The ESL Steps documents are very useful for both ESL teachers and classroom teachers. These documents break down the ESL scales into text types (yes, I know it is no longer about text types....its now types of texts) and these text types fit into the categories of Imaginative, Persuasive and Informative. There is one book per stage and each book has the following categories: Describing, Recounting, Responding, Instructing, Explaining, Persuading and Negotiating. Each section is broken down into the ESL band (A1 being the more basic through to A2, B and C being the more complex band). Your ESL teacher will be able to tell you which band your students are in. Once you choose the text type you are doing, and you know the band you can turn to the right page. Each band is broken into Oral, Reading and Writing. Oral is then broken into Listening and Talking. The ESL Steps document gives you the relevant ESL scale pointer reference and then gives activities for 'Controlled Support', 'Guided Support' and 'Independent Support'. The activities are relevant to the stage of the student and are designed to encourage maximum language usage. I find these four ESL Steps documents the most useful when it comes to planning for ESL students and I feel that they provide the greatest practical support for classroom teachers - as they list not only the scales but a scaffold of activities moving from controlled, teacher led activities through to independent activities. Most ESL teachers have a copy of these documents. If not, your school can order them from: Henry Parkes Equity Resource Centre Mimika Avenue WHALAN NSW 2770 Telephone: 02 8808 1177 Fax: 02 8808 1171 Email: [email protected] They can also be downloaded from the DEC intranet if you are a DEC school and have a portal log in. (Photo of ESL Steps document taken from http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/primary/english/crosscurriculum/esl/index.htm) (picture taken from http://syllabus.bos.nsw.edu.au/english/english-k10/content/881/)
Reference to the ESL Scales are found at the bottom of the old and the new English Syllabus...but what are the ESL Scales??? The average classroom teacher would have seen them listed at the bottom of the page in their English Syllabus, but without an actual copy of the ESL Scale the reference is really useless. What exactly does 'Oral Interaction level 6' mean? If you have an ESL teacher at your school they would know what this means and they would even have a copy of the scales....but what good is that to the classroom teacher? The ESL Scales are a very descriptive set of outcomes and pointers that an ESL student will work through in order to meet the English syllabus outcomes. The scales range from 'Beginning English', where the students learn BICS and basic literacy skills in oral fluency, reading and writing, through to more complex English skills in oral fluency, reading and writing. The NSW English Syllabus tells you where the student would be placed on the ESL scales if they are meeting the outcomes for their stage. However, in many cases, most ESL students are on the 'learning pathway' to meeting that outcome. In the example above it says that a student who meets that particular outcome would be on ESL scale Oral Interaction 6. If the student wasn't meeting that English outcome they would be somewhere on the 'learning pathway' on either ESL Scale 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 or 6.1. But to know what the ESL scale says for each outcome you really need to look at the ESL scales document. Ask your ESL teacher to have a look at the ESL scales document. Find out from the ESL teacher what scale your ESL student is on. You should be using the information from the ESL scales document to help you plan your English unit each term. Your ESL teacher is a fantastic resource and should be able to walk you through the document. The ESL scales look like this: (picture taken from: http://primaryeslteachersnetwork.wikispaces.com/USING+THE+ESL+SCALES) I came across this very good and comprehensive list of dos and don'ts for teaching ESL students within the mainstream classroom.
I am hoping this list will be useful for classroom teachers, especially those who have newly-arrived ESL students or who have ESL students in their classroom for the first time. I had planned to make my own dos and don'ts list...but this one was very good so I will just share it with you - no sense in reinventing the wheel! Some of my favourites are... Do: Make sure that ESL students are seated where they can see and hear well. Provide them with maximum access to the instructional and linguistic input that you are providing. Involve them in some manner in all classroom activities. Don't: Don’t separate and isolate students away from the rest of the class - physically or instructionally. Do: Fill your classroom environment with print and with interesting things to talk about and read and write about. Creating a language-rich environment will allow your ESL students to learn even when you aren’t directly teaching them. Don't: Don’t directly correct the grammar or pronunciation of what they say. This may lead to decreased participation and learning. Dos and Don'ts for classroom teachers of ESL students I love browsing the Internet.
Today I came across this fantastic resource on another Weebly. Literacy Continuum ESL Scales and EALD October 2013 The above site has a resource with the Literacy Continuum linked with the ESL Scales and the new EAL/D phase progression. This document will be super useful for EAL/D teacher and classroom teachers alike and will help in planning for ESL differentiation in your classroom. I hope you find it useful! Understanding the different types of English language learning is very important for a classroom teacher with EAL/D students. It seems second nature to me, as an ESL teacher - who learned this at University.....but it isn't evident at all to many classroom teachers and so it is very important to understand.
I was reminded of how important a good understanding of BICS and CALP are at a recent ESL network meeting, where I watched an excellent presentation of BICS and CALP. It was great to refresh my own knowledge but then I thought about who would really benefit from this information - and that is the classroom teacher. Many teachers believe, and with good reason, that because a student converses with near native English fluency, that they no longer need ESL assistance. Having a good understanding of BICS and CALP will better assist a teacher in determining whether or not their student still requires ESL support. BICS - Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills are the early conversational skills students learn when they first start to speak English. All most all of our ESL students at St. Mary's have acquired fluent BICS. It takes between 1-2 years of English language instruction to acquire BICS fluently. CALP - Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency describes a particular type of language acquisition that is used when reading and writing for academic purposes. It take between 5-9 years for a student to acquire CALP to the level of a native English speaker of the same age. CALP is concerned with the language of 'low frequency' words and technical language. It also relies on the student to have a good understanding of the 'passive voice' in which many text books, articles and exams are written in. Students whose parents speak English as an additional language do not always get exposed to the 'passive voice' and subject specific voice within the home. Many of the students in Phase 2 and Phase 3 are still in the CALP acquisition phase. They are able to converse with the fluency of a native English speaker, however they often struggle during comprehension activities and writing activities. Below is a link to a video by Dr Jim Cummings, an expert in the field of teaching English. Please take the time to watch it if you have ESL (or EAL/D) students in your class. I hope you find the following useful: BICS vs CALP I thought for my first post I would cover the basic acronyms around ESL or EAL/D.
I hope you find these descriptions useful. I will try to describe them in simple, practical terms. ESL - English as a Second Language (or as I liked to call it - English as a Subsequent language...as many students have English as a third or fourth language). This is the term that the ESL document - the ESL Scales - uses and it is also the term the old and new NSW English syllabus refers to. EAL/D - English as an Additional Language/Dialect. This is the term used on the new ACARA document that describes the new phases used to gain ESL funding in the Public School System. Personally I think it is a better fit for the term ESL and hope it is eventually used to rename the ESL Scales! NESB - Non English Speaking Background. You may hear students described as NESB. This means they generally have no or little English spoken at home, and it is often applied to newly-arrived Phase 1 students when they first start learning English. LBOTE - Language Background Other Than English - This term applies to students who have a language background other than English. This means the student may speak English at school and a different language at home. It also may mean they speak English at home in combination with another language. Often teachers are surprised to find they have LBOTE students in their class, who may speak a different language with extended family or who are exposed to a different language by their extended family. Some LBOTE students understand their home language but don't speak it fluently, some speak English most of the time but might, for example, communicate with grandparents in a different language. |
Mrs McNamaraI am an EAL/D teacher currently teaching in a primary school within the Newcastle area of NSW, Australia. Categories
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