Title: Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners
1Practical Guidelines for the Education of English
Language Learners
- David J. Francis, Ph.D.
- Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and
Statistics - Center on Instruction ELL Strand
- University of Houston
- Presented at LEP Partnership Meeting
- Washington, DC
- October 28, 2006
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Institute for Measurement,Evaluation, and
Statistics at the University of Houston and the
VaughnGross Center for Reading and Language Arts
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3Practical Guidelines for the Education of ELLs
- Collaborators
- Nonie Lesaux, GSE, Harvard University
- Mabel Rivera, COI, TIMES, University of Houston
- Michael Kieffer, GSE, Harvard University
- Hector Rivera, COI, TIMES, University of Houston
4Practical Guidelines for the Education of ELLs
- Three books
- Research-based Recommendations for Instruction
and Academic Interventions - Research-based Recommendations for Serving
Adolescent Newcomers - Research-based Recommendations for the Use of
Accommodations in Large-scale Assessments
5Guide to working with the Documents
- Single document with separate sections vs.
separate documents - Intent was for documents that would work
together, but which could also stand on their own - Redundancy of some background material
- Conventions
- Footnotes for information the reader might need
immediately while reading - Endnotes for references and more detailed
explication of the literature behind a point
6Key Reference Materials
- Instruction and Intervention
- August Shanahan (2006)
- Genessee, Lindholm-Leary, Saunders, Christian
(2006) - Newcomers
- August Shanahan (2006) Genessee et al. (2006)
- Short Boyson (2004)
- Accommodations
- Abedi, Hofstetter, Lord (2004).
- Sireci, Li, Carpati (2003)
- Rivera, Collum, Shafner Willner (2006)
7ELLs and NCLB
- Membership is defined by limited proficiency in
an area that directly affects learning and
assessment - Group membership is expected to be temporary
- ELLs face unique set of learning challenges
- to develop the content-related knowledge and
skills that define state standards - while simultaneously acquiring a second language,
and - particularly in the case of young children, at a
time when their first language is not fully
developed, and - (possibly) to demonstrate their learning on an
assessment in the second language
8ELLs and NCLB
- ELLs present a unique set of challenges to
- Teachers
- Administrators
- Assessment Systems
- Accountability Systems
9Academic Language is the Key Organizing Principle
- See Scarcella (2003) for detailed introduction to
Academic Language - Development of academic language
- is fundamental to academic success in all domains
- is the primary source of ELLs difficulties with
academic content at all ages and grades - can remain a challenge even after students
achieve proficiency on current state language
proficiency tests - affects ELLs performance on large-scale
assessments
10Academic Language
- Impossible to overstate the role that academic
language plays in determining students success - Good conversational English skills may be
accompanied by limited academic language skills - For example, in studies of elementary and middle
school students, including those no longer
designated as LEP, mean vocabulary scores below
the 20th percentile are not uncommon.
11Academic Language
- Academic Language is comprised of many skills
- Vocabulary knowledge (both depth and breadth)
- Depth knowing multiple meanings, both common
and uncommon, for a given word - Breadth knowing the meanings of many words,
including multiple words for the same, or
related, concepts - Written vocabulary as distinct from oral
vocabulary - Understanding of complex sentence structures and
syntax - Understanding the structure of argument, academic
discourse, and expository texts
12General Organization
- Foreword
- Overview
- Description of the Population
- Organization and General Methods
- Recommendations for (multiple sections)
- Conceptual Framework
- Specific Recommendations
13Who Are English Language Learners?
- Comprise one of the fastest-growing groups among
the school-aged population in this nation - Over 9M students, roughly 5.5M classified as LEP
- ELL school-aged population has grown by more than
169 from 1979 to 2003 (vs. 12 growth in
general) - Expected to be 30 of school-aged population in
2015 - Over 400 different home languages are represented
- Spanish is the predominant home language (70)
14Who Are English Language Learners?
