ESL Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 4 - Guilford County Schools · ESL teachers have a wonderful opportunity to make a difference—perhaps a life-saving one—by helping to improve their

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ESL Newsletter

Volume 5 Issue 4

Students’ literacy skills can have a direct and dramatic impact on their personal health.

Health literacy is defined as the ability to read, understand, and act on health information. According to the Partnership for Clear Health Communications, “Literacy skills are a stronger predictor of health status than age, income, employment status, education level or racial/ethnic group.” 1

Health literacy is not just about reading. It also involves listening, speaking, and conceptual knowledge. Low health literacy can put a person’s health—or even their life—at risk. For example, a person who is unable to

follow written instructions about what to eat or drink before a medical test, or unable to follow dosing instructions on a prescription label can be jeopardizing their health.

In addition, those with low functional health literacy 1:

• Are more likely to have poor health

• Are less likely to follow treatments recommended by a doctor

• Are more likely to experience medication or treatment errors

• Use more health care services

THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVING HEALTH LITERACY

Guilford County Schools

Mayra Hayes, ESL Director

Health

literacy: the

ability to

read,

understand,

and act on

health

information.

December 2009

In This Issue...

Front Page Feature The Importance of

Improving Health Literacy

3 Three Ways to Help Close the

Achievement Gap

5 The Seven Learning Styles: Teaching to Reach Every ESL

Student

7 Bullying and ESL Students: What Teachers Can Do

more on 2

9 Seven Facts About English

Language Learners

7

2 December 2009

ESL Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 4

• Are up to 69% more likely to be hospitalized

• Have higher health care costs

Low health literacy is a widespread problem in the United States. While most health information is currently written at a 10th grade reading level, half of African Americans and Hispanics read at or below the 5th grade reading level.1 Forty percent of senior adults read at or below the 5th grade level.1

ESL teachers have a wonderful opportunity to make a

difference—perhaps a life-saving one—by helping to improve their students’ health literacy.

Here are four health literacy resources ESL teachers can consider:

Domain Five (Health) of the North Carolina Curriculum Guide is aimed at adult ESL students. However, this material may be suitable for or adaptable to middle or high school students. Lesson plans cover germs, nutrition, seeing a doctor, prescriptions, dental health, and many other important health topics. Go to http://www.nc-net.info/ESL/guide.php and scroll down to Domain Five.

Ask Me 3 is quick, simple way to ensure good communication with a doctor. Ask Me 3 consists of three essential questions that teens can ask their providers at every health care appointment. To learn more, visit http://www.npsf.org/askme3/for_patients.php

The Kids Health Glossary of Medical Words provides kid-friendly definitions of hundreds of health and medical terms. Definitions include both Spanish and English pronunciation. (You many want to bookmark this site!) http://kidshealth.org/kid/word/

The health lesson plans at The Educator’s Desk (http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/lessons.cgi/Health) are classified according to grade level, making it easy to adapt them to your ESL students’ abilities. Lesson plan categories include body systems and health, nutrition, safety, mental health, environmental health, and several other subject areas that will interest children and teens.

1. Partnership for Clear Health Communications.

http://www.npsf.org/pchc/health-literacy.php

ESL teachers have a wonderful opportunity to make a difference—perhaps a life-saving one—by helping to improve their students’ health literacy.

TWO SOURCES FOR QUALITY HEALTH INFORMATION IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES

THE HEALTHY ROADS MEDIA Website offers free health education materials in several languages and a variety of formats. Materials are available in written, video, and audio formats in order to reach as many people as possible. You will find reliable health information in Burmese, Hmong, Arabic, Bosnian, French, Korean, Amharic, and other languages. For a complete listing of languages and topics visit http://www.healthyroadsmedia.org/languages.htm

THE HEALTH INFORMATION TRANSLATIONS Website is designed for LEP visitors. It offers free health information in a variety of world languages. The way this site presents the information may be especially helpful to those seeking to learn English. Each downloaded topic provides all of the information in both English and the other language, making it easy to refer back and forth between the languages. To view all of the topics available in a language, simply choose a language from the drop down menu on the home page http://www.healthinfotranslations.com/index.php

3 December 2009


Three Ways to Help Close the Achievement Gap for Limited Formal Schooling and Long-term ELL Students

Many immigrant children arrive in the United States having had little or no formal schooling. Some come from countries that do educate children, but only for a limited number of years. Others, such as the children of migrant workers, have had interrupted schooling. Many are not literate in their first language. For these and other reasons, many immigrant children begin school in America already significantly behind their same-age, English-proficient peers.

