English Learners and the Common Core: A Parent Toolkit - Californians Together
Colorín Colorado: A bilingual site for families and educators
Californians Together
English Learner Roadmap - Californians Together
Californians together is a coalition of educators, parents, education advocates and civil rights organizations banded together to tackle the issues impeding equal access to quality education for all students, but especially to English Language Learners. They sponsored the publication of Olsen’s 2010, “Reparable Harm”, her most groundbreaking work to date. They also published a subsequent report of hers that helps define what a high quality Long-Term English Learner program should look like (Olsen 2012). Californians Together have put together advocacy kits for parents in both English and Spanish that can help them to understand the increased rigor of the common core, and what that means for their EL student. They issue various reports that help all advocates for ELL students better serve the population. They also work on social justice issues related to ELLs and issue action alerts to members, to raise awareness and support for legislation designed to support ELLs (Californians Together, 2014).
“WestEd’s Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) is a unique professional development initiative that provides educators with the tools they need to help students achieve college and career-readiness in the 21st century (WestEd, 2014).” This website has resources that can help assist teachers of English Language Learners utilize best practices and research that is proven to advance English Language Learners. Under the direction of Aida Walqui, the QTEL initiative offers professional development, research, and materials with assist teachers in developing their abilities to teach rigorous academic content to English Language Learners.
A study from QTEL that may be of particular interest to teachers of LTELs is entitled “What Are We Doing to Middle School English Learners: Findings and Recommendations for Change from a Study of California EL Programs” (Walqui, A., Koelsch, N., Hamburger, L., et al., 2010). The report mentions the various factors leading to student academic stagnation, or in some cases regression, in the middle grades. Inadequate materials, poor teacher preparation, and a lack of support at the state and district level are all cited as reasons for this issue. Suggestions for improving programs are made in regards to placement, pedagogy, professional development, and curriculum.
Understanding Language - Stanford University
"...we aim to demonstrate ways in which students' English language proficiency and disciplinary knowledge can be developed simultaneously in the context of content instruction. We will engage educators in developing resources around the new Standards, offer both model lessons and examples of instruction, and foster online learning communities where knowledge can be shared and advanced. "
Long Term English Learners:
Secondary School Courses Designed to Address the Language Needs and Academic Gaps of Long Term English Learners - Laurie Olsen, Ph.D. (2012)
Spotlight on “long-term English language learners”: Characteristics and prior schooling experiences of an invisible population - Kate Menken, Tatyana Kleyn and Nabin Chae (2012)
Scaffolding Academic Skills for the Long-Term English Learner’s Advancement - Michelle Muncy Silva and Megan Muñoz (2011)
This article recommends using content to systematically teach English to our struggling LTEL students. The article goes over the many characteristics of LTELs and gives illustrations of a few students in the King City, California area that have been in United States schools for essentially their whole formal education, but are unable to advance beyond the intermediate level on the CELDT exam. The article recognizes that the language of power in the middle class is academic English; however English Learner students are often precluded from learning this register when being placed in classes that lower the language expectation in favor of delivering more content instruction. Content, rigor, and systematic instruction in academic register and application need to be a part of every English Learner’s instructional day (Silva, M., & Muñoz, M., 2011).
Reparable Harm - Laurie Olsen, Ph.D. (2010)
The long-term impact of subtractive schooling in the educational experiences of secondary English language learners - Kate Menken and Tatyana Kleyn (2010)
In this study by Menken and Kleyn (2010) done on New York City secondary schools, subtractive schooling is discussed as a primary factor leading to a lack of success in the classroom for Long-Term English Language Learners. Students had not been taught academic language skills in their primary language, thus making it difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a complex and meaningful understanding of academic English. Though the students display oral bilingualism, their written English and comprehension is much below grade level. Through research done by Menken and Kleyn, it was shown that instruction in native language literacy leads to greater academic success later in life. However, this strategy was not in use during the time of this study, leading the researchers to make observations about the ineffectiveness of secondary school instruction for LTELs.
The difficult road for long-term English learners Kate Menken and Tatyana Kleyn (2009)
Love Ties My Shoes - Lynn Jacobs (2006)
“Love Ties My Shoes” was the title of a book that Lynn Jacobs, a High School English Language Development teacher from California helped to publish with all 46 students in two of her Junior/Senior ELD classes. The majority of the students in her classes were struggling LTELs, but were able to find the drive and motivation to create highly revised versions of their best work to put together as an anthology of writings about their lives.
The long-term impact of subtractive schooling in the educational experiences of secondary English language learners - Kate Menken and Tatyana Kleyn (2010)
In this study by Menken and Kleyn (2010) done on New York City secondary schools, subtractive schooling is discussed as a primary factor leading to a lack of success in the classroom for Long-Term English Language Learners. Students had not been taught academic language skills in their primary language, thus making it difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a complex and meaningful understanding of academic English. Though the students display oral bilingualism, their written English and comprehension is much below grade level. Through research done by Menken and Kleyn, it was shown that instruction in native language literacy leads to greater academic success later in life. However, this strategy was not in use during the time of this study, leading the researchers to make observations about the ineffectiveness of secondary school instruction for LTELs.
