team might interview par-
ents, for example, while another interviews students, another teachers,
and another school administrators.
• Establish clear routines and expectations for group work. Know what
every group is doing at all times and establish a routine for getting
students’ attention quickly (e.g., a small bell, a tambourine, or
three handclaps) so that you can give additional instructions or
information, solicit feedback, and check on progress. In addition,
establish routines to deal with matters such as student attendance
or absence, distributing resources, collecting homework, and set-
ting up the classroom. Every day, or every week if groups will be
working together for some time, instruct each group to delegate a
different member to fetch and distribute materials and equipment,
collect and hand in homework, and so on. This person might also
be responsible for checking that all group members have com-
pleted homework, have brought in required materials, and are
prepared for class.
Give instructions once only and say, “Now make sure everyone
in your group knows what to do.” This should result in a short,
concentrated buzz of repetition and confirmation. Use the same
technique at the end of class to review homework instructions.
Provide clear timelines for completing tasks. If a task is expected to
take five minutes, warn the class when one minute is left.
Always place an extra chair at every table. You can use this when
you visit the groups, or it can be used by other students when they
are acting as consultants or interviewers.
Functional Language
The goal of second language learners is to be able to use the language as
richly and as flexibly as their English-speaking peers. To do this, how-
ever, they must start by learning the language of daily life: survival
expressions, basic vocabulary, and simple script.
Survival Expressions
Some Essential Survival Expressions Newly arrived students must acquire some essential phrases to begin
May I go to the washroom? Yes, you may. communicating in the classroom and finding their way around their
What’s your name? My name is … new environment. At first, they may learn these survival expressions as
chunks, with little or no understanding of the individual words.
Where do you come from? I come from …
Teach these expressions by modeling, using actions or pictures to
What language do you speak? I speak …
support the meaning, and by involving students in repetition, choral
What time does school start? At …
practice, and simple role plays. With younger children, using puppets is
What’s this? It’s a … effective. Focus on whole expressions and short exchanges that students
How old are you? I am … can use immediately.
I don’t understand.
Please say it again.
Basic Vocabulary
Will you help me?
Please, thank you, you’re welcome. Teach the basic, functional vocabulary needed for daily use and class-
room work. Because words that are not reinforced in the natural
language environment will not be remembered, select words that stu-
dents will hear others using and will use themselves. Beginners need to
learn the names of classroom objects, places in the school, and the
names and job titles of the people with whom they interact. They also
need to learn simple words relating to food, body parts, clothing, ani-
mals, and physical actions.
As soon as learners can identify some of these words orally, they can
learn to read them. Label classroom objects and pictures and point to the
words as you say them, then ask students to repeat the words after you.
You can also print the words on index cards and ask students to match
them with objects and pictures.
You can also encourage students to make their own picture dictio-
naries, devoting a page or two to words relating to particular topics,
such as classroom furniture, clothing, weather, sports, and so on, as well
as specific curriculum areas, such as music and mathematics.
Simple Script
The first languages of many newcomers do not use the Roman alphabet.
As a result, these students may not even be familiar with the direction of
print in English and need to learn to recognize the letters, say their
names, and use alphabetical order.
Beginners need to learn basic subject For most beginners, writing will consist mostly of copying familiar
vocabulary right away. words and labeling pictures. Students who are new to the Roman alpha-
bet will need explicit instruction on where to start and end a letter. Do
not expect beginners to read or write cursive script, no matter how old
Visual Support
Pictures, manipulatives, and physical objects are part of every language
teacher’s basic toolkit.
Pictures
Magazines, catalogues, supermarket flyers, and other advertising mate-
rials are good sources of photographs and drawings. Clip art packages
are a useful source of visual material. Organize these pictures into cate-
gories, such as food, clothing, furniture, school, home, sports, and so on.
Be sure your collection includes pictures of people of various ethno-
cultural backgrounds and both genders in various roles and contexts.
You might also take photographs of students as they take part in
activities such as a field trip, a physical education class, or eating lunch
in the cafeteria. These pictures can then be used to prompt oral retelling,
as well as writing captions and speech balloons.
Picture dictionaries are especially useful for beginners because they
present vocabulary through photographs or drawings that are orga-
nized by category or theme (e.g., school, home, and travel) rather than
in alphabetical order. Give a page from the picture dictionary to the stu-
dent and a volunteer, a classroom peer, or a cross-grade tutor, and
instruct the helper to ensure that the language learner knows a specific
set of words (i.e., can point to the pictures, say the words, read the
words, and copy or write them) by the end of a specified period. Some
picture dictionaries are available in bilingual versions.
Physical Activity
The Total Physical Response approach helps beginning language learn-
ers feel comfortable as they begin to recognize and respond to their first
English words, which relate to everyday physical actions. Students
demonstrate their understanding by following oral instructions, but
they are not required to speak until they are ready.
• Bingo games are easy to create and help students develop a sight
vocabulary of words that they immediately recognize in print. You
might, for example, create a bingo game using a list of 20 classroom
objects. Give each student a card with a different set of 12 words
printed in three columns of four rows each. Acting as the caller,
point to real objects or pictures or say the word as the students use
counters to cover the word if they find it on their card. Alterna-
tively, the card can show pictures, which students can cover as you
say the word. Students can also take turns being the caller.
Bailey, K., and L. Savage, eds. New Ways in Teaching Speaking. Alexandria, Va.:
TESOL Publications, 1994.
Collection of dialogues, role plays, games, and other activities that promote
oral fluency.
Picture Dictionaries
Various publishers produce picture dictionaries and support materials such as
workbooks, audiocassettes, posters, and teacher’s guides. The two listed below
are staples in ESL classrooms.
Graded Readers
These publishers offer graded or leveled readers suitable for English language
learners.
215
12 Integrating Language
and Content Instruction
What is CALP? Most English language learners spend most of the school day in main-
CALP (Cognitive Academic Language stream classrooms, attempting to keep up with their peers at the same
Proficiency) consists of the ability to: time as they learn the language of instruction. In schools where there are
small numbers of English language learners, ESL support may be lim-
• understand and use many low-frequency
Latin-based words. For example, students ited, and even beginners may spend most of — or all — the school day
know “reside” as well as “live,” and know in a mainstream classroom.
when each is appropriate. They also know Whether you are teaching language learning in a mainstream class-
the various forms of words and how to room or an ESL class, it is important to ensure that the classroom
use them, such as “reside,” “resident,” environment supports language learning. This means that it is neces-
“residential,” etc.;
• understand and use figurative expressions sary to design special activities for beginners, as suggested in Chapter
and imagery such as “run that by me 10. It is also necessary to provide long-term support for English lan-
again,” “hard-hearted,” or “as cold as guage learners, often for several years after they have “graduated”
steel;” from an ESL program. This is because it typically takes at least five
• read textbooks at the appropriate grade years for learners to develop the cognitive academic language profi-
level, given the same level of teacher
support and guidance as their ciency (CALP) required to deal successfully with the mainstream
English-speaking peers; curriculum.
• write in a variety of forms and for various The strategies described in this chapter are designed to help teachers
purposes and audiences, using discourse at all grade levels and in all subject areas provide the support necessary
features such as transition words and for English language learners to participate successfully in the program
paragraph structure at a level similar to
that of their English speaking age peers; at the same time as they develop their English skills. Many of the strate-
• understand and use a wide variety of gies also enhance the learning of English-speaking students. The
grammatical forms and sentence patterns, strategies include
including various verb forms, passive
verbs, and complex sentence patterns • key visuals
using reference words, embedding and • guided reading
subordination. • integrated vocabulary instruction
• integrated grammar instruction
• writing scaffolds
• journals
• the writing process
• guided projects
• integrating the arts
• alternative resource material
Key Visuals
Key visuals are content-specific graphic organizers, such as concept
maps, T-charts, Venn diagrams, flow charts, story maps, timelines, and
decision trees. They are graphic representations of relationships among
key ideas in a particular text, lesson, or unit of work.
Canadians at
??? war in Europe
1914 1918
Supporting the
How Canada war at home The end of the After the war
became The political war
involved situation at
in the war home
Similar or Different?
Comparing Canada with Another Country
Canada
Climate temperate
colder in the north
Oceans Arctic, Pacific
Lakes and rivers Great Lakes
Mountains
Islands Vancouver Island
Resources and
products
Similarities
Differences
Guided Reading
Most instructional text is beyond the independent reading level of En-
glish language learners — and of many English-speaking students as
well. The support of a teacher is required to help them manage the text.
From Kindergarten through secondary school, it is important for all
teachers to guide students through texts, demonstrating effective read-
ing strategies and focusing on specific aspects of the text, such as
organization, visual material, and vocabulary. This kind of
teacher-directed intensive reading, often known as guided reading,
helps all students develop strategies that they can use independently to
Guided reading enables students to draw read challenging texts. In the case of English language learners, the sup-
meaning from text that is beyond their port provided by guided reading may make the difference between
independent reading level. frustration and success.