Closing this achievement gap is a daunting challenge for educators. How can classroom teachers help ELL students catch up? What strategies have

been shown to work best?

Here are three practical, research-based ideas recommended by ESL experts:

1. DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF AND EMPATHY TOWARD STUDENTS’ NON-ACADEMIC ISSUES. As newly emigrated students are immersed in American culture they may experience culture shock, resulting in feelings of disorientation or depression. They may be grieving the loss of their former home and friends. In addition, some may still be

(continued)

4 December 2009


emotionally reeling from the horrors of war or the trauma of a natural disaster. For female students from countries where women do not receive education, the idea of attending school may in itself require an emotional adjustment.

ACTION STEP

With your students’ experiences in mind, create predictable classroom routines for them. Knowing what to expect provides an oasis of stability in the midst many other changes. Classroom routines help students adjust to school and focus on the all-important task of learning.

2. COMMUNICATE EXPECTATIONS CLEARLY. Students who have never attended school before won’t know how you expect them to behave in class. It is vital to clearly communicate to them the basics of appropriate classroom behavior: raising one’s hand to speak, asking for a hall pass, etc. Similarly, academic expectations must also be communicated. Let ELL students know that your expectations for them are high and that you want them to do well in school. Explain that this is why excuses for not doing work or failing to participate will not be accepted.

ACTION STEP

When language barriers interfere with the clear communication of your expectations, use tone of voice, body language, or visual images—whatever it takes facilitate clear delivery of the messages. The goal is to effectively equip children to succeed in the classroom environment.

3. ORGANIZE CONTENT AROUND THEMES. This is a strategy for enhancing language acquisition, especially in the lower grades. When all of the curriculum areas share a common theme, vocabulary words will come up over and over, but in different content areas. This repetition in various contexts can be highly effective in helping students “connect the dots” across content areas.

ACTION STEP

If possible, start the year with a theme that is familiar or important to the students. For example, Freeman, Freeman, and Mercuri (2001) discuss how a teacher with a multi-age classroom of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade migrant children does this. Each year she begins with curriculum organized around the theme of plants and seeds because the children are already knowledgeable about farming. This allows them to form a connection between what they know and the new

information they are learning. Over the next few months, she segues from this theme to the themes of food, nutrition, and health. All along the way she makes connections between these topics and the importance of the work the students’ families do.

Adapted from:

Freeman, Y.S., Freeman D. E. & Mercuri, S. Keys to success for bilingual students with limited formal schooling. Retrieved July 30, 2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3722/is_200101/ai_n8950697/pg_6/?tag=content;col1

Spaulding,S., Carolino, B., Amen, K-A. (2004, January). Immigrant students with limited formal schooling in Smith, K. B. (ed.) Immigrant students and secondary school reform: compendium of best practices. Council Of Chief State School Officers, State Services, and Technical Assistance Division. Washington, DC.

5 December 2009


THE SEVEN LEARNING STYLES: TEACHING TO

REACH EVERY ESL STUDENT A learning style is a way of taking in new information. Everyone uses a mixture of learning styles. However, many people have a dominant learning style—one specific way of taking in information that facilitates optimal learning for them.

Experts say there are seven learning styles1:

Auditory learners are especially attuned to sounds and music. Verbal instructions, lectures, rhythm, singing, and audio tape recordings are some of the best ways to present information to them.

Visual learners are best served when information is organized and presented in a visual or spatial form. Pictures, color, maps, videos, diagrams, and demonstrations are the most meaningful to them.

Verbal learners love words, both written and spoken. Tongue twisters, rhymes, limericks, poems, reading aloud, mnemonics, and writing scripts help verbal learners acquire knowledge.

Physical or kinesthetic learners understand most easily when they have the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities. They make discoveries by using their sense of touch and by physically doing something. Role-playing, doing experiments, taking things apart, and building models are ways to facilitate their learning.

