Modifying Instruction for ELs

One of the most difficult tasks for mainstream and ELD teachers is receiving a newcomer student who doesn't speak any English at all. How do we include these students in daily learning activities? How do we ensure that their day is spent in meaningful learning activities? How do we help the student acquire English? It is possible to provide instruction that allows your newcomer to not only participate but also to learn.

What is a newcomer?

In this blog, newcomers will refer to students who have a very low level of proficiency in English.  Our state uses the WIDA screener and ACCESS test to determine proficiency on a scale of 1 to 6.  Newcomers generally enter our schools with a score of 2.0 or below, though it is possible that they have had previous English instruction and higher proficiency levels.  Every student is unique. We used to identify these students as those who were new to the country and new to English, however, many of the newcomers in our schools today are second-generation language learners born in the United States.

One of the most important first steps is determining the student's previous educational background. This can help you plan the most effective instruction possible. Upon enrollment, families are required to complete a language usage survey which answer such questions as:

• When did the student first attend school?
• How many years of schooling has the student had?
• Have there been any periods (other than holidays) when the student did not attend school?
• Is the child a refugee or suffered trauma prior to coming to the US?
• Is the student literate in their home language?
• What is the student's home language?
• Has the student ever been diagnosed with a learning disability?

Knowing these answers will help you better understand the needs of the student and where they may struggle socially and academically. In addition, Missouri requires schools to maintain records (an IAP) for every student to document demographics, proficiency levels, accommodations, and goals for every identified English language learner.

Once we understand the student's background, we can begin to look at the instructions we provide. So, if newcomers possess a proficiency below a 2.0 what does that mean? What are these students realistically able to process and produce at this level? 

In order for instruction to be appropriate for students at this level of proficiency, we need to modify the input we provide to students so that it is comprehensible, and we need to modify our expectations for student expression. As you can see, for our newcomer students that means providing very simple input with simple sentences, common phrases, and basic words and expressions. Our expectations regarding production should be based on learned words and phrases, small chunks of language, and basic vocabulary usage.

When working with newcomers I recommend keeping it simple and modifying instruction in 7 basic ways:

1. scaffolds and supports
2. comprehensible input
3. chunking
4. alternative response and assessment
5. extended time
6. modeling
7. environment

See my next post to learn more about scaffolds and supports.