Before Reading
The following strategies help students activate their previous knowl-
edge and develop background for a new topic.
• Create a KWL chart like the following by brainstorming with the
class or groups.
• Relate what students already know about the topic to the information in
the text. Some students, for example, have knowledge of govern-
ment structures in other countries, and this knowledge helps them
understand text that deals with government in their new country.
• Guide the students in a survey of the text so that they are familiar with
the organization, content, and helpful features before they start
reading. Direct their attention to features such as the table of con-
tents, chapter introductions, chapter headings and subheadings,
highlighted words, notes and supplementary information that
may be included in text boxes or margins, end-of-chapter summa-
ries and questions, the glossary and index, and visual material,
such as maps, graphs, charts, diagrams, and photographs. Though
proficient readers use these features to navigate text and get a
sense of the content, many English language learners are so anx-
ious about their comprehension that they bypass this step, plung-
ing into a word-by-word reading, with little sense of the overall
topic or purpose. After guiding students through this preview,
encourage them to discuss with the class, a group, or a partner
what they expect to find out by reading the assigned passage.
• Teach some key words that will help students understand the mate-
rial. Don’t teach all the new words, however, because during the
reading, you will demonstrate how to use various strategies to
understand unfamiliar words.
During Reading
Should Students Read Aloud? Proficient readers read different material in different ways, according to
Reading unfamiliar material aloud is their purpose for reading. They may, for example, skim a chapter to get
especially difficult for English language the general idea, then return to read specific sections in more detail.
learners, who often concentrate more on
pronunciation than on comprehension and • Chunk the text into manageable sections. Numbering the para-
may be so anxious about their performance graphs can be helpful for quick reference.
that they are able to draw little or no
meaning from a passage. • Provide a pre-reading question related to the main idea of each chunk
Asking students to read aloud is useful
of text. As students become more proficient readers, encourage
when students are familiar with the material
and when the focus is not on comprehension them to begin asking themselves questions as they read.
but on some other aspect of performance,
such as locating and identifying specific • Instruct students to read silently, skimming to find the main idea of
information, producing the stress and the passage or section.
intonation patterns of English, or giving a
dramatic interpretation.
It is best to invite students to read aloud • Read some sections aloud to students. This will model pronunciation
during the after-reading stage of the guided and help students develop a feel for the rhythm and intonation of
reading process. English sentences.
• Stop after students have finished reading each section to ensure that
they have identified the main idea and to deal with their questions.
After Reading
This stage of the process helps students review a passage, reinforce their
understanding, and check their knowledge of new words. Many of
these strategies can be rehearsed first in groups.
• Encourage students to re-read specific sections by asking questions
that require them to return to the passage to find details that exem-
plify, support, or clarify the main idea, concept, or principle.
• Invite students to read some passages aloud. You might, for example,
instruct them to find the most important sentence in each para-
graph and be prepared to read it aloud and explain why it is
important.
• Encourage students to form opinions about what they have read. They
may engage in small group discussions or write a personal journal
response (see “Journals” later in this chapter).
form form formal inform form = shape This book has a lot of
formation reform information about rock
deform formations in various
locations.
Affixes
-s plural resources
CONTEXT
Use a think-aloud approach to demonstrate how to recognize help
when it is provided in the text and how to decide whether it is really
necessary to know the meaning of a specific word or group of words to
understand the point of a sentence or paragraph.
In the following passage about birds, for example, the underlined
words and phrases may pose challenges for language learners. If you
read the passage with students, think aloud to demonstrate various
reading strategies, as in the example below.
VOCABULARY NOTEBOOKS
Encourage students to keep vocabulary notebooks. To remember a
word, students might copy the sentence in which the word occurred,
write a translation (if they are familiar with the concept in their own lan-
guage), or draw a diagram. A typical notebook page might look like the
one shown on the following page.
Don’t worry about teaching every unfamiliar word. Encourage stu-
dents to skip words whose meaning they can guess at or understand in
a general way. If a word is unlikely to recur, it doesn’t matter if students
have only a general understanding of its meaning. If a word is really
important, it will recur, and students’ understanding of its meaning will
increase with each encounter.
Be careful. The common vocabulary-practice activities may not be as
helpful as you might wish.
Recurring Patterns
Look for a recurring pattern in a text or a lesson. Some patterns, such as
the following, occur over and over again in various academic contexts.
• Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives (e.g., greater than,
fewer than, and the highest) occur regularly in mathematics and
when interpreting graphs and charts.
• Past-tense verb forms appear in narrative fiction, history, and the
retelling of personal experiences.
• The simple present tense and subject-verb agreement are required
in many contexts, such as listing components (e.g., Each molecule
of water consists of one atom of oxygen and two of hydrogen),
describing (e.g., An isosceles triangle has two sides of equal
length), and retelling stories (e.g., Romeo falls in love with Juliet at
first sight).
Language Feature of the Week • The passive voice is used to describe processes or results (e.g., sci-
No matter what subject or grade level you ence experiments: The water was heated; and agricultural or indus-
teach, you can help all students become trial processes: The logs are transported).
more aware of how English works by
focusing on a language feature of the week. To focus students’ attention on a specific pattern, make a transparency
This focus need not be restricted to of a page that includes several occurrences of the feature. You might, for
grammatical structures. You might also example, highlight the passive verbs in a model lab report or in a text-
focus on other aspects of language, such as a book description of a process, such as the formation of rocks. Explain
specific word root or affix, or connectives. In
all cases, the feature should be drawn from that the passive voice is often used to describe how something is made,
the context of the lessons you are teaching grown, and formed, and is especially important in science. Ask students
that week. to identify additional examples of this structure in the text.
Writing Scaffolds
In teaching and learning, scaffolds are the supports that teachers and
more proficient peers provide to help learners achieve a higher level of
This cloze passage provides performance than they can manage on their own. Writing scaffolds are
practice in using passive verbs, temporary frameworks that enable learners of English to use new
which are commonly used to words and phrases, practice specific grammar patterns, and produce
describe procedures and processes,
especially in science: sentences, paragraphs, and various forms of writing of a quality that
they would be unable to produce without help. As language learners
To find the volume of a solid by become more proficient, they need less and less support.
using an overflow can and a Cloze, sentence combining, sentence completion, paragraph frames,
graduated cylinder: and composition templates are writing scaffolds that help students
1. The spout of the can was move from highly supported activities to activities that provide less
covered with a finger. support.
2. The overflow can
_____________ above the level
of the spout. Cloze Activities
3. The can ____________ on a level
surface and the water above the The cloze technique can be adapted to focus attention on and help stu-
spout ____________ out. dents practice using specific language features. Create cloze passages
4. The object _______________ into that summarize or paraphrase the content of a reading or lesson, delet-
the water, and the water that ing the feature you want students to practice.
overflows ________________ in Cloze passages can appear deceptively simple. The example on the
the graduated cylinder.
5. The volume of water in the next page is from a science lesson. It is challenging for English language
cylinder ______________ by learners, because they must choose from among various forms of a
reading the graduated cylinder. word and because they may need to manipulate some grammatical
endings.
This book is very ______________. I learned a lot about rocks. For example,
I learned that the Niagara Escarpment is a famous rock _____________ in
Ontario. There are many other interesting rock ______________ in differ-
ent _______________ in Ontario, across Canada, and around the world.
The first people ________ in Africa more than three million years ago.
Their brains _______ bigger than the brains of apes, and they _________
upright. They_______ fruits, roots, and berries for their food.
During the next three million years, humans _______ to make tools
and weapons. They ________ animals for their meat and their skins.
They ______ to use fire. About 6,000 years ago, people _______ to live in
settled communities. They ______ the land and ______ animals.
Sentence-Combining Activities
Sentence-combining activities help students begin working with longer
sentences. The following example requires students to retell events in a
story by choosing appropriate conjunctions to link parts of sentences.
Similar activities can be created to focus on connectives that signal cause
and effect, sequence, and so on.
Sentence-Completion Activities
Sentence-completion activities provide a framework that helps students
construct sentences of various types. The following example, based on
the content of an elementary science lesson, focuses on cause and effect.
Composition Templates
Similar to paragraph frames, composition templates are used to help
students write longer pieces of two or more connected paragraphs. Start
by providing examples of the form of writing (see Chapter 7) you want
students to produce (e.g., a recounting, an explanation, or an exposi-
tion). Then model the process on the chalkboard or chart paper,
thinking aloud as students watch and listen. You may also invite them
to contribute ideas. Then provide a template to guide students as they
produce their own extended pieces of writing.
