Effective Instructional Strategies

                         SURYA PRAKASH.

 For English Language Learners in Mainstream Classrooms
Research on effective education for ELLs clearly indicates that instruction in a student's first language provides the most positive student outcomes However; this article is addressed to teachers and administrators in schools without bilingual or dual language programs. It describes an instructional framework that helps teachers scaffold content and language learning for ELLs, suggests possible first steps in implementing some components of this framework, and directs teachers to additional resources.
Sheltered Instruction - The SIOP Model
The term "sheltered instruction" is used to describe those instructional practices that help teachers make content more accessible and comprehensible for ELLs. One model of sheltered instruction is the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP). The SIOP is research-based and field-tested. Teachers who used the SIOP checklist for lesson planning became more proficient in linking language and content in their instruction, felt more in control of their professional development, and increased their ability to accommodate different levels of proficiency in their classrooms
The thirty components of the SIOP lesson-planning checklist can be used with any curriculum or program, for students at any age or level of English proficiency. Experienced teachers recognize the SIOP components as effective teaching strategies for all students. However, it is the systematic use of all components to scaffold content and language instruction that provides the support that ELLs, even those who have "exited" from a special program or service, need to succeed in mainstream classrooms.
In this article I have highlighted several components of SIOP that have been of general interest to mainstream teachers. For a full description of SIOP and further examples of the components discussed below, read Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model by Echevarria, Vogt, and Short.
Selected components of the SIOP lesson-planning checklist
Write clearly defined language objectives (SIOP)
The goal of creating language objectives and sharing them with students is to provide a focus for purposeful teaching and learning. * Teachers who are not accustomed to thinking intentionally about language development may struggle with this critical component. They understand that language objectives include vocabulary but it is not always easy for them to identify language structures, forms or functions that they may need to teach and model or to set realistic expectations for their ELL students. However, mainstream teachers who have used language objectives have commented that this intentional focus on language has helped native English-speaking students who also struggle with academic language demands.
Try this: Understand and connect language proficiency standards to your instruction.
Read the new Washington ELD (English Language Development) proficiency level descriptors and standards. Focus on one EALR and one standard. What level of proficiency do your ELL students have on this standard: beginning, advanced beginning, intermediate, advanced, or transitional? What does this level of proficiency imply for your instruction? Do the standards suggest language objectives for these students? What else can you learn about your ELLs from examining the standards?
Explicitly link concepts to students' backgrounds and experiences
All teachers are aware of the need to " explicitly link past learning and new concepts" (SIOP but some teachers fail to consider students' backgrounds and experiences when planning lessons. One way to avoid making unwarranted assumptions about our students' past learning, background or experiences is to create a common classroom experience as the basis for instruction. Another strategy is to help students make conscious links between their experiences and the text as described in the sample lesson below.
Try this: Literature Logs and Instructional Conversations
Summary: Before and after reading, students respond to prompts that help them link their experiences to those of the main character or main theme. The instructional conversations that follow these prompts provide oral language practice for ELLs, and help deepen students' conceptual frameworks for comprehension. Researchers found that using either the literature log or the instructional conversation increased comprehension for ELLs but using both produced deeper understanding (Saunders and Goldenberg).
Step 1
· Create pre-reading and post-reading questions or prompts
Pre-reading question or prompt: a generic probe about students' experiences that might be similar to those of the main character/s.
Example for Little Red Riding Hood:
Ø (more concrete) Name someone you visit alone (friend, family member….) Are you scared when you visit alone? Why? Why not?
Ø (more abstract) Have you ever done anything that you were warned not to do? What was the result?
Post-reading question or probe: a more specific probe asking how students' experiences were the same as or different from the experiences of the character/s. (Some teachers create the post-reading prompt after the first instructional conversation.)
· Present the first prompt; model a response. Students respond in individual, partner or group logs or orally using the teacher or more proficient students as scribes.
· Facilitate an instructional conversation in which students discover and record (T-charts, Venn diagrams….) similarities and differences among their experiences.
Step 2:
· Briefly review the story again building on student responses in a think-aloud format.
· Review the procedure for tracking story events and noting when these events are similar to or different from experiences discussed by the class. Examples: two-column notes, post its, adapted story sequence chart ….
· Students read or listen to the text: pairs, small groups, tape, buddy reading….
Step #3:
· Present the second literature log question or prompt; model a response. Allow time for students to write about or discuss the prompt.
· Facilitate the second instructional conversation in which students discuss similarities and differences between and among their experiences and those of the characters.

Variations: Use picture books with limited text for non-readers or beginning ELLs of any age. Allow students to respond in their first language. Older or more proficient students can respond to prompts that focus on the setting instead of, or in addition to, events, characters and theme or compare experiences across texts.
Emphasize key vocabulary
Lack of adequate vocabulary is one barrier to reading for ELLs. Research on vocabulary acquisition indicates that a successful vocabulary development program should have at least the following five components:
· intentional word selection (words that represent new concepts, are important outside of the specific activity, or cross content areas),
· direct instruction in word meaning and in strategies used to learn new words,
· modeling of strategies and processes for learning new words ,
· multiple exposures to new words and opportunities to use new words (wide reading, intentional word-focused activities, and ongoing review),
· a system to help students track new vocabulary. (Beck, McKeown and Kucan; Hu and Nation; Nation)

Try this: Five –step vocabulary activity
1. Teacher provides a definition (tell, read, demonstrate….).

2. Teacher creates a non-linguistic representation of the word while engaging in a "think-aloud" that helps students identify key components of the visual and their relationship to the new word.

3. Students write or say their own definition of the word.

4. Students create their own non-linguistic representation of the word. (Key step. May be done in pairs or small groups.)
5. Return to visual to add or revise elements as students deepen their understanding of the concept.
(Adapted from Marzano, Pickering and Pollock.)
Use speech appropriate for students' level of proficiency (SIOP component # 10)
Modifying your language does not mean avoiding age appropriate language or specific content area terminology. It does mean that your students will benefit if you take the time examine your "teacher talk," to enunciate clearly and avoid jargon, slang, run on sentences, lengthy monologues or side comments. Intentionally teaching the language that you use for standard classroom routines will also help provide "comprehensible input." "Provide adequate wait time for student responses" (SIOP component #18), i.e., more time than for native English speakers, is related modification of teacher talk that will help ELL students become active participants in learning.
Try this: Analyze the quality and quantity of your "teacher talk"
· Have someone videotape or script your class focusing on "teacher talk". Examine your language for words, structures or verbal habits that might be confusing to ELLs. Ask for assistance from an ELL specialist or refer to one of the articles listed below. Set a goal to make your language more comprehensible.
· Compare the amount of teacher talk in your classroom to the amount of "accountable" student talk. Set a goal to increase the amount of accountable student talk. (Related to " provide multiple opportunities for interaction and discussion"- SIOP component 16, and "student engagement 90 to 100%" - SIOP component 25.)
Resources/further information:
· Simich-Dudgeon in Richard-Amato and Snow
· Gibbons, "Classroom Talk" in, Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning
· Richards and Lokhart
· Goldenberg; Rueda and Goldberg; Saunders and Goldenberg