Great article from Scholastic Magazine – Unbeatable Ways to Reach Your LEP Students – 11-18-05
Unbeatable Ways to Reach Your
LEP Students
Teachers share their strategies for teaching
second-language learners in the regular classroom.
By Jane Schall
This year, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, at least one in six classes will have one or more Limited-English Proficient (LEP) students. And the number of LEP students is growing at a rate two-and-a-half times as fast as the general school population. These children contribute a great richness of diversity and cultural heritage to our schools and our classrooms, but at the same time they bring considerable challenges.
In this article, voices of experience from around the country share how they meet the needs of their LEP students.
* Rosa Quintana's winning strategies
* Donna Clovis's strategies for kids of 21 different languages
* John Hom's secret to making LEP kids comfortable
* Language Acquisition: What to Expect
* Glossary of Second-Language Teaching Approaches
Rosa Quintana's Winning Strategies
Rosa teaches 23 students with mixed proficiencies in English (at least nine of them speak only Spanish) in the regular classroom. For some of the day, children go to a pullout ESL program. Her colleague Marta Weiss and her husband team-teach 80 Spanish-speaking students with varying levels of English proficiency in the ESL classroom. The amount of time children spend there depends on their needs and proficiency level. Because isolating LEP kids can make them feel different — and make English speakers feel they're different, too — the school creates a community atmosphere where all feel at home.
1. Recruit native-speaking volunteers. "I speak my students' language, but if you don't," Marta recommends, "try to find someone from the community who can and is willing to come into the classroom. He or she can ask the LEP student questions for you so you can show interest in who the child is, and the volunteer can also speak to the class about the student's culture."
Rosa gets her English-speaking students involved in learning some words in the LEP child's native language. This heightens the sense of community and validates the importance of each child's language. "Two-way learning builds friendships," she says. "Children learn to speak to each other because they want and need to."
2. Get to know children's culture and background. Marta recommends displaying books, pictures, and other objects that are familiar to the LEP children and all students. She has students trace their origins and involves families in helping each child mark where he or she is from on a large map posted in the regular classrooms. "The goal is for all students to understand that we all come from different places," Marta says. "We break down barriers."
3. Make personal-history books. Students in Marta's class make personal scrapbooks of their lives that include pictures of families, photographs of where they live and used to live, sketches of their pets, and varying numbers of words in English. These albums, she believes, help LEP students retain their identities. Children work on their scrapbooks throughout the year and Marta finds that their entries improve along with their understanding of English. Periodically, students share their scrapbooks and Marta talks about her personal history, too.
4. Build understanding through role reversals. Marta recommends inviting into the regular classroom a volunteer who speaks a language none of the children speak — or only one LEP child speaks — to present a lesson in that language. "We give no explanation to the students and keep this up for about 15 minutes. Kids get blown away," says Marta. "Everyone is reminded how difficult learning can be. And if one child speaks that language, he or she can help others for a change."
When children find out what they were being asked to do in the lesson, Marta says they generally chime: "We know how to do that!" Then she replies, "Of course you do. Just because you didn't understand doesn't mean you're not smart."
5. Enlist the aid of students who speak the child's language. Rosa asks a student who speaks the LEP child's language to help preview a story she plans to read with the class. The partner summarizes in three sentences what the story is going to be about, then afterward does a quick review of the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
6. Set up mentor pairs. Where's the bathroom? What are the rules? To help LEP students figure out crucial basics such as these, Rosa pairs up students who may or may not speak each other's language. Being a mentor can be very rewarding for a child who last year needed a mentor him- or herself. "We work very hard to establish a mutual sense of responsibility," affirms Rosa, "and try to build feelings of looking out for each other."
7. Constantly ask children for help in the classroom. Marta points and models the actions when she asks students: Would you get me the tape? Would you wash the board? The goal is to help children feel included, comfortable, and accustomed to the room. "If children get confused, others always pipe up to assist,"she says. "I encourage my entire class to be physical when describing things."
8. Use tape recorders. Children in Marta's class record themselves practicing English and then play it back. "Kids listen to the tapes at the end of the year so they can hear how they've changed," she says. Also, she asks English-proficient students to tape-record sentences and common phrases for LEP students to practice repeating.