A template like the following can be used for writing a simple exposi-
tion that argues a point of view.
Journals
Increasingly, teachers in all subject areas are encouraging students to
keep journals. Journals encourage students to think aloud on paper,
express their feelings and opinions, ask questions, and reflect on their
learning in a personal way. Journal responses are usually more
thoughtful if the students have first had an opportunity to discuss the
information and ideas in small groups.
Journals may also help students prepare for other writing assign-
ments. Journals are seldom marked or graded, although students may
choose to revise and polish an entry for publication or evaluation (see
“The Writing Process” later in this chapter). Teachers may also use the
journals to note specific language difficulties that can become the focus
of instruction at another time.
Various formats can be used for journal writing. Response journals,
learning logs, and dialogue journals are especially useful and can be
adapted for use in various subject areas.
Learning Logs
Learning logs are used to review a lesson or learning activity. For exam-
ple, students might write their own explanations of a new concept or
describe how they solved a problem. Students can also use learning logs
to record their progress on major assignments, such as research projects
or group presentations. Learning logs have become increasingly impor-
tant even in subjects such as mathematics, in which writing has
traditionally received little attention.
Learning logs help develop metacognitive skills by encouraging stu-
dents to express their thoughts in writing and reflect on and make plans
for their own learning. Teachers can use learning logs to gain insights
Write about Today’s Lesson into students’ thinking about and understanding of new concepts, as
What did you learn?
well as their attitudes toward a subject and their individual learning
styles. Learning logs can also provide teachers with valuable insights
What was the best part of the lesson? into their own teaching.
What suggestions do you have for the As with other kinds of writing, it is helpful to model the process and
teacher? provide prompts or templates like those shown in the margin to help
students get started.
Dialogue Journals
Students use dialogue journals to write directly and privately to a spe-
cific reader, who writes back. Students may use this kind of journal for a
variety of real purposes, such as asking questions about an aspect of a
lesson, sharing personal information, and offering opinions.
Because responding to dialogue journals is time-consuming, it’s a
good idea to enlist the help of others, whether this is a student in
another grade or even someone who doesn’t know the writer. Some
teachers set up secret friend or secret correspondent partnerships. The
partners may be introduced to each other at the end of the year.
A respondent who can write in a student’s first language can be espe-
cially helpful to beginning learners of English. Responses should be
thoughtful, personal, and non-evaluative, designed to stimulate think-
ing and provide models of language use. The respondent may notice
specific errors in a student’s writing and provide supportive feedback
in the response by modeling and underlining the appropriate grammat-
ical form or word choice. By using appropriate synonyms and
antonyms, the responses may also help expand a student’s vocabulary
and repertoire of ways of saying the same thing. For resources on using
dialogue journals with English language learners, see “To Learn More
…” at the end of this chapter.
Purposeful Writing
The writing process involves students in real writing tasks, or simula-
tions, with a specific purpose and audience in mind. This means that,
from the beginning, learners must think about how to communicate
effectively.
Students need to be involved in a variety of writing tasks, from short,
informal pieces to highly structured compositions completed with the
careful guidance of the teacher. Students may, for example, write letters,
personal and fictional narratives, poems, memos, notes, instructions,
response journals, dialogue journals, and learning logs, as well as more
traditional assignments such as lab reports, summaries, research projects,
and essays. In every case, the quality of students’ writing will be higher if
they see examples of the required form before they start.
The following are examples of non-traditional writing assignments
that involve students in writing for a variety of audiences and purposes.
Mathematics
In your textbook, look at some word problems about sports. Then work
with a partner to write a word problem about a sport that you know well.
Your problem should involve ratio, averages, or percentages. Include an
explanation of the sport’s rules that a person must know to solve the
problem.
You can write your problem in two languages. Other students in the class
will solve your problem.
History
You are a 19th-century Chinese worker building the railway. Write a letter
home describing the work, the working conditions, and the way your
co-workers and bosses treat you. Write about your wishes and dreams for
the future, and ask about your family.
History
Look at the photographs of the Depression in the textbook. Write a
descriptive piece based on one of the photographs, from the point of view
of either an observer or one of the people in the picture. Include what you
see and what you feel.
Biology
Write and illustrate a children’s book about one of the systems, such as the
reproductive system or digestive system) that we have studied in human
biology. Your book should help children become aware of their own
Geography
Choose one of the regions we have studied this term and write an adver-
tisement encouraging people to live there, to locate a new industry there,
or to go on holiday there. Create an English version and a version for a
community newspaper in another language.
REVISING
This stage enables students to test their ideas on an audience, which
may be a writing partner, a group of peers, or the teacher. Explain that
the focus is on the overall meaning of the piece and the development of
the ideas rather than details, such as spelling and grammar. These will
be dealt with at the next stage.
Use questions like the following to create a checklist to help students
respond to one another’s work and analyze their own.
• Does the piece follow the model or template?
• Is the content relevant and interesting?
• Is the piece organized effectively in paragraphs or under appropri-
ate headings?
• Do ideas need more development?
• Are more details or examples needed?
• Could more interesting or sophisticated vocabulary express the
ideas more powerfully?
• Do appropriate connecting words link sentences and paragraphs?
After receiving this feedback, the writer considers the suggested
changes and incorporates some of them into a second draft.
E DI TI N G
The editing stage involves checking surface features, such as grammar,
spelling, and punctuation. Teach students how to use the spellcheck
feature of the word processing program they are using — but warn
them that computer checkers are never perfect and that they must also
use their own judgment. Students learn a great deal about English spell-
ing patterns and idiosyncrasies when their spelling errors are flagged
and alternatives are offered. Include peer-editing sessions and student-
teacher conferences as part of this process.
Focus on specific kinds of language errors and demonstrate some of
the rules and patterns of English to students who have not yet fully
acquired them. Resist the temptation to point out every error, however.
Focus instead on recurring patterns. Identify and explain the pattern or
rule so that the student can make the corrections (see Chapter 10). Stu-
dents then return to the second draft and edit to produce the final copy.
At this stage, they may also work on the layout and illustrations.
S H ARI N G TH E F I N AL P R O DU CT
At this stage, which is sometimes called publishing, students’ writing
may be shared in many ways. It may be displayed in or outside the
classroom, included in an anthology of class writing, presented to the
teacher for formal evaluation, or sent to the appropriate audience, such
This girl is sharing a book she created. as the school principal or a newspaper.
Guided Projects
In North American classrooms, group or individual research projects are
valuable learning activities. Students who have begun their education in
other countries, however, may be very uncomfortable when the teacher
does not direct and monitor every step of the learning process. Their par-
ents, too, may feel less able to help their children than those who have the
time, resources, and educational background to understand what is
involved when their children are assigned projects. Those who are not
comfortable speaking English may feel even less able to help.
When students do not understand the nature of the task or do not
have the necessary resources, the quality of the product may be disap-
pointing. Students may produce projects that are poorly organized and
contain material that has been copied directly from a source, a practice
that is valued in school systems where learning from the masters is
emphasized.
To help all students produce successful projects, teachers need to
provide guidance and support in class. It is important to introduce pro-
jects in a structured way and review the process every time you assign a
project. Be ready to give direct, individual instruction to students who
are less experienced in project work, and ensure that your expectations
are realistic. If learning how to find information is an important out-
come, for example, the volume of information is not tremendously
important. To demonstrate that they have met this expectation at a level
appropriate to their stage of proficiency in English, beginners might
start by finding and reporting five relevant facts. More advanced stu-
dents might be expected to write a longer and more detailed report.
The following approach helps increase students’ confidence and
improves their results.
• Explain why projects are valuable. Students and parents need to hear
what the benefits are. Keep examples of projects on hand to show
students — and their parents.
• Help students choose a topic. Faced with choosing a topic for the first
time, many students will be unable to choose or may choose a safe
topic that does not motivate them to learn anything new. Strategies
such as brainstorming help students see the diversity of choices and
how choices relate to one another. Remember that brainstorming in
Planning
• Send home a short description of the project and its pedagogical pur-
pose. Remember that not all parents read English. If parental
involvement is expected, this expectation should be realistic and
specific, taking into account the language of the home, the time
available, and parents’ experience with this kind of activity.
• Encourage students to explore topics relevant to their own lives and expe-
riences so that they can obtain information from parents and com-
munity sources. Encourage interviews as a method of collecting
data, as these can be conducted in any language. You might also
suggest that part of — or all — the project be presented in two
languages.
• Help students organize existing knowledge and figure out where research
is needed by developing pre-writing charts or outlines. A KWL
chart can help them get started, for example, and a concept map
can help them categorize or sequence ideas.
• Review the process and the skills involved in projects every time you
assign one. Remember that newcomers arrive at every grade level
and at all times of the year. You may need to provide individual
instruction to newcomers.