Logical or mathematical learners naturally recognize patterns and find connections between seemingly unrelated things. They like to group information in a systematic way and use reasoning. Logical learners need an understanding of the reasons and details behind what they are learning—rote memorization is not meaningful to them. Computer games, brain teasers, and finding “links” within the information being studied can help logical learners grasp information.

Social or interpersonal learners like to learn in groups or one-on-one with a teacher. They learn by “bouncing ideas off other people” and they prefer to solve problems or work on projects with others. They learn best when they can collaborate with others. Role-playing, card games, board games, and group projects are tools that enhance learning for them.

Solitary or intrapersonal learners are the opposite of social learners. They are independent thinkers that like to be alone to reflect, introspect, and solve problems. They may dislike group work and may only seek one-on-one time with a teacher if they have a need to clarify information. Self-study, role playing—not with other people, but through visualization, and having a strong personal interest in the topics being studied are all important for solitary learners.

Schools have traditionally used mostly logical and book-based teaching methods, within a limited repertoire of teaching methods. This has been ideal for those whose learning styles are compatible with this approach, but not nearly so beneficial to those with other learning styles. Recently, expert educators have recognized that in order to effectively reach all students it is

Everyone uses a mixture of learning styles.

6 December 2009


necessary to communicate across the entire range of learning styles.

One way to do this is to organize elementary school classrooms into centers—one for each learning style. One teacher who uses this “multiple intelligences” approach explained why he feels it has been so successful: “First, every student has an opportunity to specialize and excel in at least one area. Usually, however, it is three or four. ...Secondly, each student learns the subject matter in a variety of different ways, thereby multiplying chances of successfully understanding and retaining that information.” (You can read more about this teacher’s experience at http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC27/Campbell.htm).

Howard Gardner, who originally proposed the seven learning styles, was not sure they could be applied in an ESL classroom.3 However, a study by Jamie and Amy Warr found that they do indeed apply. They wrote, “We concluded that in the ESL classroom, students learn using each of the original seven intelligences, like any regular class. The intelligence used to complete tasks is individualized, not generalized. Therefore, the ESL teacher needs to plan lessons that utilize a variety of intelligences in order to provide a student-friendly environment.”3

References

1. Learning-styes-online.com website (http://www.learning-styles-online.com/)

2. Campbell, B. Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom. Retrieved August 2, 2009 from http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC27/Campbell.htm

3. Multiple Intelligences in the ESL Classroom. Retrieved August 2, 2009 from http://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-course-articles/multiple-intelligence/article-01-jaw.php

“The ESL teacher needs

to plan lessons that

utilize a variety of

intelligences in order to provide a student-friendly

environment.”

7 December 2009


Bullying and ESL Students: What Teachers Can Do Bullying has been defined in many ways. Depending one’s perspective bullying can involve name calling, intimidation, spreading rumors, physical aggression, slander, sexual harassment, or even violence. However it is defined, bullying wounds self-esteem and can cause anxiety and depression for a victimized child.

There is very little research to verify whether ESL students are more vulnerable to bullying than other children. Marini, Koruna, & Dane (2006) state that “it is difficult to determine whether some ESL students may get picked on because of their low language proficiency, their ethnicity or even cultural practices and religious background.” One reason for the uncertainty is that studies have produced different results. In one study students of various ethnicities reported no differences in their experiences of being bullied. Other studies, however, suggest increased victimization among ethnic minority students.

Marini et al. state, “Despite the limitations of this research these studies do suggest that teachers of ESL students should be aware of the potential for problems with bullying and victimization in the classroom.” These authors believe that ESL students are likely to be at risk for bullying due to “social isolation, loneliness, and lack of close friends.”

What can teachers do to help protect them?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Help ESL students make friends. Marini and colleagues cite studies showing that friendships may be especially protective for ethnic students. That is, the more friends a child has in his or her social network, the lower his or her chances are of being bullied. Marini et al. suggest, “Social skills that facilitate friendship-making could...be adapted by ESL teachers to accommodate variations in social practices across cultural groups. For example, social skills relating to joining a group activity might be taught to address cultural differences in shyness and assertiveness, and similarly, cultural variations in emotional expression could be dealt with in a social skills lesson on how to deal effectively with peer teasing.”