9. Make the most of body movements. The technique of Total Physical Response (TPR) — modeling through body language what you want students to understand — helps Rosa foster learning. "If you want to get across concepts such as above/below or over there, use your body," Rosa advises. Adds Marta, "Don't be afraid to take a few risks or to look silly as you pantomime something you want children to understand. Your approach can set a fun, relaxed tone for everyone."
Donna Clovis's Strategies for Kids of 21 Different Languages
Donna has 43 students who speak 21 different languages. Beginners — kids who don't speak any English whatsoever — are pulled out of class to practice speaking and listening, and are grouped according to the structure of their first language. (For example, students from Israel, Japan, and China learn the English alphabet together.) If at least five children are at an intermediate or advanced level, Donna goes into their classroom to assist during reading and/or writing. The goal is to mainstream students.
1. Remember, a smile is universal. "In any language, a smile can go a long way to helping them feel accepted," says Donna.
2. Talk in a normal, patient, pleasant tone of voice. "Don't raise your voice or isolate words," Donna advises. "Children imitate the way you speak."
3. Read aloud. Poetry or anything that has a rhythm, Donna finds, helps LEP kids learn intonation. (Stories and poems that have patterns offer them opportunities to join in the repetition.) She also asks parents, other family members, or people from the community to translate the poems into their native languages. Then kids make a multilingual poetry anthology.
4. Allow students time to talk to one another. "You'll see kids first trying their language skills with one another while they play or interact in cooperative groups," Donna points out. "That's where you can begin to grasp how much they know. When you hear a child say: 'Give me the swing,' or 'I don't want to do this,' you may realize he or she knows more than you think."
5. Ask the class to copy sentences from the board. Donna has students copy material in every language represented in her room. "It's great if you have a language like Korean, because children can experience what it's like to try to write in another alphabet," she says, "you can discuss such questions as: What made this difficult?"
6. Label objects in the room and use lots of visuals. This is especially important, Donna notes, for children whose language is based on a different alphabet. She posts photographs and lots of other images, too.
7. Ask students to help make picture cards to teach vocabulary. Each of the more proficient children in Donna's class chooses a particular word in a category such as classroom objects, food, toys, careers, and so on. The student prints the word on an index card and draws a picture of it.
8. Ask students to keep picture journals. While the rest of the kids are writing in their journals, Donna asks mainstreamed LEP students to choose pictures in magazines (and/or draw pictures), write their thoughts about the pictures in their native languages, and later fill in whatever English words they can.
9. Learn about students' customs and school experiences. "Remember that some cultural practices affect language interaction," cautions Donna. "In some cultures it is considered disrespectful to talk directly to someone, so a child of that culture may be more likely to nod or smile than respond verbally to a teacher. In some cultures it's rude to look people directly in the eyes when speaking." Donna also advises familiarizing yourself with experiences children have had in school in their native countries.
John Hom's Secret To Making Kids Comfortable
John has 28 students who speak Mandarin and/or Cantonese with varying degrees of proficiency in English. John speaks two dialects — Cantonese and Taishan. His newest student speaks a dialect that no one else in the class speaks.
1. Cooperative learning helps. "My main concern is that every new student not only begin to learn English, but also feel a part of our classroom community," John says. So he has students buddy-up, pairing newcomers with children who are patient and friendly. John sees buddies as well-rounded role models. He also groups students to build community. "In my classroom we have cooperative tables, so I make sure my new student, Yu Xie, sits in a group that will help her," says John. "To sit next to her I chose a student who doesn't speak Chinese because I don't want Yu Xie to only rely on trying to speak Chinese."
2. Look for opportunities to encourage class participation. "My students were doing myth projects when Yu Xie came into our class," John explains, "so I suggested that they ask her to be a character they needed. They coached her on the dialogue. She didn't understand everything, but the interaction helped."
Also, during creative writing, he asked Yu Xie to write about herself. It helped that the written form of all Chinese dialects is the same, so one of the students translated her work into English and the kids read it. Then a student helped translate questions for Yu Xie into Cantonese and helped interpret her answers.