Visual Art
Many second language learners are able to communicate in pictures
what they are not yet able to communicate in English. Creating
artworks also provides meaningful opportunities for language learning
as students talk to peers or the teacher about their drawing, painting, or
sculpture. Students may be able to show their understanding of con-
cepts, such as the water cycle, by producing an illustrated chart, and
with the help of a peer tutor, may be able to add English labels or cap-
tions and learn key words.
Artwork can also help students express intensely personal feelings.
Students who cannot describe in English their favorite place or person,
To demonstrate their understanding of for example, or their dreams for the future may be able to depict these
concepts, students can draw pictures like ideas through art. Sometimes, students’ artwork reflects traumatic or
these. stressful experiences in their lives. The works of refugee children may
0 Years 5+ years
No knowledge Proficient to the level
of English of a native speaker
of the same age or grade
1 2 3 4 5 6
Speaking Begins to name Begins to Begins to initiate Initiates and sustains a Speaks in social and Communicates
concrete objects. communicate conversation; retells a conversation with classroom settings with competently in
personal and story or experience; descriptors and sustained and social and
survival needs. asks and responds to details; exhibits connected discourse; classroom settings.
simple questions. self-confidence in any errors do not
social situations; interfere with meaning.
begins to communicate
in classroom settings.
Fluency Repeats words Speaks in Speaks hesitantly Speaks with occasional Speaks with Speaks fluently.
and phrases. single-word because of rephrasing hesitation. near-native fluency;
utterances and and searching for any hesitations do not
short patterns. words. interfere with
communication.
Structure Uses predominantly Uses some complex Uses a variety of Masters a variety of
present tense verbs; sentences; applies structures with grammatical
demonstrates errors of rules of grammar but occasional grammatical structures.
omission (leaves lacks control of errors.
words out, word irregular forms (e.g.,
13
Vocabulary Uses functional Uses limited Uses adequate Uses varied Uses extensive
vocabulary. vocabulary. vocabulary; some vocabulary. vocabulary but may
word-usage lag behind
irregularities. native-speaking
peers.
A1 A2 B1
Listening I can recognise familiar I can understand phrases I can understand the main
words and very basic and the highest frequency points of clear standard
phrases concerning vocabulary related to areas speech on familiar matters
myself, my family and of most immediate personal regularly encountered in
U immediate concrete relevance (e.g. very basic work, school, leisure, etc. I
N surroundings when personal and family can understand the main
D people speak slowly information, shopping, point of many radio or TV
E and clearly. local area, employment). programmes on current
R I can catch the main point in affairs or topics of personal
S short, clear, simple messages or professional interest when
T and announcements. the delivery is relatively slow
A and clear.
N
Reading I can understand I can read very short, simple I can understand texts that
D
familiar names, words texts. I can find specific, consist mainly of high
I
and very simple predictable information in frequency everyday or job-
N
sentences, for example simple everyday material related language. I can
G
on notices and posters such as advertisements, understand the description of
or in catalogues. prospectuses, menus and events, feelings and wishes in
timetables and I can personal letters.
understand short simple
personal letters.
Spoken I can interact in a simple I can communicate in simple I can deal with most situations
Interaction way provided the other and routine tasks requiring a likely to arise whilst travelling
person is prepared to simple and direct exchange of in an area where the language
repeat or rephrase things information on familiar topics is spoken. I can enter
at a slower rate of speech and activities. I can handle unprepared into conversation
and help me formulate very short social exchanges, on topics that are familiar, of
S what I’m trying to say. I even though I can’t usually personal interest or pertinent
P can ask and answer simple understand enough to keep to everyday life (e.g. family,
E questions in areas of the conversation going myself. hobbies, work, travel and
A immediate need or on current events).
K very familiar topics.
I Spoken I can use simple phrases I can use a series of phrases I can connect phrases in a
N Production and sentences to describe and sentences to describe in simple way in order to describe
G where I live and people I simple terms my family and experiences and events, my
know. other people, living dreams, hopes and ambitions.
conditions, my educational I can briefly give reasons and
background and my present explanations for opinions and
or most recent job. plans. I can narrate a story or
relate the plot of a book or
film and describe my reactions.
Writing I can write a short, simple I can write short, simple notes I can write simple connected
postcard, for example and messages relating to text on topics which are
W
sending holiday greetings. matters in areas of immediate familiar or of personal interest.
R
I can fill in forms with need. I can write a very simple I can write personal letters
I
personal details, for personal letter, for example describing experiences and
T
example entering my thanking someone for impressions.
I
name, nationality and something.
N
address on a hotel
G
registration form.
I can understand extended speech I can understand extended speech I have no difficulty in understanding
and lectures and follow even even when it is not clearly any kind of spoken language,
complex lines of argument provided structured and when relationships whether live or broadcast, even when
the topic is reasonably familiar. I are only implied and not signalled delivered at fast native speed,
can understand most TV news and explicitly. I can understand provided I have some time to get
current affairs programmes. I can television programmes and films familiar with the accent.
understand the majority of films in without too much effort.
standard dialect.
I can read articles and reports I can understand long and I can read with ease virtually all
concerned with contemporary complex factual and literary forms of the written language,
problems in which the writers adopt texts, appreciating distinctions of including abstract, structurally or
particular attitudes or viewpoints. I style. I can understand specialised linguistically complex texts such as
can understand contemporary articles and longer technical manuals, specialised articles and
literary prose. instructions, even when they do literary works.
not relate to my field.
I can interact with a degree of I can express myself fluently and I can take part effortlessly in any
fluency and spontaneity that makes spontaneously without much conversation or discussion and have a
regular interaction with native obvious searching for expressions. good familiarity with idiomatic
speakers quite possible. I can take an I can use language flexibly and expressions and colloquialisms. I can
active part in discussion in familiar effectively for social and express myself fluently and convey
contexts, accounting for and professional purposes. I can finer shades of meaning precisely. If I
sustaining my views. formulate ideas and opinions with do have a problem I can backtrack
precision and relate my and restructure around the difficulty
contribution skilfully to those of so smoothly that other people are
other speakers. hardly aware of it.
I can present clear, detailed I can present clear, detailed I can present a clear, smoothly
descriptions on a wide range of descriptions of complex subjects flowing description or argument in a
subjects related to my field of integrating sub-themes, developing style appropriate to the context and
interest. I can explain a viewpoint on particular points and rounding off with an effective logical structure
a topical issue giving the advantages with an appropriate conclusion. which helps the recipient to notice
and disadvantages of various options. and remember significant points.
I can write clear, detailed text on a I can express myself in clear, well- I can write clear, smoothly flowing
wide range of subjects related to my structured text, expressing points text in an appropriate style. I can
interests. I can write an essay or of view at some length. I can write write complex letters, reports or
report, passing on information or about complex subjects in a articles which present a case with an
giving reasons in support of or letter, an essay or a report, effective logical structure which
against a particular point of view. I underlining what I consider to be helps the recipient to notice and
can write letters highlighting the the salient issues. I can select remember significant points. I can
personal significance of events and style appropriate to the reader write summaries and reviews of
experiences. in mind. professional or literary works.
Quadrant A — Beginner
— Students in the beginning stage of acquiring a second language start developing basic interpersonal commu-
nication skills through low-risk activities that are based on content related to their own lives and immediate
needs. The following instructional strategies are essential for beginners (see Chapters 10 and 11):
— comprehensible instruction
— supportive feedback
— strategic use of students’ languages
— cooperative learning
— functional language
— visual support
— copying and labeling
— physical activity
— choral work, songs, and role plays
— experience-based learning
— a rich print environment
— language experience stories
MAXIMUM SCAFFOLDING
— stories on tape
— games and puzzles
Quadrant B — Intermediate
Students beyond the beginning stage can begin working on some tasks in Quadrant B even before they have
completely acquired BICS. Many students who have studied English in their home country are ready to
work on tasks in Quadrant B.
As learning tasks become increasingly demanding, the following strategies and approaches continue to be
important (see Chapter 10):
— comprehensible instruction
— supportive feedback
— strategic use of students’ languages
— cooperative learning
In addition, the following strategies (see Chapter 12) provide scaffolding that enables learners to begin
developing CALP as well as learning strategies that will help them become effective language learners:
Quadrant C
Though tasks in Quadrant C are cognitively undemanding, they may be incomprehensible to many English
language learners. Cognitively undemanding activities are unlikely to advance academic learning, and
incomprehensible or decontextualized activities are unlikely to promote language acquisition.
Examples of Quadrant C activities include the “busy work” that is sometimes given to beginners. These
activities may include coloring pictures that have little relevance to the academic program and copying
notes and other material that students do not understand. Even activities that are intended to be
academically challenging, such as research projects, can become Quadrant C tasks if students do not receive
the necessary guidance and support.
