Data-Based Instructional Decision Making for English Language Learners Mabel O. Rivera, Ph.D. Magdalena Fernandez, MBA.

Data-Based Instructional Decision Making for

English Language Learners

Mabel O. Rivera, Ph.D.Magdalena Fernandez, MBA

The Center on Instruction is operated by RMC Research Corporation in partnership with the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State

University; Horizon Research, Inc.; RG Research Group; the Texas Institute for Measurement,Evaluation, and Statistics at the University of Houston; and the Vaughn

Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts at the University of Texas at Austin.

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2009

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Initial Classification: At school entryInitial Classification: At school entry

Identification Home survey

Language proficiency tests

Other input (e.g., teachers)ELLs(or LEP)

IFEP

Langu

age P

rof.

Test

s

IFEP = Initially Fluent English Proficient

Slide courtesy of N. Lesaux and M. Kieffer, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Language Minority Learners

Classification Over timeClassification Over time

RFEP = Reclassified Fluent English Proficient

ELLs(or LEP)

RFEP

Slide courtesy of N. Lesaux and M. Kieffer, Harvard Graduate School of Education

MonitoringLanguage – Title III

Achievement – Title I

Membership is not static. As students become proficient in English, they lose their ELL/LEP designation. IFEP

Langu

age P

rof.

Test

s

Language Minority Learners

English Language LearnersEnglish Language Learnersand the No Child Left Behind Actand the No Child Left Behind Act

Under NCLB, state education agencies are held accountable for the progress of ELLs in two ways:

• Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) expectations for Reading, Mathematics, and Science under Title I, and

• Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) under Title III, demonstrating satisfactory progress in learning English and attaining English proficiency.

Audience PollAudience Poll Do you work directly with ELLs?

Yes No

ELL Performance OutcomesELL Performance Outcomes

Issue: The current model of LEP designation does not provide support to ELLs who are dismissed

Some states have begun to look at the performance of ELLs on state tests after they have gained proficiency in English

Although some reclassified ELLs do well, many students who have lost the formal LEP designation continue to struggle with: academic text content-area knowledge oral language skills

Learning challengesLearning challenges

ELLs face a unique set of learning challenges: to develop the content-related knowledge and

skills defined by state standards while simultaneously acquiring a second (or third)

language at a time when their first language is not fully

developed (e.g., young children)

to demonstrate their learning on an assessment in English, their second language

Admission Form, Parent/Tutor Survey, Teacher ReferralStudent speaks/hears a language other than English at home?

Language Proficiency Assessment(listening, speaking, reading and writing)

Norm-Referenced Standardized Achievement Test

No Language Proficiency Assessment necessary

No further evaluation needed ELL School-based Committee

Yes No

High Medium / Low

Bilingual Program

Instructional Guidelines

AccommodationsInterventions

Assessment Guidelines

Classroom Placement

English-only Program

Progress Monitoring

Teachers’ Data Driven Decisions

When planning for instruction…When planning for instruction… Consider the following questions when the

student starts school…. How long has the student been receiving formal

instruction in English? In the native language? What is his/her English proficiency level? How different is the student’s native language

alphabet from English?

When planning for instruction…When planning for instruction… Consider the level of transferability between

L1 and English Depending on their proficiency level, ELLs draw

on a host of linguistic, metacognitive, and experiential resources from their L1 Reading skills

well developed reading skills transfer from L1 to L2

Ex: inference from text, monitoring comprehension

Concept knowledge well developed schemas only need a transfer of label from L1

to L2

Degree of TransferabilityDegree of Transferability Depends upon:

The proficiency of native language skills The degree of overlap in the oral and written

characteristics of the native and second language Type of language (alphabetic, logographic, etc.) Similar orthographies Overlap in sound-symbol correspondence

Audience PollAudience Poll For those who are teachers, are your students

proficient in their L1? Yes No

Consider the following questions during the school year and successive years: What are the student’s specific areas of difficulty

or weakness? Does the student have difficulties in most

academic areas? Has the student ever received supplemental or

targeted instruction in the area of difficulty? Does the student display specific strengths in the

area(s) of difficulty?

