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=TESOL (TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES):= =A RESOURCE GUIDE FOR ALL TEACHERS=

ACRONYMS:
EFL, ESL, ESOL:English as a Foreign Language, English as a Second Language, English for Speakers of Other Languages ELL: English Language Learner LEP: Limited English Proficient or Limited English Proficiency NYSESLAT: NY State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (reading, writing, and listening) LAB-R: Language Assessment Battery- Revised HLQ: Home Language Questionnaire SIFE: Student with Interrupted Formal Education L1: Language 1 L2: Language 2 BICS: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills CALP: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency Source: []

The following stages are guidelines. Stage 1: Pre-production also known as the silence period. New English language learners may have up to 500 words in their receptive vocabulay, but they are not yet speaking. The student can benefit from a "buddy" who speaks their language, if possible. Stage 2: Early production. This stage may last up to six months. Students will develop a receptive and active vocabulary of about 1000 words. Stage 3: Speech Emergence. Students will develop a vocabulary of about 3000 words. Phrases and sentences may not be grammatically correct. Stage 4: Intermediate fluency. English language learners have a vobaulary of 6000 words. At this point they will be able to work at grade level with support. They may use strategies from their native language to learn content in English. Stage 5: Advanced fluency. It takes 4-10 years to achieve cognitive academic language proficiency. Students at this stage are near-native in their abilities to perform in the content areas. Most ELLs have exited from ESL and other support programs.
 * STAGES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT:**

Fast Facts: The English language has approximately 1,000,000 words (including scientific words) The average student knows 3200 words in the first grade to 5200 in the third grade.

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**SIFE STUDENTS**
SIFE (Students with Interrupted Formal Education) are English Language Learners who have a limited or interrupted formal education in their native country. They enter the NYS educational system at all ages and grade levels.

NYS Department of Education defines SIFE students as ELLs/LEPs who:

· Come from a home where a language other than English is spoken and enter a school in the U.S. school system after grade 2; · Upon enrollment, have had at least two years less schooling than their peers, function at least two years below expected grade level in reading and math; and · May be lacking in basic literacy skills in their native language

// Source: The Teaching of Language Arts to Limited English Proficient/English Language Learners: A Resource Guide for All Teacher; State University of New York //

In Rochester, NY, 750-800 refugees are settled in our city each year!

**// Where do they come from: //**

Refugees come from countries where poverty, disaster, and civil unrest restrict the opportunity for education and impede the development of literacy. They also include individuals who have experienced persecution based on gender, religion, ethnicity or other factors.

**// Considerations in educational settings: //** - SIFE students have much more to learn than the English language! - They may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, due to war, violence, extreme poverty, or upheaval. They may arrive completely overwhelmed by the demands of assimilating into a new culture, while learning a new language. - They may have no or very limited experience with reading, writing, completing assignments, using school supplies, following a school schedule, or interacting with students from different cultures.

**// Source: How to Support ELL Students with Interrupted Formal Education; Kristina Robertson and Susan Lafond (2008) //**

IDENTIFICATION/TESTING:
Every student gets a home language questionnaire. If they are identified as speaking a language other than English they take the LAB-R (NY state test). Then the student is scored at beginning, intermediate, or advanced level and placed in a bilingual or ESL program. Every spring, the NYSESLAT is administered, and a decision is made about what level of services is recieved, or whether a student is proficient in English.