English language learners and native speakers alike should spend relatively little time on Quadrant C
activities!
REDUCED SCAFFOLDING
Quadrant D — Advanced
Students who have achieved high-intermediate proficiency in English after several years of intensive ESL
instruction in their home country or their new country are ready to be challenged by Quadrant D tasks,
which are both cognitively and linguistically demanding. By this time, students’ development in their first
language may have fallen behind, and they must rely completely on English for further learning. Students in
Quadrant D are able to work with the grade-level curriculum expectations and resources, as long as they
continue to receive support, especially when culturally demanding material, such as a history textbook that
assumes that students possess certain background knowledge, is involved. Students who need Quadrant B
instruction in culturally difficult and linguistically demanding subjects, such as social studies, may benefit
from Quadrant D instruction in other subjects, such as mathematics or music, in which they may have
considerable background.
The following strategies continue to be important:
The amount of scaffolding is gradually reduced over a period of two or more years, but should never be
discontinued completely. All students benefit from scaffolded instruction.
262
Curriculum Area: Science and Technology (Ontario) — Earth and Space Systems: Weather
Expectation: Describe the water cycle in terms of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation
Section IV
English Proficiency Quadrant and Level of Support Attainable Expectation
Advanced Quadrant D
(level 5 in a 5-level continuum)
Year 5+
By the end of this stage, students have Students continue to need support for With this level of support, the grade-level
caught up to their age peers in all aspects second language acquisition. curriculum expectation is attainable.
of language performance.
Continued scaffolding enables students to
meet high cognitive demands.
Modifying Curriculum Expectations: Grade 9
Curriculum Area: Canadian Geography (Ontario) — Understanding and Managing Change
Expectation: Use communication skills (e.g., letter writing, debating, consensus building) effectively to promote environmental awareness
13
and strong scaffolding (e.g., choosing from a
confidently in a wide variety of scaffolding for language comprehension
bank of words and phrases provided by the
contexts. and production, as well as a strong
teacher in order to complete a graphic
focus on learning strategies such as
Vocabulary expands by 2,000+ words a organizer showing environmental problems,
inferring word meaning from context.
year, including low-frequency words. causes and solutions; creating a poster
Year 4 integrating graphics and text to promote
environmental awareness).
263
help students display knowledge and demonstrate thinking with-
out being required to produce large amounts of language.
• Phrase questions as simply as possible, avoiding vague terms such
as identify, describe, and discuss. Traditional assignments such as
“Discuss the economic effects of the war” provide insufficient
guidance.
• Focus on content rather than language to assess what a student
knows. Learn to read past the student’s language mistakes and
look for meaning.
• Assess performance by assigning tasks that involve several differ-
ent aptitudes or talents. These may include demonstrations, oral
and written reports, graphic displays, videotapes and audiotapes,
concrete models, and bilingual submissions.
• Avoid multiple-choice and true-or-false questions that involve a
lot of reading, as well as trick questions that depend on compre-
hending fine differences in meaning. Instead, use comprehsion
tasks, such as matching captions to visual representations of infor-
mation, filling in a partly completed organizer, or choosing from a
list of words to complete a cloze passage. Scaffold longer written
responses by providing sentence-completion tasks or a framework
or model answer.
P R O VI DE TH I N K I N G TI M E
Second language learners often need to process ideas in two languages,
especially when the task is complex or involves higher-level thinking.
This means that they require more time than students who are thinking
in one language only. When you administer written tests and examina-
tions, give language learners more time to complete the test, or ask them
to answer fewer questions in the time allotted.
P R O VI DE DI CTI O N ARI E S
During tests and examinations, English language learners may need to
consult dictionaries to understand questions and instructions. Begin-
ning learners of English need bilingual dictionaries to help them
translate even basic words in questions and instructions, and students
beyond the beginning stage should be taught how to use learner dictio-
naries. A set of dictionaries can be kept in the school for use in tests and
exams. If this is perceived as providing an unfair advantage to English
language learners, why not provide dictionaries to all students?
READING ASSESSMENT
Many literacy assessment procedures use oral reading, running
records, and miscue analysis to assess students’ reading fluency, strate-
gies, and comprehension. Other procedures rely on written answers to
assess comprehension. Though these can be useful tools for assessing
the reading of proficient English speakers, it may be inappropriate to
use them with language learners until their language proficiency is
close to that of their English-speaking peers. A number of factors,
including the length of time spent in an English-language school envi-
ronment, their previous educational experience, and their previous
instruction in English may influence the effectiveness of these tools
when used with language learners.
• Reading aloud for assessment purposes is inappropriate for En-
glish language learners, especially in the early stages. They cannot
be expected to read fluently in a language they are still learning.
They are often so anxious about pronouncing the words correctly
that comprehension suffers.
• Miscue analysis and running records carried out in the second lan-
guage may not provide reliable information about reading com-
prehension and reading strategies. Pronunciation errors and
missed word endings, for example, may say more about a stu-
dent’s incomplete knowledge of the English sound system or En-
glish grammar than about reading comprehension or reading
strategies.
• Assessment tools based on knowledge of print are usually based
on knowledge of English print. Many students arrive in schools in
their new country with knowledge of print in their own language.
Chinese print, for example, is conceptual rather than phonetic and
may be printed vertically rather than from right to left. As a result,
Chinese students may have difficulty recognizing some features,
of English print.
• Reading passages followed by multiple-choice questions, true-
or-false questions, and questions requiring written answers
should be used with caution, as newcomers may be unfamiliar
with the format of multiple-choice and true-or-false questions. In
addition, these questions often rely on comprehending and inter-
preting subtle nuances of language, which is unfair to English lan-
guage learners. Questions that require extended written answers
depend on writing skills at least as much as reading skills. Because
the receptive competence of most language learners is greater than
W R I T I N G AS S E S S M E N T
Be cautious about using criteria developed for students who are native
speakers of English and using exemplars gathered from those students.
These may reveal how far the English language learners lag behind
their English-speaking age peers — but English language learners can-
not be expected to perform like native speakers. It may be more
informative and more equitable to use assessment criteria that compare
learners of English with one another, using the descriptors from the ESL
standards or developmental continua in use in your jurisdiction.
Remember that the language skills of many students may be more
highly developed in a language other than English. For this reason, it is
important to gather information about each student’s first language
development. If you keep a portfolio that tracks each student’s growth
in reading and writing, for example, collect writing samples in each stu-
dent’s home language as well as in English. You may not be able to read
the samples, but you can learn a lot by observing how the student tack-
les writing in the first language.
The following samples of a student’s writing in her first and second
languages demonstrate how informative gathering first-language writ-
ing samples can be. This student, a recent arrival from Iran, was unable
— or unwilling — to do more than write out the alphabet in English.
Her handwriting appears undeveloped for her age, and she mixes
upper- and lower-case letters. On the basis of this sample, the only com-
ment that can be made about this student’s proficiency in English is that
she cannot write to communicate in English, and her handwriting
appears undeveloped for a child her age.
The same student wrote in Farsi on the same day, producing the sam-
ple on the following page. This provides a much clearer picture of the
student’s literacy development. Even to teachers who do not read Farsi,
it is obvious that her handwriting is well developed, that she is able to
write continuous prose, and that she edits her own work, as shown by
the insertion in the last line. According to the Farsi-speaking educator
who assessed the sample, the student’s literacy skills in Farsi are well
developed and above the expected age or grade level. Though much can
be learned by simply looking at a first-language sample, having it
When you assign a writing task for assessment, be sure that the con-
tent is relevant to learners of English. Few newcomers can, for example,
be expected to write about topics such as winter, specific regions or
places such as the Rocky Mountains, or sports and leisure activities such
as canoeing, hockey, and skiing.
It is also important to assign the task in a familiar form. If the piece is to
be in the form of an exposition, for example, use modeled and guided
writing, provide writing scaffolds and show the students models of per-
formance at various levels. Even if English-speaking students are
expected to be familiar with specific forms of writing at specific grade
levels, the same assumption cannot be made about English language
learners. In fact, many students educated in other countries have learned
completely different conventions about how writing should be organized
and how the writer should relate to the reader (see Chapter 7).
Large-Scale Assessment
The purpose of large-scale testing is to assess the effectiveness of an
entire education system, such as that in a school district, province, or
state. In general, English language learners should be included in these
assessments, which can reveal the following information:
• how their performance as a group compares with that of their En-
glish-speaking age peers
• how their individual performance compares with that of other
English language learners
The following conditions must be met in order for their participation to
be meaningful, however.
• Students who are in the early stages of English language develop-
ment should not be included. These students are not able to partici-
pate meaningfully in an assessment designed for English-speaking
students.