When planning for instruction…When planning for instruction…

Curricular design and instruction of ELLs must follow the principles of differentiated instruction

Decisions about how instruction is delivered must be guided by the student’s needs (progress monitoring data)

Individual differences have a significant relationship with literacy development

Accommodations and interventions should be provided as necessary depending on the student’s response to instruction

Principles for instruction of ELLsPrinciples for instruction of ELLs

Effective Classroom InstructionEffective Classroom Instruction Begins with systematic assessment of students’

strengths and needs, as well as ongoing monitoring of students’ progress Use an effective assessment system that focuses on

multiple skills and includes different sources of information: Diverse sources of data should identify difficulties as well as

strengths, monitor progress, and measure outcomes Maintain a balance in order not to “over-test”

Progress MonitoringProgress Monitoring Systematic classroom-based evaluation

methods: Direct observation Teacher-student conferences Student journals Writing samples Records of oral reading Teacher-made tests Published formative assessment tests

Formative Assessment (Texas)Formative Assessment (Texas) Academic achievement

Terra Nova CAT/CTBS Iowa Test of Basic Skills/Educational Development Stanford Achievement Test

Scores below 40th percentile on Reading and Language Arts indicate a limited English proficiency

Note: The 2008 List of Approved Tests for Assessment of LEP

Students can be accessed from: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/biling/leptests.html

What should I look for in my ELL students? Some ELLs struggle in Reading as they show….

Difficulty with decoding and phonological awareness skills Which would affect word reading skills

Lack of depth and breath of academic vocabulary Reading comprehension problems

During Progress MonitoringDuring Progress Monitoring

During Progress MonitoringDuring Progress Monitoring Some ELLs struggle in Math and other content

areas as they show… Lack of conceptual understanding Gaps in procedural fluency Difficulties related to adaptive reasoning Problems carrying out procedures Lack of productive disposition

ELL-Responsive AccommodationsELL-Responsive Accommodations Appropriate accommodations for ELLs should provide

linguistic supportlinguistic support to minimize the cognitive demands of text and assessment instruments that are not related to the content being tested

(Acosta, Rivera, & Shafer Willner, 2008)

Testing accommodations should always match accommodations provided during regular instruction.

Students should be familiar with the process or the accommodation may actually increase cognitive demands.

Instruction Instruction andand InterventionIntervention

Research-Based Recommendations for

ELLs need early, explicit, and ELLs need early, explicit, and intensive instruction in intensive instruction in phonological phonological awarenessawareness and and phonicsphonics in order to in order to build decoding skillsbuild decoding skills

Recommendation #1:Recommendation #1:

Recommendation #1 Recommendation #1 (cont’d)(cont’d)

Early, explicit, and intensive instruction in phonological awareness and phonics: Do not wait until oral language proficiency is at

the same level as native peers; start early Need a close match between the child’s source of

difficulty and the code-based intervention PA and Ph are highly correlated across

alphabetic languages (i.e., correlations above .9)

Supporting word reading acquisitionSupporting word reading acquisition Formats for explicit, intensive, and systematic

instruction and intervention in phonological awareness and phonics for ELLs Class-wide instruction to prevent the majority of

difficulties Supplemental, small group intervention for at-risk

learners experiencing difficulties Intensive, 1:1 remedial support for children with

sustained difficulties

K-12 classrooms across the nation K-12 classrooms across the nation must increase opportunities for ELLs must increase opportunities for ELLs to developto develop sophisticated vocabulary sophisticated vocabulary knowledgeknowledge


FrequentFrequent and explicitexplicit vocabulary instruction is necessary for ELLs.

Vocabulary instruction, while varied in nature and quantity, on average does not receive adequate instructional attention. Study example:

5-10% of reading instructional time was devoted to vocabulary development.

