Posted: November 16th, 2014

Respecting Language After reading the Heroes and Holidays articles this week on Equity and Literacy and the articles and lecture notes on honoring dialects (specifically Ebonics), give

Respecting Language

After reading the Heroes and Holidays articles this week on Equity and Literacy and the articles and lecture notes on honoring dialects (specifically Ebonics), give

examples of an activity (or series of activities) you could do in a classroom (your choice of age group) that would encompass 3 things:
1) respect a child’s dialect or native language, while at the same time
2) support their literacy skills in standard English and
3) support “critical literacy” – that is, designing the particular assignment to assist kids in examining diverse perspectives, as described in Enid Lee’s article on

Equity and Literacy. Your ideas do not have to be original – if you see ideas in these articles that you can adapt or expand upon, do it! Your idea(s) will be worth 12

points – based on inclusion of all 3 criteria, and based upon the ideas being age-appropriate.

4)label the top of your work with the age group you have in mind, to aid others in deciding whose work they want to read and respond to.

Bilingual Instructional Practices
Instructional Practices and the English Language Learner
(A former student wrote this
paper. It was so good, I asked permission to add it to my
lectures. Thank you, Betsey Roth!)
To present a successful classroom for the English language learning student the teacher
needs to be aware of her own cultural background and any bias she may have that may
affect her interactions with students. Teachers should familiarize themselves with their
student’s backgrounds and diversities. It is important to have an understanding of the
different cultures, economical class, religion and abilities. The teacher can design the
instructions and course content to connect with students back grounds. Incorporate real
life experiences in to teaching.
Because children at a young age begin to form ideas about themselves and others it is
important to begin teaching anti bias lessons early. Incorporate lessons that teach
children to appreciate rather than fear differences. Help children to recognize bias
behavior and stereotypes when they see them.
When working with a diverse group of students it is important to use a variety of
methods to ensure that each individuals learning style is being met. Create a classroom
atmosphere where students feel comfortable making mistakes and taking risks.
Incorporate group projects, create groups that are diverse. Provide opportunities to meet
and work with other students that are different. Build on what the students already know.
Connect your lessons to the real world and practical applications. Inform parents about
activities that are happening in the classroom. Encourage student to share personnel
experiences with other students in the class.
Show respect for ELL students by introducing their home country, cultures and native
language. Learn a few phrases of their language and teach them to the classroom. Label
everything in the classroom so they can see the names of objects in the school
environment. Encourage and praise ELL students for what they can do. Create
opportunities for success. Assign them classroom duties to help them feel apart of the
group. Organize activates to gain an understanding of where students are at
academically. Provide lists of vocabulary words for upcoming activates. Do oral
prereading activities to familiarize student with the vocabulary and topic. Keep bilingual
dictionaries available in the classroom.
When providing classroom instructions include the use of a variety of visual aids.
Examples of some of the visual aids can be by providing contextual cues through
gestures, facial expressions, real pictures, graphs, charts and maps. Limit the linguistic
load by simplifying grammatical structures. Simplify the instruction while maintaining
the key components of the lesson. Use repetition to instructions. Present information
both verbally and visually. Teach by using hands-on materials when ever possible.
Teach language along with content. Model the use of language; emphasize word
meaning by using expressions and other visual cues. Model the pronunciation of
difficult words. Practice these words with the whole class out loud.
Grammar and vocabulary are both indispensable tools for the English language
learner.
But, it is the understanding and ability to communicate with others that is most
important. We need to provide and teach the skills to use language in a meaningful way.
It is important stress the use language as the why, when and whom, to exchange
information.
Realistically I feel these strategies could be incorporated into any classroom with out
any disrupting to the academic flow of achievement. In fact I believe these ideas when
used in the classroom as a part of the daily teaching strategies would be enriching to all
students whether they are ELL student or not.
References:
http://www.celt.sunysb.edu/ell/tips.php
You are probably already familiar with this website. It was such good information and
ideas I wanted to share it. I love the chart. I am going to blow up a copy of it and post it
in the speech room at school. Better yet, a copy in the staff room. The ten tips are very
good.
http://www.nwrel.org/request/2003may/general.html
The chart on the following page is adapted from the Oregon Department of Education
publication
The English Language Learners’ Program Guide
(n.d.). Each of the five
stages of second language acquisition is linked to appropriate and specific instructional
strategies.
Silent/ Receptive
Stage I
Early Production
Stage II
Speech Emergence
Stage III
Intermediate
/Advanced
Proficiency
Stages IV & V
Use of visual aids
and gestures
Engage students in
charades and
linguistic guessing
games
Conduct group
discussions
Sponsor student panel
discussions on the
thematic topics*
Slow speech
Do role-playing
Use skits for dramatic
Have students identify

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