English Language Learners
Many instructors or teachers often experience varied changes in encouraging English Language Learners. Critics have established that the instruction model plays a critical role in defining the learner’s language proficiency. Notable challenges to learners include speaking, writing, reading and comprehending the English language. Nevertheless, educationists believe the language instructors hold the key to successful language learning.
The language instructors should encourage visual literacy as a means of stressing concepts. In most cases, the teachers would use graphic organizers to help the learner comprehend the Language. For instance, a chart with animal pictures will help the learner to comprehend the concept or relate it to a known concept. Interpersonal strategies such as cooperative or group learning, partnering English learners with native speakers, group sharing, and encourage participation have proved effective in encouraging learners. The wait time should moderate in order to accommodate the ability of the learners to respond to questions or participate in classroom. Other strategies include the use of simple vocabulary and to encourage learners to read journals or articles written in English Language.
Tutoring Reflection
The instructor’s preparation prior to the English lesson is suggestive of the quality of learning the students are likely to receive. When the teacher has a detailed lesson plan, she or he would have an ample time in addressing critical content to the learner. To prepare a good lesson plan, the teacher should consider factors such as age, content requirement, special concerns of the learner, and standards of education.
When the lesson plan content is relevant to the desired content for a given class, the teacher would not only be offering the right service to the learner, but also able to appreciate his or her work. Content requirement is a primary concern because it defines the success of lesson as well as the progress that the learner would make. Advisably, the teacher should make appropriate references to the curriculum, the course book, and other relevant materials necessary for a given standard.
Learners belong to various standards. By identifying the standards of the learner, the teacher would develop a lesson plan that covers the special concerns of the students. Additionally, the teacher should strive towards meeting the assigned standards when developing the lesson plan. It is a good practice to create or use examples that reflect the needs of the students. Moreover, the probably outcome of the learning exercise should override the lesson preparation. Arguably, this philosophy seems to influence the choice of language including vocabulary as well as examples that would apply in a given lesson. Further, the age of the learner should go hand in hand with the content.
English Language Learners
The English language teachers play a critical role in defining the students’ ability to learn the language. Largely, the teacher should prepare a lesson plan which considers factors such as the age of the students, the language ability of the student as well as special needs if any. Normally, the effectiveness of the teacher’s presentation in class would depend on the content of the lesson and the manner of presentation. The initial steps in lesson planning include identification of the of elements of SIOP lesson as well as making consultations on the needs that the target age would need in regard to the language.
It is a well known concept that instructors should prepare English Language Learners on how to express their learning experience. As the first step, introduction of the basic phrases is essential in creating a means of communicating experiences. Some of the phrases that a student should learn at the preparation stage are “I don’t understand”, “would you please explain that concept to me”, “what is the primary information that I should remember”, “what is the most important concept”, and “Is this the important test”. Critics have established that when a learner is introduced to the English Language, he will experience a period of silence (Audet, 2005). During this period, the learner begins to comprehend English, but does not attempt to speak it. The period may last for a considerable number of days depending on the ability of the students to grasp the concept. Afterwards, the students will begin speaking the language by producing one or two phrases and later move to make sentences. Notable, as the as the students struggle to learn the language, they will often miss the mark for grammar or pronunciation. Importantly, the instructor should emphasis on conveying meaning.
The teacher should establish a purposeful connection with the English Language Learners. Building of purposeful background with the students is pivotal to the subsequent lesson. Psychologically, learning depends on the interest created by the learner. In this sense, the teacher can build purpose connection with the students by teaching vocabulary or by connecting the content to what the student has experienced. To build a good background with the learners, the instructor may use KWL charts. These charts contain what the students know, what they have been taught and what they want to know. Elsewhere, the teacher may engage the students in the pre-reading activities. Pre-reading activities include going through text discussing the pictures and the topics. Moreover, the instructor may use symbols to relate well with the students. For instance, when the instructor is using checks to build background with the students, he or she should ask the students to recognize the meaning of each mark.
Available literature indicates that prior knowledge is an instrumental factor in influencing the comprehension of the student (Haynes, 2007). This theory borders on psychological aspects affecting emotion or schema of the learner. Arguably, when the learner is emotionally geared towards lessons, he or she is likely to comprehend the lesson content fast. Further, students exposed to comprehension strategies improve the manner in which they hand the comprehension in the next topics or text. Lastly, the learners should build a background on vocabulary after every lesson. As a requisite in effective lesson planning, the teacher should include the class activities alongside the teaching activities in the lesson plan (Genesee & Lindholm-Leary, 2007). While this approach is effective in introducing new items to the learners, it enables the teacher build a consistent class instruction.