Instruction focused more frequently on labels and definitions.

Repeated exposureRepeated exposure to new and familiar words is important for students to learn and remember word meanings.

Students need 12-14 meaningful exposures to a word and its meaning, in multiple contexts (text, discussion, writing, etc.).

What we know…What we know…

Effective Vocabulary InstructionEffective Vocabulary Instruction Explicit – direct instruction of meaning along with

word-learning strategies; Systematic – teaching words in a logical order of

difficulty and relevance; Extensive – incorporating vocabulary across the

curriculum; and Intensive – teaching multiple meanings of words,

relations to other words, and different forms of words

Effective Vocabulary InstructionEffective Vocabulary Instruction

Must occur in all classrooms and be consistent with grade level instruction

Read-aloud books and extended, structured, scaffolded talk

Increase academic vocabulary through texts and word-learning strategies

Instruction should address learning:

definition multiple meanings of words word parts how words relate to one another about words in multiple contexts strategies that allow for independent word

learning

Effective Vocabulary InstructionEffective Vocabulary Instruction

Francis, 2006

Research has shown that instruction on the cross-linguistic relationships between words is beneficial for ELLs.

This involves:

making students aware of the similarities between words in the two languages.

making students aware of words that are cognateswords that are spelled alike and have similar meanings

in two languages

Native Language as a ResourceNative Language as a Resource

CognatesCognates

Words in two languages that are spelled similarly and share a similar meaning.

60% of the English language is derived from Latin

30% of words in English are cognates with Spanish

Many commonly encountered prefixes are cognates.

Some, but fewer, suffixes are also cognates.

Many of the root words in the two languages are cognates.

Students can be taught to use cognates as early as preschool.

Cognates and False Cognates: Word SortsCognates and False Cognates: Word Sorts

Give students cards with cognates - one set with English and one with Spanish.

Task 1: Sort words into cognate pairs

Task 2: Circle the differences in the words

Task 3: Discuss differences in spelling, word parts, pronunciation, etc.

Variation: Introduce students to the concept of false cognates and provide

examples (e.g., pie). Include false cognates as well as cognates.

actual

alfabeto

calendario

largo

general

minuto

pie

actual

alphabet

calendar

large

general

minute

pie

actual (present)

alfabeto

calendario

largo (length)

general

minuto

pie (foot)

actual (real)

alphabet

calendar

large (big)

general

minute

pie (dessert with filling in a shell)

Reading instruction in K-12 Reading instruction in K-12 classrooms must equip ELLs with classrooms must equip ELLs with strategies and knowledge tostrategies and knowledge to comprehendcomprehend andand analyzeanalyze challenging challenging narrative and expository texts narrative and expository texts


Comprehension instruction tends to be uni-directional – focusing on products rather than process.

Products: reading text and answering questions about the text geared toward checking if appropriate knowledge was gained.

Process: active strategies and self-monitoring that promote understanding of text.

What we know…

Francis, 2006

Strategies for Improving ComprehensionStrategies for Improving Comprehension

Small group oral reading Small group discussion, small group work Previewing

Generates interest in topic Provides background knowledge

Predicting, clarifying, summarizing

Effective Comprehension InstructionEffective Comprehension Instruction Teaching students to make predictions

consciously beforebefore reading Ask students to recall what they know about the

type of text to be read Discussions of predictions that include teacher

supports and scaffolds would provide opportunities to gain understanding

Effective Comprehension Instruction Effective Comprehension Instruction (cont’d)(cont’d)

Teaching students to monitor their understanding and ask questions duringduring reading Asking students questions during reading cues

them to recognize when their comprehension breaks down

Asking students to explain their processes for making meaning is another method to increase opportunities to produce language

Effective Reading Comprehension Effective Reading Comprehension (cont’d)(cont’d)

Teaching students to summarize what they have read afterafter the reading activity Summarizing requires the reader to synthesize the

information and to differentiate between more and less important information

Instruction and intervention to Instruction and intervention to promote ELLs’promote ELLs’ reading fluencyreading fluency must must focus onfocus on vocabulary development and vocabulary development and increased exposure to printincreased exposure to print


Fluent readers are those who read without much apparent effort; automatically decoding words and applying strategies for decoding unknown words.