• Students who have enough knowledge of English to understand
what they are being asked to do and to participate meaningfully
should be included as long as they have been in the jurisdiction
long enough for their results to reflect the schooling they have
received. In general, this means that they should have been in the
jurisdiction no less than a full school year.
• Data, such as home language, country of birth, date of arrival in the
country or years of attendance at an English-language school, and
number of hours of ESL instruction provided by a specialist ESL
teacher, should be gathered for each student participating in the
assessment.
• The test results of English language learners who have been in the
country fewer than 10 years should be disaggregated from those of
the general population and reported separately. Within the group,
the information should be further separated according to various
criteria, such as length of time in the country, years of full-time
schooling, country of origin, and number of hours of ESL instruc-
tion. This information can be helpful in determining how long it
takes students to catch up to their age peers, how much and what
kind of ESL or bilingual support is the most effective, whether
Preparation Notes
❏ (expectations),
Select, revise, or substitute subject outcomes
using the learners’ stage(s) of
development as a guide.
❏ ofAdddevelopment.
language outcomes appropriate to the stage(s)
❏ students’
Plan assessment tasks that are appropriate to the
stage(s) of development and that will
enable you to assess achievement of the outcomes,
using clear and attainable criteria for assessment or
evaluation.
❏ learning
Select, adapt, or create resource materials to aid
(e.g., alternative texts, visual material,
multimedia resources, and manipulatives).
❏ opportunities
Plan meaningful activities that provide
for reading, writing, vocabulary
development, and oral language use.
Building Background
❏ experiences.
Link concepts to students’ backgrounds and
❏ using
Develop the necessary background knowledge,
stories, pictures, videos, and other media.
❏ introduce,
Introduce and illustrate key vocabulary (e.g.,
provide an example, write, repeat, add
to word wall or vocabulary notebooks).
Comprehensible Instruction
❏ concepts
Use a variety of techniques to make language and
clear (e.g., modeling, visuals,
manipulatives, hands-on activities,
demonstrations, and gestures).
❏ students
Ask clear questions and give enough wait time for
to respond.
❏ including
Encourage students to work in pairs or groups,
the first language when appropriate, to
clarify key concepts and vocabulary.
Adapted from Short, D., and Echevarria, J. (1999). The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol: A Tool for Teacher-Researcher
Scaffolding
❏ writing
Use scaffolding techniques to support reading and
(e.g., key visuals, guided reading,
patterned language use, modeled writing, writing
scaffolds, the writing process, guided projects).
❏ development
Provide content-based activities for language
and practice (e.g., word puzzles,
cloze passages, and sentence completion activities).
❏ tasks.
Provide models of performance for all complex
Interaction
❏ the
Use group activities to promote focused talk about
content of the lesson (e.g., think-pair-share,
interviews, group brainstorming, and jigsaw).
❏ (e.g.,
Focus on the process and language of group work
how to disagree, how to take turns, how to
include everyone, and how to keep each other on
task).
❏ encourage
Provide discussion questions and prompts that
various thinking and learning strategies
(e.g., problem solving, predicting, summarizing,
categorizing, analyzing, identifying patterns or
inconsistencies, evaluating, and making
inferences).
❏ language
Provide supportive feedback for students’
output.
❏ elaborate
Provide prompts to elicit expanded or more
responses.
❏ students.
Monitor and encourage the participation of all
❏ throughout
Assess students’ comprehension and learning
the lesson (e.g., spot checking and
group rehearsal and response).
❏ review
At the end of the lesson, provide a comprehensive
of key vocabulary and concepts.
❏ learned
Involve students in self-assessment (e.g., “Today I
…” or “In our group today, we ….”).
Collaboration and Professional Development. Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence.
Elizabeth Coelho
Toronto, August 2007
277
Glossary
active vocabulary bilingual education
The words a person can understand and use in- A educational program that uses both English and a
dependently student’s first language as the languages of in-
struction.
affective filter
Emotional factors that may inhibit learning. bound morpheme
A morpheme that cannot stand alone as an individual
alphabetic writing system word, but can be used only in combination with other
A writing system in which each symbol represents a morphemes.
phoneme of the language.
case
anti-racist education A grammatical form that, in English, changes to show
Educational practices designed to reduce prejudice the relationship of nouns and pronouns to other
and discrimination, promote equitable educational words.
outcomes among all ethnocultural groups, and enable
learners to recognize and challenge instances of cul- cognitive academic language proficiency
tural bias and racial discrimination (CALP)
The language skills required to achieve academic
assessment portfolio success.
A collection of a student’s work showing progress
over time. cognitive strategy instruction
Teaching students how to use certain learning strate-
audiolingual approach gies for specific purposes (e.g., creating a graphic
A part-to-whole approach to language instruction. organizer to express key ideas).
The emphasis is on listening and speaking as learners
are presented with many examples of a particular communication strategy
grammatical structure, which they then practice to fix A way of compensating for incomplete knowledge of
the pattern as an automatic response. the language.
Glossary 281
contact assignment differentiated instruction
An assignment that requires language learners to use Choosing learning outcomes, instructional strategies,
English with native speakers outside the classroom. resources, and assessment tools and criteria that are
appropriate for students with differing needs.
content-based language instruction
A communicative approach to language instruction. discourse competence
It integrates language and content instruction so that The ability to link ideas effectively, using appropriate
students learn important curriculum-based knowl- linking words and phrases and organizing ideas into
edge and skills at the same time as they learn lan- recognizable forms or genres of language.
guage.
dominant language
consonant cluster The language in which an individual is most profi-
A group of two or more consonant sounds that occur cient. This term may also refer to the language of the
together (e.g., /sks/ in desks). dominant community and its institutions, such as ed-
ucation, government, and the legal system.
content words
Words, such as nouns, verbs, and adverbs, that con- embedding
vey the meaning of a sentence. The inclusion of a linguistic unit, such as a phrase or
clause, in another linguistic unit.
contextual support
The presentation of language that is strongly linked to English as a foreign language (EFL)
the context. A subject taught in situations where English is not the
language of the community, region, or country.
conversational strategy
A way of initiating, steering, and concluding a English as a second language (ESL)
conversation. A subject taught to speakers of other languages in a
situation in which English is the main language of the
cultural capital community, region, or country.
Vocabulary and background knowledge that helps
children learn. ESL core program
An instructional program for English language learn-
culturally biased ers in which the content of core subjects, such as
Based on cultural knowledge that cannot be assumed language arts, social studies, mathematics, and sci-
to be common to all students. ence, is used as a vehicle for language instruction.
gender innatist
A way of grouping words into formal classes, using A theory of language learning. It suggests that chil-
labels such as masculine, feminine, and neuter. dren learn language because they have an innate
predisposition that enables them to discover patterns
general academic vocabulary on the basis of the language used in their en-
Words that occur frequently in many areas of the cur- vironment.
riculum (e.g., indicate occurs in many subject areas
and is more academic than the common word show). instructional text
Textbooks and other text-based learning resources
graded readers designed for use in an instructional setting.
Books that are graded by vocabulary level and sen-
tence structure (e.g., a graded reader at the 1,000 instrumental motivation
-word level would include only the 1,000 most com- A desire to learn the language to achieve a specific
mon words in English). goal, such as becoming an engineer.
Glossary 283
learning strategy overgeneralization
A mental or cognitive activity that students use when Applying a language pattern generally, without
learning (e.g., associating a word with a mental awareness of exceptions or variations.
image).
part-to-whole instruction
logogram An analytical approach to instruction. It focuses on
A visual symbol representing a word or concept. the components of the language (e.g., grammar pat-
Logograms may be understood in many languages. terns) that will then be applied in communication.
subject-specific word
A word likely to occur only within a specific field of
work or study.