2. When possible, gently intervene. Marini and colleagues suggest, “...when teachers become aware of isolated students or cliques that engage in indirect or direct bullying, they can try to facilitate the formation of new peer groups that include students who would otherwise be excluded, and to prevent harmful antagonism between rival cliques or individuals.”

3. Talk openly about bullying in class. Teachers can raise awareness about bullying by creating an honest dialog among students. Citing Craig, et al. (2000), Marini et al. point out, “Having open discussions about feelings and emotions of the children in each role promotes an enlightened understanding, or empathy, for those involved in bullying episodes.” These discussions can help reduce the number of children who witness bullying and do nothing. Open discussion can also help increase the number of children who are willing to stand up to bullies and defend a victimized child.

4. Teach problem solving skills. While we tend to categorize a child as either a bully or a victim, Marini et al. report something surprising. They state that “33% of the students who reported high levels of experience with either bullying or victimization were dually involved in both.” They refer to these children as “bully-victims.”

Continued on page 8

8 December 2009


Bully-victims may be helped by learning to take a cognitive approach toward social problems. That is, instead of acting impulsively in response to a stressful social situation, they may be able to learn to use problem-solving skills to come up with a better solution.

Marini et al. write, “The cognitive-behavioural components of bullying prevention programs might easily be adapted to address the specific issues that might make ESL students vulnerable to experiencing bullying and victimization. For instance, problem-solving exercises could be used by teachers to facilitate student thinking about cultural-linguistic issues that may commonly give rise to bullying or victimization.” Identifying things that may trigger bullying can pave the way to discussions about insensitivity and cultural diversity.

Source: Marini, Z.A., Koruna, B. & Dane, A.V. (2006). Individualizing interventions for ESL students involved in bullying and victimization. Teachers Of English As A Second Language Of Ontario, 32 (2). 22-41.

For More Information About Bullying • Bullying: Implications for the Classroom. Cheryl E. Sanders, Gary D. Phye, editors. Academic

Press, 2004 • The ABCs of Bullying course at http://pathwayscourses.samhsa.gov/bully/bully_toc.htm

Guilford County School System Policy on STUDENT HARASSMENT, BULLYING, AND DISCRIMINATION FREE ENVIRONMENT

Harassment, bullying, and discrimination are expressly prohibited by the Guilford County Board of Education. Harassment, bullying, and discrimination are defined as conduct intended to intimidate, discredit, injure, or disturb a student or groups of students to the extent that the behavior causes mental and/or physical harm to students and is sufficiently severe, persistent and pervasive so that it creates a learning environment that is intimidating, threatening, or abusive. Harassment, bullying, and discrimination can occur face to face, in writing, or through use of electronic means such as the Internet, emailing, or text messaging. Cyberbullying can include the use of personal web sites to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior intended to cause harm to persons or groups.

Any student who believes that he or she is the victim of harassment, bullying, or discrimination by another student shall make a complaint to a teacher, counselor, or principal... To read the rest of the policy, go to http://www.gcsnc.com/policies/admin_policy/jcdad-p.htm


SEVEN FACTS ABOUT ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

1. Nearly 80% of America’s ELLs are from Spanish-language backgrounds.

2. California has the largest population of ELL students—1.6 million.

3. More than 5 million U.S. students are ELLs.

4. During the 10-year period from 1994-95 to 2004-05 North Carolina’s ELL student population increased by 371.7 percent.

5. ELL students in the U.S. speak more than 450 languages.

6. Most of the nation’s ELL population—61%—lives in six states: Arizona, California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois.

7. The top 5 languages spoken by America’s ELLs are Spanish, Vietnamese, Hmong, Chinese/Cantonese, and Korean.

Guilford County Schools ESL Program 134 Franklin Blvd. Greensboro, North Carolina 27401

Source: Payan, R.M. & Nettles, M.T. Current state of English-language learners in the U.S. K-12 student population. Retrieved July 30, 2009 from http://www.ets.org/Media/Conferences_and_Events/pdf/ELLsympsium/ELL_factsheet.pdf

ESL Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 4 - Guilford County Schools · ESL teachers have a wonderful opportunity to make a difference—perhaps a life-saving one—by helping to improve their

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