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by Judie Haynes
** Classroom teachers need to understand the difference between social language and academic language acquisition. Here is a simple description of BICS and CALP as theorized by Jim Cummins. **

** Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills ** Experts such as Jim Cummins differentiate between social and academic language acquisition. Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) are language skills needed in social situations. It is the day-to-day language needed to interact socially with other people. English language learners (ELLs) employ BIC skills when they are on the playground, in the lunch room,on the school bus, at parties, playing sports and talking on the telephone. Social interactions are usually context embedded. They occur in a meaningful social context. They are not very demanding cognitively. The language required is not specialized. These language skills usually develop within six months to two years after arrival in the U.S. Problems arise when teachers and administrators think that a child is proficient in a language when they demonstrate good social English. ** Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency ** CALP refers to formal academic learning. This includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing about subject area content material. This level of language learning is essential for students to succeed in school. Students need time and support to become proficient in academic areas. This usually takes from five to seven years. Recent research (Thomas & Collier, 1995) has shown that if a child has no prior schooling or has no support in native language development, it may take **seven to ten years** for ELLs to catch up to their peers.

Academic language acquisition isn't just the understanding of content area vocabulary. It includes skills such as comparing, classifying, synthesizing, evaluating, and inferring. Academic language tasks are context reduced. Information is read from a textbook or presented by the teacher. As a student gets older the context of academic tasks becomes more and more reduced. The language also becomes more cognitively demanding. New ideas, concepts and language are presented to the students at the same time.

Jim Cummins also advances the theory that there is a common underlying proficiency (CUP) between two languages. Skills, ideas and concepts students learn in their first language will be transferred to the second language.

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**PUSH-IN VS. PULL-OUT/HOW MANY MINUTES PER DAY**
ESOL services are provided in two ways. **Push-in**: The ESOL teacher "pushes into" the regular classroom and works with ESOL students, co-teaching with the classroom teacher. In this case, the ESOL teacher and the classroom teacher need to co-plan and teach together. The ESOL teacher can also help the English-speaking students. **Pull-out**: ESOL students are taken out from the regular class to study English in a small group with the ESOL teacher. ESOL students are required to spend a certain amount of time to learn English based on students' test scores on the LAB-R and NYSESLAT; 36 minutes per day for advanced students and 72 minutes for intermediate and beginner students.

An ELL student who appears to communicate well with peers may not necessarily be proficient in the English language (refer to BICS and CALP above) Oral language skills often precede reading and written skills. Keep in mind that it can take a while for ELLs to become completely fluent as they need adequate exposure to language in several different contexts.
 * COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS**

An ELL's reading, writing, and speaking are most likely not all at the same level at the same time. Example: A student may have excellent oral communication skills but may struggle with writing/reading, or vice versa. Keep in mind that some ELLs may not have had formal education before they came here, and therefor may not be literate in their first language.

Just because an ELL can read text aloud does not mean that they fully comprehend it. Being able to sound out the letters and words on the page is a piece of the puzzle, but does not ensure full understanding of the text. It can be very difficult to decifer what an ELL does and does not know due to the language barrier. Do not assume that they don't understand content just because they cannot explain to you what they know in English. Example: I worked with a girl from Haiti who struggled with biology. She was not able to explain to me what she knew in English, however, she was fully capable of doing so in French. In fact, she had an A in biology before she came here!

ESL teachers are not necessarily bilingual. In fact, we have learned a variety of strategies to teach ELLs using English. This is because we could have a classroom of students from several different countries. Although it would be nice to know all of their native languages, it is impossible to know every language.

1. Learn about the cultures of the students you teach.
2. Know the learning styles of their culture, and adjust your teaching style. 3. English Language Learners (ELLs) are stressed. They may misbehave as a response to pressure, frustration or confusion. 4. Assess learning in the home language, if possible. ELLs may have trouble expressing their knowledge in English. 5. Keep expectations high. 6. Use all available resources. (Family members, community members, paraprofessionals, the TESOL staff in your school or district.) 7. Establish positive relationships with students and families. Immigrants are a tremendous resource to our country and community. 8. Learn to say a few words in the home language. (Hello, goodbye, and thank you!) 9. If something doesn't seem right, ask the student about it, do not __assume.__ Source: [|http://BehaviorAdvisor.com/ImmigrantKidTips.html]

STRATEGIES, RESOURCES, WEBSITES http://tsl620atnaz.wikispaces.com/ []