Instructions
In this online activity, you will explore Teaching English Language Learners: Effective Instructional Practices. Follow the link below, and press begin (lower-right corner of the page) to complete. You will read the module on Teaching English Language Learners: Effective Instructional Practices, answer all of the questions, and submit the assignment (Assessment) for review (80 points). You will have to copy and paste the module questions from the Assessment into a Word document and then answer the questions and upload them to Brightspace for your assignment. See attached for details. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have questions about this once you begin!
M4: IRIS Module Activity 2
Assessment
Take some time now to answer the following questions. Please note that the IRIS Center does not collect your Assessment responses. If this is a course assignment, you should turn them into your professor using whatever method he or she requires. If you have trouble answering any of the questions, go back and review the Perspectives & Resources pages in this module.
- Compare and contrast BICS and CALP. Name one point that you think teachers should know about second language acquisition.
BICS also known as Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills, is basically the skill or ability to understand basic English, used in conversation. The English used during conversation is also referred to as a social language, in relation to which BICS is applied.
The CALP refers to Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency which is essentially the skill or ability to grasp the language used in academic dealings. This kind of language is used in places like classrooms or areas where content related to education is produced.
The skills related to language that is required in social settings are referred to as BICS while those used in the context of Academic setting or educational purposes are known as CALP.
Teachers need to formulate a methodology in which both of these skills are used and valued in the classroom. In order to do that an instructor should regularly cause comparison and contrast between the two skills. Teachers should also be aware that the average time period taken by students to acquire BICS is two years while for CALP it is five to seven years.
- Think about a lesson that you might teach. Briefly describe it and at least four types of sheltered instructional supports you might provide for your ELL students.
The lesson that I would like to teach my students would definitely be Science. In this class, I will attempt to inform all my students, about the various features of climate change emphasizing its importance. I will try to make the students aware of the earlier condition of the environment, and the way it has deteriorated due to certain actions taken by individuals and the government. If the students do not understand the subject or the value and various features of the issue at hand, then I will introduce an activity, In this activity, I will pair the students into groups, which will continue to circulate and break down. The use of instructional videos will also aid in improving language skills. The items present in the class that has relation to the topic in hand, and the unit being discussed will be labeled so that the students can easily recognize the vocabulary words associated with the topic having the aid of a visual and tactile item. The students will be required to use particular vocabulary, which will aid the students in improving their language skills. The aspects of understanding will be looked after with the granting of translated vocabulary. The pair would be such that one student is strong in language skills and the other will be weak. I would also try to find instructional matter in the native language of the students so that they can understand the material in both languages. In order to help students grasp the vocabulary I will apply the techniques of phonics, structural analysis, and syllabication as suggested in Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning and Behavior Problems (Vaughn & Bos,2019, p.197).
- Watch the video below to see a second-grade teacher introduce the properties of matter (time: 3:11).
- Identify four contextual supports that the teacher used to help her ELL students better understand the lesson.
The contextual support used by the teacher to aid her ELL students in understandingwith the lesson was certain props. These props corresponded to the vocabulary associated with the lesson. She also aided the students by making them repeat the words associated to the lesson. The teacher also used visual support, as she displayed the words and vocabulary that she was teaching to the students. She also described the words by displaying examples of them, such as order to make it easy for the students to understand. In order to make students understand the senses, she pointed out the sensory organs like Nose and Ears on her face.
- Identify four contextual supports the teacher can change or add to improve her lesson.
The four contextual supports that the teacher can change or add are, engaging students more in the ongoing conversation in class, making students more exposed to the activity of reading books that have graphics in them, usage of the students’ native language, and allowing them the use of their native language while trying to grasp the lesson.
- The video below—courtesy of the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts—demonstrates ongoing research with ELLs. Identify three instructional supports used by the researchers in the video and explain why they are helpful to ELLs (time: 2:33).
There are various instructional supports in play here such as the teacher applying visual strategies, to scaffold. The tools applied for the visual aid include flashcards. These flashcards contained words so that the students understood how the words were being spelled. The teacher reads the book and pauses in between the reading, to make sure that the students in the class understand the lesson. The teacher is also providing the appropriate amount of background knowledge that is required for the students to understand. The teacher in her second reading of the book is encouraging students to point out the vocabulary words of the day. This kind of aid is beneficial to ELLs as they are visually seeing the word.
- List at least three things teachers can do when assessing ELL students to allow them to more fully demonstrate their knowledge.
Things teachers can do when assessing ELL students to allow them to more fully demonstrate their knowledge are providing a longer period to give a response, the assessments provided to ELL students should constitute scaffolding, ensure that the students understand the format of the test, and guarantee that the terminology in the test is understandable for the ELL students.
Reference List
The IRIS Center. (2021). IRIS | Teaching English Language Learners: Effective Instructional Practices. Retrieved from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/ell/
Vaughn, S., & Bos, C. (2019, October 19). Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning and Behavior Problems (10th ed.). Pearson.
