Interactive writing, word study, and language
logs can be used to extend learning. Reading
miscues and grammar errors will persist but to a
lesser extent than that of ELs at the emerging
language proficiency stages. You can use
sentence combining to help ELs become more
metalinguistically aware and more agile in using
clause structures in their writing (Sjolie, 2006).
More work on academic vocabulary is also
warranted.
Similarities and Differences in
Literacy Learning and Instruction
If EL learners come to school having had no
literacy learning in their first language, then
steps to literacy teaching EO students are
similar and applicable to build decoding skills
for ELs. If the learner has had literacy
instruction, you can build on their underlying
proficiencies as stated above (Cummins, 2000).
As in all good literacy instruction, students need
to learn to understand the grapho-phonic
relationships in the language, to make meaning
from what is decoded, to understand how texts
are used, and to understand the political and
social aspects of texts. Extensive reading and
guided reading are foundational. All of the
strategies we know to help EO students will be
useful for ELLs. That said, results of teaching ELs
as if there is no differences in their learning
needs have been noted in the achievement
gaps between ELLs and their classmates
nationwide (Au, 2006).
In the following section, I will highlight
recently published research which features
additional effective teaching practices for ELLs.
Building background knowledge as described
above, including sentence grammar, many
more elaborate approaches to vocabulary
learning, and multiple readings of a topic in a
variety of formats are basic approaches.
Building background knowledge. Cultural
assumptions abound; culture is like the air you
breathe. Cultural values are an essential part of
life, yet they are invisible. August & Shanahan
(2006) have noted that ELLs are below par
performance on reading comprehension
measures due to lack of background knowledge.
ELLs, for example, may not understand
idiomatic content which infers culturally specific
knowledge. A sentence such as “He gave the
man a ball park figure” depends on the cultural
knowledge of knowing the idiom, “it’s in the
ball park” which means “it is OK,
approximately”. Consequently, it is a teacher’s
job to recognize the need to build background
knowledge for ELLs. This can be done by
showing a video, using pictures, or bringing in a
variety of readings about the same topic which
could inform EL students about background
information needed to understand the text. If a
text is about camping, for example, the
assumption that camping outside is a fun
activity could be elaborated before the reading.
When planning a book talk it is necessary to
examine a book for cultural aspects that need
to be made visible for ELLs who are from other
cultural backgrounds. In order to do this, it is
helpful to get to know the students