- Largest and fastest growing ELL populations are
- Students who immigrated before Kindergarten, and
- U.S. born children of immigrants
- Compared to native English-speaking peers
- On Grade 4 NAEP, ELLs were 1/4th as likely to
score proficient or above in Reading and 1/3rd as
likely in Math - ELLs are less likely to score proficient on State
tests - These results may be biased in so far as they
reflect performance of students who retain the
designation of LEP
15Who Are English Language Learners?
- Some states have begun to look at the performance
of ELLs on State tests after they have gained
proficiency in English - These reports show that some ELL students do well
in school - Nevertheless, many students who have lost the
formal LEP designation continue to struggle with
academic text, content, and language - The documents were written with this latter group
of current and former LEP students in mind
16Book 1 Instruction and Intervention
- Foreword
- Overview
- Reading
- Conceptual Framework
- Recommendations
- Mathematics
- Conceptual Framework
- Recommendations
17Guiding Principles for Planning Instruction and
Intervention
- Reading is fundamental to the development of
content-area knowledge and academic success - Applies to all learners
- We distinguish three functions for instruction
augmentation, prevention, remediation - To be effective, educators must have a clear
understanding of the specific sources of
difficulty or weakness for individual students
and groups of students
18Guiding Principles for Planning Instruction and
Intervention
- ELLs often lack the academic language necessary
for comprehending and analyzing text - The great majority of ELLs experiencing reading
difficulties struggle with the skills related to - Fluency
- Vocabulary
- Comprehension
- These areas are mutually interdependent
19Recommendations on Reading Instruction and
Intervention
- ELLs need early, explicit, and intensive
instruction in phonological awareness and phonics
in order to build decoding skills - These skills are highly correlated across
alphabetic languages (i.e., correlations above
.9) - K-12 classrooms across the nation must increase
opportunities for ELLs to develop sophisticated
vocabulary knowledge
20Recommendations on Reading Instruction and
Intervention
- Reading instruction in K-12 classrooms must equip
ELLs with strategies and knowledge to comprehend
and analyze challenging narrative and expository
texts - Instruction and intervention to promote ELLs
reading fluency must focus on vocabulary
development and increased exposure to print
21Recommendations on Reading Instruction and
Intervention
- In all K-12 classrooms across the U.S., ELLs need
significant opportunities to engage in
structured, academic talk - Independent reading is beneficial, BUT
- it must be structured and purposeful, and
- there must be a good reader-text match
22Recommendations on Mathematics Instruction and
Intervention
- Generally much less research to guide
recommendations - Academic language is as central to mathematics as
it is to other academic areas - a significant source of difficulty for many ELLs
who struggle with mathematics - ELLs need early, explicit, and intensive
instruction and intervention in basic mathematics
concepts and skill - ELLs need academic language support to understand
and solve the word problems that are often used
for mathematics assessment and instruction
23Book 2 Adolescent Newcomers
- Foreword
- Overview
- Elements of Effective Instruction
- Organizational Elements of Effective Programs
24Elements of Effective Instruction for Adolescent
Newcomers
- Short Boyson (2004)
- August Shanahan (2006)
- All middle and secondary school classrooms must
address the language and literacy skills
adolescent newcomers need for content area
learning - All adolescent newcomers need instruction in
academic language, which they need for text
comprehension and school success
25Elements of Effective Instruction for Adolescent
Newcomers
- Adolescent newcomers need direct, explicit
instruction to support their comprehension of
challenging texts - Adolescent newcomers must receive intensive
instruction in writing for academic purposes - Effective classroom instruction begins with
systematic assessment of students strengths and
needs, as well as ongoing monitoring of students
progress - Students with word-reading difficulties need
targeted and explicit intervention
26Organizational Elements of Effective Newcomer
Programs
- Empirical research is limited
- Systematic support for assessment and placement
of students - Heterogeneous grouping
- Extended instructional time
- Coordinated efforts newcomer programs, programs
for advanced ELLs, and mainstream classes - Targeted resources for language and literacy
instruction
27Book 3 Accommodations
- Foreword
- Overview
- Review of State Policies
- Meta-analysis
- Technical Appendices
28Use of Accommodations in Large-scale Assessments
- Rivera, Collum, Shafer Willner (2006)
- Abedi, Hofstetter, Lord (2004).