3. Have special assignments ready. "With math, my new student catches on fairly quickly because she already has the skills," says John. But word problems are much more difficult, and his kids have been doing a stock market project for half the year. "Rather than frustrate her and everyone else," he says, "I gave Yu Xie a separate assignment — math surveys — so I can find out what she already knows."
To find out more about the stages of language acquisition and how they affect LEP children, Instructor spoke with Andrea Hernandez, assistant director of the Bilingual Bicultural Mini School (La Escuelita Bilingüe Bicultural) in New York City.
Q: Please give us an overview of how children acquire a language.
A: 1. During the first stage, called preproduction, children begin to take in the language and understand it, but they're not yet able to verbalize it. This is a time for listening activities, pointing to things, selecting, drawing. We can't expect to engage children in a conversation or ask them to respond to questions because it's too soon for them to deliver the language.
2. The next stage is early production. Children have limited verbalization and growing comprehension. Because they understand bits and pieces of what is said, we have to remember that they still don't understand everything. At this time children also begin to respond with one- or two-word answers (yes or no, lists and/or names of objects, and so on). Don't look for, or demand, complete sentences.
3. Next comes speech emergence. You'll notice increased comprehension and simple sentences and, of course, some errors. Encourage students to retell and define, explain, compare, and describe.
4. Later, students reach intermediate fluency. They have very good comprehension and are capable of constructing complex sentences, analyzing, examining, and justifying.
Q: What is the teacher's role?
A: Tailor your language expectations to where the child is developmentally, so that you don't ask a child to produce at a stage he or she hasn't reached. Otherwise it's defeating and frustrating. At the same time, give children opportunities to exhibit skills and not assume that just because the child doesn't speak the new language that he or she doesn't have the ability to function. Capitalize on the child's strengths in his or her own language. A bilingual aide, student, or volunteer is a great help. So is your sensitivity.
Q: Any other tips?
A: Try to find age-appropriate materials. Fifth graders aren't interested in the same things kindergartners are and shouldn't have to use inappropriate materials. Children's self-esteem is vulnerable enough without being forced into such awkward situations. Relate to the child as an individual and learn about who he or she is. Let children know they are special because they add to your class, not because they are different.
Terms like "two-way bilingual programs" and "the ESL approach" are being tossed around these days like tomatoes in a salad. What do they mean? Below, we've adapted definitions in layman's language from National Education Association materials.
Bilingual education uses two languages. The teacher develops English skills and teaches content in the native language.
Two-way bilingual education teaches two languages at once. All students learn a second language.
Five common approaches for teaching LEP students: Schools often combine the approaches outlined below, some of which involve either bilingual or two-way bilingual teaching.
1. The maintenance or developmental approach fosters parallel learning in two languages. Bilingual instructors teach academic subjects in the students' primary language. This enhances students' confidence and subject-matter comprehension — although critics charge that it interferes with their acquisition of English. The objective is to create bilingual students. While it takes two years for students to develop basic interpersonal communication skills (BIC) or "playground English," it usually takes five to seven years to achieve fluency.
2. The transitional approach teaches academic subjects in the students' primary language but progressively uses more English. As students' English proficiency increases, the primary language is dropped. This method seeks to place students in English classrooms more rapidly than the maintenance or developmental approaches. It is the most commonly used approach in the United States.
3. The English-as-a-Second-Language approach (ESL) generally requires that students attend one or more classes in which they learn to speak and write in English (sometimes going over material studied in other classes). All of the students' other classes are conducted in English. ESL is a part of virtually all programs in the United States.
4. The language submersion approach (not bilingual) places students in classes conducted entirely in a language that is not their first language. Critics dub this the "sink or swim" method.
5. The immersion approach (not bilingual) offers programs for students who lack enough English language skills to understand the regular curriculum. Many teachers use sheltered English — or alternate immersion — which is a simplified vocabulary and sentence structure to teach school subjects. Teachers may also use the structured immersion approach where students may speak their native language to the teacher (who understands it), although the teacher generally answers only in English.