The difficult road for long-term English learners Kate Menken and Tatyana Kleyn (2009)
Love Ties My Shoes - Lynn Jacobs (2006)
“Love Ties My Shoes” was the title of a book that Lynn Jacobs, a High School English Language Development teacher from California helped to publish with all 46 students in two of her Junior/Senior ELD classes. The majority of the students in her classes were struggling LTELs, but were able to find the drive and motivation to create highly revised versions of their best work to put together as an anthology of writings about their lives.
Jacobs notes the common characteristics that the LTELs in her class share, from a command of social, oral academic skills, but a lack of academic skills, to limited academic preparation in their primary language, though they maintain that they are in identity bilingual. Writing the book was the students’ idea, and they took ownership of the project and saw it through to its completion. At the end of the project, Jacobs reflected on the need for teachers to be aware of student’s diverse linguistic, educational, and cultural backgrounds. Rigor was also important to her, as well as fostering each student’s creativity, as well as doing projects that reflect the value in students’ diverse backgrounds. Students need to be confident in their learning abilities and need to be shown that school has value (Jacobs, 2006).
Academic Vocabulary:
How Can Teachers Increase Classroom Use of Academic Vocabulary? - Lisa Larson, Temoca Dixon, and Dianna Townsend (2013)
11 Tips on Teaching Common Core Critical Vocabulary - Marilee Sprenger (2013)
Academic Language:
English 3D, by Kate Kinsela and Scholastic, Inc.
"English 3D is a language program designed to accelerate language skills for all academic language learners, including long-term English language learners, advanced ELL/ELD students, and community dialect speakers. Targeted instructional routines for vocabulary, writing, speaking, and listening help language learners achieve the raised expectations of the Next Generation Assessments and succeed in college and career."
Practical Strategies to Improve Academic Discussions in Mixed Ability Secondary Content Area Classrooms - Kevin Feldman, Ed.D. and Kate Kinsella, Ed.D.
Academic Discussion Cards - EL Achieve
"E.L. Achieve’s Discussion Cards are designed to assist English learners by providing explicit language support for dynamic academic interactions. They offer students an opportunity to learn and practice the conversational techniques needed to move a discussion forward, as well as the rhetorical devices frequently found in formal speech and writing. As students learn to use the stems on the cards, their confidence increases and they become fully engaged members of the classroom community."
Academic Vocabulary:
How Can Teachers Increase Classroom Use of Academic Vocabulary? - Lisa Larson, Temoca Dixon, and Dianna Townsend (2013)
11 Tips on Teaching Common Core Critical Vocabulary - Marilee Sprenger (2013)
Academic Language:
English 3D, by Kate Kinsela and Scholastic, Inc.
"English 3D is a language program designed to accelerate language skills for all academic language learners, including long-term English language learners, advanced ELL/ELD students, and community dialect speakers. Targeted instructional routines for vocabulary, writing, speaking, and listening help language learners achieve the raised expectations of the Next Generation Assessments and succeed in college and career."
Practical Strategies to Improve Academic Discussions in Mixed Ability Secondary Content Area Classrooms - Kevin Feldman, Ed.D. and Kate Kinsella, Ed.D.
Academic Discussion Cards - EL Achieve
"E.L. Achieve’s Discussion Cards are designed to assist English learners by providing explicit language support for dynamic academic interactions. They offer students an opportunity to learn and practice the conversational techniques needed to move a discussion forward, as well as the rhetorical devices frequently found in formal speech and writing. As students learn to use the stems on the cards, their confidence increases and they become fully engaged members of the classroom community."
Interdisciplinary Resources:
English Learners Achieving Now (ELAN) - Scholarships for English Learners to persue extracurricular activites.
"English Learners Achieving Now (ELAN) scholarships increase English learners’ equitable access to experiences beyond the core academics of school. We envision an educational world where every student has access to the tools and opportunities they need for learning and for cultivating their own success. Our primary focus is to provide scholarships to help ensure equitable access for K–12 English learners to participate in a wide range of experiences, including extracurricular activities beyond the school day. We specifically target populations that have difficulty accessing resources due to economic or regional obstacles."
Thinking Maps - Link to Research page at Thinking Maps. Great resource for building meaning and increasing comprehension for all students.
http://nstahosted.org/pdfs/ngss/PracticesVennDiagramColor.pdf
English Learners Achieving Now (ELAN) - Scholarships for English Learners to persue extracurricular activites.
"English Learners Achieving Now (ELAN) scholarships increase English learners’ equitable access to experiences beyond the core academics of school. We envision an educational world where every student has access to the tools and opportunities they need for learning and for cultivating their own success. Our primary focus is to provide scholarships to help ensure equitable access for K–12 English learners to participate in a wide range of experiences, including extracurricular activities beyond the school day. We specifically target populations that have difficulty accessing resources due to economic or regional obstacles."
Thinking Maps - Link to Research page at Thinking Maps. Great resource for building meaning and increasing comprehension for all students.
http://nstahosted.org/pdfs/ngss/PracticesVennDiagramColor.pdf
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