- Sireci, Li, Carpati (2003)
29Content Knowledge and Language Proficiency
- Assessments of content knowledge are influenced
by students language proficiency - Assessments with the most linguistically
challenging content show the largest performance
gaps between ELLs and native English speakers - It is easier to separate language proficiency
from content knowledge in some domains (e.g.,
mathematics) than in others (e.g., reading
language arts) - Appropriate accommodations for ELLs will address
their linguistic needs either directly or
indirectly
30State Policies
- Educational agencies across the nation provide
accommodations to ELLs as needed - The criteria for selection and strategies for
implementation vary by state, according to many
factors - Rivera, Collum, Shafer Willner (2006) have
developed a comprehensive taxonomy for thinking
about accommodations
31Partial Listing of Accommodations Responsive to
Needs of ELLs
- Accommodations of Testing Conditions
- Extended time
- Breaks offered between sessions
- Bilingual glossaries
- Bilingual dictionaries
- English glossaries
- English dictionaries
- Accommodations as Test Modifications
- Directions read in English
- Directions read in native language
- Directions translated into native language
- Simplified English
- Side-by-side bilingual version of the test
- Native language test
- Dictation of answers or use of a scribe
- Test taker responds in native language
32Criteria for Evaluation of Accommodations
- Effectiveness
- Do ELL students who receive the accommodation
outperform ELL students who do not receive the
accommodation? - Validity
- Does the accommodation alter the construct
validity of the test? Do non-ELL students who
receive the accommodation outperform non-ELL
students who do not receive the accommodation? - Practicality
33Effective Accommodations for ELLs Results of a
Meta-Analysis
- 11 studies
- Each study used random assignment of ELLs and
non-ELLs to testing conditions with and without
accommodations - Involved 37 different samples of students
- Reported 37 different tests of the effectiveness
of accommodations for ELLs
34Study Descriptions
- Grades included
- 4th n11
- 8th n22
- 5th or 6th n2 each
- Subject Areas
- Math n 17
- Science n19
- Reading n1
- Type of test
- NAEP items n22
- NAEP and TIMSS n6
- State Accountability Assessment n9 (two
different states)
35Study Descriptions (cont.)
- Types of accommodations
- Simplified English (n15)
- English dictionary/glossary (n11)
- Bilingual dictionary/glossary (n5)
- Extra time (n2)
- Spanish language test (n2)
- Dual language questions (n1)
- Dual language booklet (n1)
36Results for Fixed Effects Model
37Results for Random Effects Model
38Summary of Results
- Of the seven types of accommodations used, only
one had an overall positive effect on ELL
outcomes English language dictionaries and
glossaries - Produced an average effect, which is positive and
statistically different from zero - No indication that this effect varied across the
studied conditions
39Summary of Results
- Findings for native language tests and bilingual
glossaries are mixed - Results varied across studies as evidenced by
homogeneity test - Too few studies to say conclusive what the
important factors are, but some reasonable
candidates are - Matching language of assessment with language of
instruction - Ensuring that students are literate in L1
40Summary of Results
- Results for Simplified English were less
promising than expected - Test of heterogeneity was not rejected,
indicating that the small average effect is a
reasonable characterization of the results of the
current studies
41Conclusions
- For any accommodation to be successful in the
testing situation, students must have experience
with it during regular instruction - The alignment of curriculum, instruction, and
assessment is crucial to the academic success of
all students - Accommodations alone will not be effective in
raising test scores of ELLs
42Conclusions
- Lack of effects in these studies for Simplified
English is not an indictment of universal design - Research base is limited in important ways
- Few studies involving State accountability tests
- Few studies in reading and language arts
- No accommodation has been studied definitively