The third item of SIOP lesson that teachers should demonstrate is development of comprehensible input. This principle dictates that the instructor should make assignments which are clear or easy to understand and by providing varied instructional experience. Some of the instructional movements that a teacher may use include total physical response- this include facial expression or hand gestures which illustrate the concept of the vocabulary used. Critics have established that students tend to respond to facial expressions displayed by the teacher (Haynes, 2007). This triggers emotional response subsequently affecting the comprehension of the student. Additionally, the teacher may use vocabulary cards, vocabulary cards, and confusing bulletin board to help the students to distinguish similar words or difficult words. Studies show that learner’s social setting affects learning of a given language. For instance, many students may face the difficulty of differentiating slang from idioms or the correct English language. Thus, exposing the students to vocabulary and idioms helps in limiting the challenges brought by the learner’s social environment.
The learner’s language command ability does not only depend on the effort of the student, but also the structure employed by the instructor to disseminate the lesson to the learner. The instructor should implement student strategies that lead to success. Critics have established that English Language Learners can benefit massively from identifying and applying specific strategies for success. Some of these strategies include SQRRR (survey, question, read, review, recite), questions in can- in this case the learner draw questions from a can and attempts to answer them (Haynes, 2007). Largely, the questions begin from the least complex to the most complex. Elsewhere, the student may take a gallery walk i.e. the student identifies ideas from the assigned text. Moreover, the students may write questions such as what, where, who, when, where on the edge of page before beginning the reading. These questions act as leading statements as the learner reads through the text (Genesee & Lindholm-Leary, 2007). Arguably, the learner will comprehend the text fast because he can quick answer the leading questions. When the learner familiarizes with strategies for successful learning, he or she will struggle to meet the self created goal.
The interaction model between the learner and the teacher affect the quality of learning. In classroom setting, the students respond to both body and vocal instruction provided by the teacher. Advisably, the teacher should create room for free interaction. Factors influencing learner-teacher interaction include wait time. Haynes (2007) suggested that length provided for the student to respond to questions influence the interest of the learner in responding to the question. When students receive sufficient wait time, the teacher is likely to experience aspects such as unsolicited responses, increased students questions, as well as large number of students volunteering to respond to the question. Other interaction models that the instructor should employ are group consensus, find your partner, and academic relays (Genesee & Lindholm-Leary, 2007). When students work in group they tend to develop language command by giving their own opinion about the text or the question.
When preparing lesson plan, the teacher should ensure that the content and the language standards meet the curriculum requirement. Educationist pace effective lessons to accommodate the student and keep the students engaged for at least 90%. The class based strategies should include listening tips, speaking, reading, and writing. Effective strategies for listening or reading often help the students to develop interest in the language. According to Bandura’s theory of social learning, learners tend to develop interest in their environment when the prevailing conditions appeal to the learner (Audet, 2005). Some of the ways to influence the learner’s interest are promoting accommodative environment.
The learners should engage in practice or application in order to integrate what they have learnt in classroom into practical usage. The teacher should encourage the students to read storybooks, engage in debates with fellow students, and compete in writing. Vocabulary contest or games enable the students to acquire a wide knowledge of English vocabulary. Lastly, the teacher should find time to review the student’s work. Audet (2005) established that even though students may engage in constructive learning session when they are alone, the assistance of the teacher helps in ironing out the difficult areas. Evidently, some students may reject the suggestions offered by fellow students in discussion groups.
In conclusion, developing an effective lesson plan for English Language Learners entails identifying the recommended content and standards for the selected group. The instructor should begin by preparing the students English phrases that would enable them to communicate their needs to the teacher. Further, the lesson plan should meet the SIOP lesson requirements. Largely, the stipulated requisites define the entry behavior as well as the mechanisms of establishing effective interaction, assessment, as well review of the learners’ ability.
References
Audet, H. R. (2005). Integrating Inquiry Across the Curriculum. New York: Corwin Press
Genesee, F., & Lindholm-Leary, K. (2007). Educating English language learners: A synthesis of research evidence. New York, NY [u.a.: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Haynes, J. (2007). Getting Started with English Language Learners: How Educators Can Meet the Challenge. New York: ASCD.