Fluent readers read with expression, and appropriate inflection and phrasing.

Important to distinguish between rate and fluency Rate = speed of decoding (can be single words or words in

context)

Fluency = rate AND appropriate phrasing, inflection, and prosody

What we know…

Students who are fluent readers will be able to spend less time focusing attention on the process of reading words, and more time on what they are reading (comprehension).

Instruction for students who have difficulties with fluency should include:

Increased practice reading text that is matched to the student’s instructional level (90% decodable)

Goal of practice = deeper representations and more efficient access to words and their meanings in various contexts.

What we know…

Francis, 2006

Effective Fluency InstructionEffective Fluency Instruction

Students re-read the passage until they meet their oral reading fluency goal, read the passage with very few errors, and read with acceptable phrasing and expression

ELLs benefit from oral discussionsoral discussions Pre-teach vocabulary words Teacher leads the discussion about words, meaning

Corrective feedback from adults Immediate and positive feedback provides

support to students who are not secure about pronunciation of difficult words

Teachers may collect data on students’ miscues in order to provide individual support during small group or one-on-one discussions


Discussions and questioning Maintains students’ engagement Provides opportunity to promote comprehension

strategies and vocabulary development Students learn to monitor their understanding

Provides opportunity to clarify doubts and explore different angles for meaning


Important points:

Reading should be an active learning activity with feedback

Reading should provide opportunities to serve as models as well as to learn from others



ELLs need significant opportunities ELLs need significant opportunities to engage in structured, to engage in structured, academic academic talktalk across all K-12 classrooms and across all K-12 classrooms and content areascontent areas

Academic Language:Academic Language:The key to academic successThe key to academic success

Academic languageAcademic language refers to the vocabulary and semantics involved in a particular content area literacy fundamental to academic success in all domains a primary source of ELLs’ difficulties with academic

content across grades and domains often still a challenge after students achieve proficiency

on state language proficiency tests influences ELLs performance on all assessments

Recommendation #5 Recommendation #5 (cont’d)(cont’d)

Academic language learning is facilitated through production and interaction

depends on the ability to practice and produce language

is optimized when connected to reading and writing activities

needs to be modeled and taught explicitly

Structured academic talkStructured academic talk Reading aloud and shared readings provide

practice and modeling effective language use and appropriate expression

a platform for structured discussion, with scaffolds, to promote language development


Independent reading is beneficial when: Independent reading is beneficial when:

1. it is 1. it is structuredstructured and and purposefulpurposeful, , 2. there is a good2. there is a good reader-text matchreader-text match

Independent ReadingIndependent Reading

A good reader-text match is critical:

Too many unfamiliar words is not a useful way to build vocabulary or comprehension

A good match requires 90-95% accuracy

Is there a match between the reader’s ability and the text characteristics? Is the reader able to read the text with 90 percent accuracy?

Is there a ratio of known to unknown words that supports vocabulary knowledge development during independent reading?

Is there a relationship between the content of the book(s) for independent reading and the content and material being covered in the class?

Is there a follow-up activity or discussion planned to be held after independent reading?

Do the teacher and the EL Learner have a shared understanding of the purpose or goal that guides that particular session of independent reading?

Planning Independent ReadingPlanning Independent Reading

Questions?Questions?

For more information contact:

Mabel O. Rivera

[email protected]

Data-Based Instructional Decision Making for English Language Learners Mabel O. Rivera, Ph.D. Magdalena Fernandez, MBA.

Documents

english proficiency

learning english

reading research

language arts

progress of ells

reclassified ells

performance of ells

florida center