Glossary 285
Index
A mathematical skills, 25, 26
needs, 179
academic achievement, 29, 152, 153, 157–158, 163, 195,
oral language, 23, 24, 26–27, 252
197, 251, 264, 269
portfolio, 265
accents reading comprehension, 24, 25, 27–28, 252, 266–268
in English language learners, 53-54, 143, 151 special needs, 30–31
regional, 54, 63, 116-117 vocabulary, English, 23
social, 54, 117 writing, 23, 24, 25, 28–29, 252, 268–269
See also dialects; sociolects; pronunciation See also evaluation
acculturation, 17, 18, 19, 31 assessment portfolio, 22, 25, 268
active vocabulary, 91 assimilation, 18, 32
adjectives, 72, 73, 180, 232 audiolingual approach, 176–177, 179
adjustment, newcomer, 15, 16, 17–19, 22, 25, 30, 169. See audiotapes
also newcomers as alternative resource material, 248
adverbs, 72 assessment use, 264
instructional use, 64, 103, 108, 177, 207–208
affective filter, 151
authentic communication, 176
affixes
examples of, 101, 102, 227 auxiliary verbs, 73, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80
function of, 100
learner acquisition of, 144, 163, 225–227 B
learner errors with, 158 basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS), 152,
See also inflectional suffix 252, 256, 257, 258, 262, 263
African languages, 90, 131 beginning language learners
African students, 28 audiotape use with, 207–208
alphabet copying and labeling activities for, 203
English, 54, 125, 128, 157, 184, 190, 201–202, 206–207, games and puzzles for, 208
247 experience-based approach with, 206
in other languages, 125–126, 129, 190 language experience approach with, 206–207
support for, 171, 192, 221, 233, 257–261, 262–263, 271
alphabetic writing system, 126, 128–131 teaching functional language to, 201–202
antecedents, 84 teaching materials for, 202–203, 208–210
anti-racist education, 43–45 total physical response approach with, 160, 177, 178,
203–205
anxiety, 18, 23, 26, 32, 151, 160, 163, 170, 177, 186, 192, See also newcomers
242, 247
BICS. See basic interpersonal communication skills
Arabic, 129, 131, 145, 268 (BICS)
Arabic numerals, 183 biculturalism, 32
art materials, 209 bilingual assignments. See dual-language assignments
articles, definite and indefinite. See determiners bilingual dictionaries, 29, 159, 230, 265
arts education, 245–247. See also drama; music; visual bilingual education, 153, 154, 167–179, 170
arts
bilingual educators, 31, 169, 263
assessment
alternative approaches to, 150, 173, 220, 251, 260–269 bilingual partners
educational background, 25, 26 as journal respondents, 238
first language, 25, 26, 29, 31, 160, 268 benefits of, 41
informal, 23–24 instructional support from, 111, 186, 187, 189, 192,
initial, 20, 22–29, 30–31, 252 200
language, 23–26, 26–29 role in assessment, 261, 269
large-scale, 251, 271, 274 role in orientation, 38
listening comprehension, 24 See also peer tutors; mentors
Index 289
bilingualism, 18, 32, 42, 141, 168 components of, 106–122
biology curriculum, 239 defined, 106
development of, teaching strategies for, 108, 110, 114,
Black English, 116. See also Caribbean languages; 117–118, 119, 120, 122, 147
Jamaican Creole See also discourse competence; productive
book circles, 104. See also multicultural literature circles competence; receptive competence; sociolinguistic
books on tape. See audiotapes competence; strategic competence; structural
competence
bound morphemes, 99
communicative functions, 179
brainstorming. See group brainstorming
community and school, 20, 21, 32, 33
Burns-Roe Informal Reading Inventory, 267
composition. See writing
C composition templates, 235–236, 240
CALP. See cognitive academic language proficiency comprehensible input, 147, 183–186
(CALP) comprehensible instruction, 147, 183–186
Cantonese. See Chinese computer speech, 64
capitalization, 131 computers, 133, 205, 208, 240, 241, 244, 245, 246, 270.
Carbo method, 207 See also computer speech; word processing programs
Caribbean languages, 116, 118, 164. See also Black condensed syntax, 86
English conditional sentences, 85–86
Caribbean students, 28 confidence, 18, 19, 91, 161, 162–163, 172, 186, 200, 204,
case (in grammar), 71–72 242, 256
chants. See songs connectives
in discourse competence, 106, 107
Chinese, 58, 62, 76, 94, 100, 126, 128, 131, 132, 135, 266,
in instructional text, 133
268
teaching the concept of, 94, 223, 225, 228, 234
Chomsky, Noam, 143
conjunctions, 234
choral work, 65, 201, 204, 224
consonant clusters, 58, 61
classroom behavior, 22, 32, 187, 190, 195, 196–197. See
contact assignment, 179
also code of conduct
content words, 28, 60, 228
classroom displays, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40–41, 42, 114,
190, 223, 241, 247 content-based instruction, 118, 171, 173, 179–180,
217–248
clauses, 84–85, 87
contextual support, 17, 148, 180, 257
cloze passages
in learning resources, 248
as learning activities, 104, 207, 218, 227–228, 231,
232–234, 247 contractions, 60–61, 185
assessment use, 27, 28, 248, 261, 264 conversational strategies, 118, 120–122, 196, 197
code of conduct, 22, 32. See also classroom behavior cooperative games. See games
cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP), cooperative learning, 190–191
152–153, 156, 217, 251, 252, 256–260, 262, 263, 267 and development of social skills, 147, 160, 161, 183,
cognitive strategy instruction, 163 196–197
management strategies for, 120, 122, 195–197
Collier, Virginia, 153
teaching strategies for, 191–195
comics, 103, 242, 246 See also cooperative projects; games; group activities;
Common European Framework, 254, 255 group brainstorming; group rehearsal; jigsaw
groups; learning teams; think-pair-share; three-step
communication strategies, 118, 119
interview
communicative approach, 178–179
cooperative projects, 193–195
communicative competence
core curriculum, 171
assessment of, 23
derivational morphemes, 69, 98,100 ESL resource support programs, 169, 172–173
Index 291
first language gerunds, 81–82
as component of identity, 154 grade-level scores, 267
assessment, 25, 26, 29, 31, 160, 268
graded readers
first language acquisition levels of, 252
in young children, 58, 68, 141, 148–149 assessment use, 27, 267
theories of, 141–142, 143–144, 145–146, 147–148 creating recorded books with, 207
first language development vocabulary development with, 95, 103
in bilingual education, 167–169 graded reading, 27, 28, 103
parent participation in, 22, 32, 154
supporting, teaching strategies for, 17, 154–155, 189 grading practices. See evaluation
See also heritage language programs grammar
first language use acquisition of, 142, 148, 155–156, 253, 255
in assessment, 261 defined, 68
in the writing process, 240 elements of, 69–86
supporting, teaching strategies for, 17, 183, 189–190 in other languages, 16, 116
instruction, teaching strategies for, 86–88, 155–156,
fluency. See language proficiency 175–176, 179, 180, 232–233
forms of address, 109–111, 114 learner errors with, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80,
fossilization, 145, 151 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86
rules, 67–68
fourth-grade slump, 157
grammar-translation approach, 175–176
free morphemes, 98–99
Greek, 130, 131
French
as origin of English spelling, 129 group activities
capitalization in, 131 assessment use, 185, 196–197, 264
cultural norms in, 112 development of social skills in, 122, 147, 160, 161,
English vocabulary derived from, 90 196–197, 244
gender, 69 examples of, 46, 47, 178, 191–195, 204–205, 206–207,
negative statements in, 80 218, 221, 224, 231
pronunciation, 53, 142 management strategies for, 160, 185, 195–197
stress patterns in, 59 See also cooperative projects; games; group
students, 16 brainstorming; group rehearsal; jigsaw groups;
vocabulary, 91 learning teams; think-pair-share; three-step
interview
French immersion, 179–180
group brainstorming
French language instruction, 169, 174–175, 176 as cooperative learning task, 191, 196
function words, 28, 60 in guided projects, 242
functional language, 201–202 in guided reading, 221
in multicultural literature circles, 46
G in vocabulary instruction, 227
in the writing process, 240
games, 208. See also puzzles
group rehearsal, 192
gender (in grammar), 69
guidance counselors, 20, 30
general academic vocabulary, 95, 104, 224
guided projects, 241–246
Genesee, Fred, 181
guided reading
genitive case. See case (in grammar) and instructional text, 108
genre and vocabulary acquisition, 104
of language, 108 as a learning strategy, 163, 274
of writing, 133, 135–136 defined, 221
See also non-fiction genre introducing quality literature through, 103
stages of, 221–224
geography curriculum, 109, 180, 240, 263
guided writing, 108, 136, 269
German, 69, 74, 81, 91, 131
Index 293
L linguistic diversity
in assessment materials, 267
labeling, 201, 203, 205, 206, 245
in language surveys, 38–39
language acquisition. See first language acquisition; promoting respect for, 19, 36, 42, 117, 164
second language acquisition statistics relevant to, 16
language acquisition theories, 141–148 linguistic prejudice, 116
language arts curriculum linguistic variation. See language variety
adaptations to, 19
linking verbs, 77
in ESL core programs, 171
multicultural literature circles in, 45 listening comprehension
