Three artifacts:
Mark Lundy, BICS and CALP https://d2l.educ.queensu.ca/d2l/le/194475/discussions/threads/2155104/View
“At my school there are 2 programs; The Integrated program where the medium of instruction is in Vietnamese except for their Chinese and English classes, the International program in which children are expected to speak English all day except for Chinese classes and Vietnamese classes. The Mixing of these 2 groups in the playground usually end up speaking English because there are some children in the play group who don't know Vietnamese very well. So the Integrated children speak English to accommodate those children by speaking English. As a result the Integrated children do very well communicating in a social situation. In class, however, they often have trouble, looking confused and quiet in class.”
… “They [integrated] get a very different assessment than that of the International students at the end of each Unit.”
.. “Another technique is letting them choose a song from the internet and sing it in their L1. Then they sing a song of their choice in English. Their task is to explain the meaning of the song and lyrics of the first song in English (Connecting L1 to English). Then I describe the meaning and lyrics of the English song...speaking and listening.”
I appreciated this post because I have not seen how students from the international program and the integrated (the Ontario’s equivalent of mainstream) classes would not interact. Mark’s observation in reccess recognizes that the two groups values the other’s presence and compensated by speaking one that both can communicate effectively. The integrated children do not like to talk in class, a different character of what was seen outdoors.
Mark’s lesson shows that we can still indirectly encourage students to talk and listen by having repeating important terms, and using music to bridge both L1 and L2 languages.
Deanna Kerr, BICS and CALP . https://d2l.educ.queensu.ca/d2l/le/194475/discussions/threads/2156819/View
“there are some similarities in FSL as they have an achievement called the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) which is an international standard for describing language ability. Basic learners, A1/A2, are able to describe common everyday events, much like BICS while advanced learners C1/C2 can comprehend technical terms, academic language, idioms, and cultural references with ease and little hesitation. B1/B2 learners are in between these levels.”
Deanna’s brought a nice perspective that there is a similar assessment between BICS and CALP fin French.
Mark Lundy, Oral Profile “Johnny’s Profile”
“Personality is very important in governing the proficiency of learning oral English. An introverted ELL maybe a good listener but reluctant to speak. The same goes for a confident or shy student.”
Mark reminds us that although a student may be doing well or not doing well, there may be a few other factors at play that we do not quite see. We can vary instructions to have a better background of the students’ personality.
Alice Brode, Oral Profile – Secondary School Student from China https://d2l.educ.queensu.ca/d2l/le/194475/discussions/threads/2158218/View
“In China, his English classes were 2 or 3 times a week. In grades 6 and 9, there are important tests that Chinese students must complete. These tests include listening, reading, and writing, but not speaking. He wanted to come to Canada to improve his English skills and attend university in this country.”
Alice’s post reminds me that education is not often the same in terms of the communication criteria, and even the instruction may be very different. As she noted, we can give advance notice of what task is coming so the ELL student can have suficient time to catch up.
Michelle Giorlando, Grade 2 - Identifying, Describing, and Sorting Polygons, Curriculum Expectations and Demands
Grade: 2
Subject: Math
Unit: Geometry and Spatial Sense
Assignment: Identifying, Describing, and Sorting Various Polygons
àIn small groups of 3-4 students, student will identify, describe, and sort several polygons on chart paper using either sorting circles or a Venn diagram. The group will then present their findings to the class with everyone taking turns presenting a part of the findings. Students will be given a graphic organizer to keep track of polygon information (ex. vertices, edges, attributes, etc.) and this will be completed as a class on the carpet (math talk and note taking). Then the students will go into their small groups and sort the objects as they see fit. The students will also have to find real-life examples in the classroom of the different polygons (ex. the computer screen is in the shape of square because it has 4 edges and 4 vertices). The teacher will walk around the classroom, take anecdotal notes of the math language used by the students, and provide additional assistance to those who need it.
Deanna Kerr, My report and strategies. Instructional Scaffolding.
“https://www.duolingo.com/- This app is actually great for listening, speaking, writing and grammar competencies (apparently you can also learn High Valyrian if you have the time!)
http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/ - this website is like an online listening dictionary. Students can hover their cursor over basic words to practice comprehension and also do little quizzes to test their knowledge.
http://www.learningchocolate.com/ this website is very nicely organized by category and is full of visuals for basic learners and also allows students to play interactive games while practicing pronunciation and listening skills.”
General websites that provide learning vocabulary with some practicality. Maybe we can apply some of these game strategies to class?
Michelle , Task 1 – Report
Take Home Sight Word Rings
- Teachers could send home a few vocabulary words on a word ring for parents to help their child practice the words being learned in class. The words can be simple, 1-2 syllables, high frequency words, and even vocabulary words being used in class, ex. train.
I appreciate this strategy because this is new to me, but it is portable enough for students to bring home to parents. It is similar to flashcards, but can be kept organized by a ring that can be reused as the words are familiarized by the student.
Tobin Zikmanis (re: Duncan) Accent Reduction
“Should we help resolve or correct the severity of someone's accent? Your final conclusion definitely shows how you have grown as an ELL educator and understand the inner workings of an ELL student (e.g., an ELL might feel stigmatized if we make these observations).”
Reminds us to look beyond the accent and see how we can respond to possible stigmatization by other students.