role plays in, 246 activities, 64–65, 207–208
software use in, 64 and comprehensible instruction, 185
writing skills development in, 239 assessment of, 24
development of, 253
language assessment, 23–26, 26–29
difficulties with, 61, 62–63, 116
language environment, 58, 142–143, 144, 146, 154, 201 in the total physical response approach, 177–178
language experience stories, 206–207, 209 See also oral language proficiency
language learning strategies. See learning strategies literacy tests, 251, 260, 266
language proficiency literary style, 84
assessment, alternative strategies for, 269–271 literature circles. See book circles
development of, 17, 237, 251–252, 253, 256, 269
logograms, 126
planning instruction according to, 252, 256–260,
262–263 long noun groups, 86
See also listening comprehension; oral language low-frequency words, 91, 95–96, 99, 103, 133, 224
proficiency; reading comprehension; writing
language style, 109–112 M
language surveys, 38–39 mainstream classroom
language variety, 16, 42, 114–118, 130, 164. See also beginning language learners in, 17, 23, 30, 200
dialects; sociolects in language program design, 150, 170, 171, 173, 180
integrating language and content instruction in, 217,
large-scale testing, 271 274
Latin manipulatives, 23, 172, 203, 206, 210, 219
alphabet, 129, 130
as origin of English spelling, 130 maps, 210
English vocabulary derived from, 95, 96, 99, 183, 248 mathematical skills assessment, 25, 26
grammar, 68, 176 mathematics curriculum
language instruction, 175 adaptations to, 19, 264, 270
learner motivation, 42, 143, 145, 150, 161–162, 189. See grammar instruction in, 88, 232
also integrative motivation; instrumental motivation; group activities in, 39, 189, 192
resistance in ESL core programs, 171
learning disabilities, 25, 30–31 in ESL resource support programs, 172
resources used in, 172, 203
learning logs, 163, 236, 238, 242, 265 role plays in, 246
learning outcomes. See assessment vocabulary development in, 228
learning resources. See resource material writing skills development in, 238, 239
learning strategies, 143, 161, 163–164, 180. See also meaningful output, 147
cognitive strategy instruction; metacognition mentors, 30, 41, 274. See also bilingual partners; peer
learning teams, 192 tutors
lesson planning, 247, 251, 272–274 metacognition, 163, 175, 238
lexical verbs, 75–76, 78 minimal pairs, 64–65
libraries, 33, 43, 45, 103, 194, 210, 244 miscue analysis, 266
Index 295
phrasal verbs, 81 reading circles. See book circles
physical disabilities, 31 reading comprehension
physical education curriculum, 30, 170, 178, 204 assessment of, 24, 25, 27–28, 252, 266–268
development of, 90, 100, 136–137, 157
pictographs, 126 difficulties with, 83, 85, 86, 95, 99–100, 132, 133
picture dictionaries, 22, 201, 202, 212 teaching strategies for, 100, 103, 136–137, 205,
pictures, 23, 24, 28, 64–65, 184, 201, 202, 209, 246, 248. 206–207, 221–224, 244, 247
See also photographs; posters reading inventories, 27, 96, 97, 267. See also Burns-Roe
pitch, 61, 62. See also intonation Informal Reading Inventory
practice tests, 264 refugees, 15, 18, 19, 26, 245, 271
pronouns, 56, 57, 71, 81, 82, 83–84 research projects, 241–245. See also cooperative projects;
guided projects
pronunciation
and effect on English spelling, 130 resettlement services, 22
difficulties with, 53, 54, 55, 57, 63–64, 74, 142, 266 resource material
teaching strategies for, 63–64, 177, 222, 225 alternative, 186, 248
variations in, 55 collecting, 208–210
See also accents; dialects; interference (from first criteria for choosing, 247–248
language) listing of, 211–212
pronunciation guides, 55, 65 visual, 202
See also art materials; dictionaries; graded readers;
Proposition 227, 169 key visuals; manipulatives; maps; photographs;
provisional placement, 29–30 picture dictionaries; pictures; puppets
psychological assessment, 25, 30–31 response journals, 236–237, 239, 265
pull-out programs. See ESL resource support programs rhythm (in speech), 59, 60, 204, 222
punctuation, 131 role models. See mentors
Punjabi, 132 role plays
puppets, 201, 209 in developing communicative competence, 108, 111,
120
puzzles, 208, 227, 228, 229, 231 in developing reading comprehension, 223
in guided projects, 242
Q in teaching pronunciation, 65
questionnaires, 38 with beginning language learners, 200, 201, 204–205,
209
questions, 79, 80–81, 82, 83, 87
Roman alphabet. See alphabet, English
R running records, 266
racism, 47 Russian, 58, 75, 76, 131, 135
readability, 27, 45, 248 Russian students, 268
Index 297
speech. See oral language Tamil, 128
spelling teaching resources. See resource material
difficulties with, 58, 73, 129 teaching strategies
improvement through reading, 100 for cooperative learning, 191–195
in the writing process, 241 for developing communicative competence, 108, 110,
irregularities, 129–131, 157 114, 117–118, 119, 120, 122, 147
standard English, 114–116, 118, 125, 164 for grammar instruction, 86–88, 155–156, 175–176,
standardized tests, 27, 95, 104, 266 179, 180, 232–233
for phonics instruction, 156–158
strategic competence for providing comprehensible instruction, 183–186
communication strategies, 118, 119 for reading instruction, 100, 103, 136–137, 205,
conversational strategies, 118, 120–122 206–207, 221–224, 244, 247
defined, 106 for supporting first language development, 154–155,
teaching, 119 189
strategies. See assessment strategies; learning strategies; for supporting first language use, 17, 183, 189–190
teaching strategies for vocabulary instruction, 100, 103–104, 183–184,
stress (in speech), 58–60, 64, 65, 225 201, 203, 207, 217, 223, 224–231
for writing instruction, 136–137, 187–189, 201–202,
stress (psychological). See anxiety 205, 206–207, 218, 233–241
stress pattern. See rhythm (in speech) See also instruction planning; lesson planning
structural approach. See part-to-whole instruction tense. See verbs
structural competence, 106. See also grammar; Test of English as a Foreign Language, 104, 162
pronunciation; vocabulary testing. See evaluation
student ambassadors, 22 Thai language, 131
student placement. See placement think-pair-share, 192
student questionnaires, 38 Thomas, Wayne, 153
student-teacher conferences, 22, 188, 241, 271 three-step interview, 192, 195
subject-specific words, 91, 94, 96, 98, 224 TOEFL. See Test of English as a Foreign Language
subjective case. See case (in grammar) tone languages, 62, 65. See also Chinese; Vietnamese
subordination, 84–85, 131 total physical response approach (TPR), 160, 177–178,
suffixes. See affixes 203–204
support staff, 20 TPR. See total physical response approach
surface features, 241 transfer errors, 160. See also interference (from first
survival expressions, 201 language)
Swain, Merrill, 147 true-or-false questions, 27, 264, 266
syllabic writing system, 126, 128 V
syntax
verbs
activities, 234
and person, 70–71
defined, 69
and tense, 73–74, 75–77, 82, 144, 180, 232
features of, 74–86
and voice, 78–79, 87, 180, 232
in graded readers, 103
and word order, 74
in instructional text, 133–135
classified, 75–77, 81–82
in other languages, 74
in other languages, 76, 81
learner errors with, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83,
learner errors with, 73, 74, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81
84, 85, 86
teaching concept of, 87, 88
See also condensed syntax; conditional sentences
use in forming questions, 79–81, 83
See also auxiliary verbs; lexical verbs; linking verbs;
T
modal verbs; phrasal verbs
tag questions, 80–81
Index 299
Credits
Photo Credits
20 Welcome poster: Printed with permission of the Toronto District
School Board, Communications and Public Affairs. 24, 29 Assessment
pictures: Reprinted with permission of ESL/ESD Resource Group of
Ontario. 32 Announcements: Reprinted by permission of Pineway
School, Toronto, Ontario. 174 Poster: Printed by permission of Toronto
District School Board, Continuing Education Department.
Text Credits
97 Graded Word List: Burns/Roe, Informal Reading Inventory, Fifth
Edition. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Used with
permission. 128, 129, 131, 132 Text samples: Printed with permission
of Toronto District School Board, Continuing Education Department.
154 Excerpt from Maclean’s: Reprinted by permission of Maclean’s. 218
Concept map: Coelho, E., and M. Wong. My Country, Our History:
Teacher’s Resource Book. Copyright © Pippin Publishing Corpora-
tion, 2006. Reprinted by permission. 253 Developmental Stages in
Oral Communication in English: O’Malley, J.M., and L.V. Pierce.
Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners: Practical Approaches
for Teachers. Copyright © Addison Wesley, 1996. Reprinted by permis-
sion. 254 Secondary Written Language Matrix: Printed by permission
of British Columbia Ministry of Education, Special Programs Branch.
257 Framework for Instruction: Reprinted by permission of Jim
Cummins/Multilingual Matters. 272, 273 Adapted from Short, D.,
and Echevarria, J. (1999). The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol:
A Tool for Teacher-Researcher Collaboration and Professional Development.
Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence:
http//www.cal.org/crede/pubs.
Credits 301