ELL Midterm

First Language Acquisition Theories 

1. BF Skinner (Behaviorism): Imitation & Positive Reinforcement. Helping them develop habits of correct speech.

2. Noam Chomsky (Innatist): Humans are both innately hard-wired for language

Critical Period Hypothesis

• 2nd Languages were better acquired before puberty 

• Studies now show that acquisition can go further into the late teen years 

• Advantages & Disadvantages for children & adults

Krashen’s Monitor Model(5 Hypotheses)

1. Acquisition learning hypothesis:  language is absorbed subconsciously.

2. Natural order hypothesis: We acquire the parts of a language

   in a predictable order.

3. Monitor hypothesis: We can use learned language to monitor or inspect what we acquire and then correct errors, acting as a "monitor" or editor. 

1. Input (comprehension) hypothesis: second language acquisition needs to be comprehensible, I (where you are at) + 1 (grasping what one will learn); it's not knowing if it's I + 0, meaning there isn’t any challenge.

4. Affective Filter hypothesis: suggests that emotional factors, such as anxiety, motivation, and self-confidence, act as a "filter" that can affect what comprehensible input reaches the learner.

Interaction Hypothesis

• Speakers modify their speech and their interaction patterns to help learners participate in conversation

• English Learners need opportunities to interact with other speakers and reach mutual comprehension(EL & Proficient Speakers)

• There is room for correction in errors with the natural flow of conversations.

Fossilization

• The permanent fixation of incorrect language forms, rules, or features in a learner's interlanguage, despite continued exposure to the target language.

• Focus on comprehension, and don’t correct mistakes that go outside of the need within a lesson. 

Comprehensible Output Hypothesis

• When learners are in conversation, they make an effort to produce language that the person with whom they are conversing can understand

• They are most likely to recognize the limits of their second language ability and the need to find more effective ways to convey their meaning.

Input Processing Model

• Looks at how learners make sense out of the input and how they get linguistic data from it.

• The language learners hear or see in a communicative context

• Or language that is “embedded in a communicative event that the learner attends to for its meaning”.

Zone of Proximal Development

• Refers to a metaphorical space between what an individual can do on his or her own and what he or she can do with support from a teacher or other more knowledgeable person.

• Sweet spot for learning where the material isn’t too easy or too hard.

Scaffolding

• Term from Vygotsky(socio-cultural perspective on language acquisition)

• Gradual support of students by teachers. 

• It is temporarily used to build something and is removed once the building is completed.

Communicative Language Teaching

• Grew out of the traditional approach of teaching language that often focuses on memorized dialogue and drills

• Learners learn a language by using it to communicate.

• Authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of classroom activities.

• Fluency is an important dimension of effective communication.

• Communication involves the integration of different language skills.

• Learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and error.

Content Based Instruction

• It is an approach to second language teaching in which content-area subjects and topics serve as the basis for instruction.

• Sheltered instruction, or specially designed academic instruction in English (SDAIE)=teaches academic content and English language simultaneously. 

How do Krashen’s and Vygotsky’s theories differ? Give examples.

• Krashen: Role of the Individual, internal cognitive processes in receiving language

ex. The learner is passive and subconsciously absorbing language input.

• Vygotsky: Role of social interactions and cultural contexts.

ex. Learner are activity processing languge in social circles collaborativly. Learners are actively processing language in social circles collaboratively.

Silent Period & Wait Time

• Students who are just beginning to learn a new language (i.e., those at Level 1) may not be ready to start speaking when they first enter the classroom.

• It’s important for teachers to include wait time after asking questions, which can be a pause to allow students to process what’s being asked. 

 Teacher Talk in the Classroom

1. Making speech comprehensible 

• By talking less and allowing students opportunities to practice their speech

• Providing more open-ended questions to push students to elaborate.

• Slow down the pace of instruction and avoid using long sentences or confusing metaphors/idoms.

Vocabulary Development

• Lexical knowledge is one feature of languge that must be developed in ELL.

• Learners need around 2,000 words to engage in conversation, 5,000 words for text, and over 10,000 words for academic texts.  

• Vocabulary instruction should not be based on outdated and ineffective methods, such as having students look up and copy dictionary definitions.

Minimal Pair

• are words or phrases that differ by only one phoneme 

ex. “pen’/“pan, or “he bit the boy”/“He hit the boy.”

• helps address common misunderstandings with sounds that may not be familiar within a learner’s L1

• can be instructed through interactive uses of pictures.

ex. Who is making a bed?” and “Who is making a bid?”

Assessing Listening & Speaking

• Teachers should become skilled at eavesdropping, listening to students when they are not necessarily engaged in structured academic tasks—when they are coming into the classroom, for example, or when they are lined up to go to lunch.

• Teachers should also engage in conversations with their students in these less structured situations.

• Including one-to-one conversation, to examine learners’ oral language use. 

Techniques for Error Correction

• Correct the errors students are ready to learn how to correct.

• Don’t overcorrect to cause frustration(affective filters rising)

• Avoid highlighting mistakes of students in whole-class settings.

Crede Report - Key Findings

Center for research on education, diversity, and excellence report

1. Not much research exists on how ELLs develop oral language.

2. Learning oral English takes time for ELLs.

3. ELLs need some English skills before they can interact easily with native speakers.

4. Using English outside school helps them improve.

5. Home language supports academic growth.

6. Current English oral tests don’t show the full ability of bilingual students.

 WIDA

• World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment

• Big Ideas: Equity(of opportunity and access), Integration(of content and language), Collaboration(among stakeholders), and Functional Approach(to lang. development). 

• Narrate, Inform, Explain, Argue

National Literacy Panel Report- Key Findings

• Oral language helps more with understanding big chunks of text than with reading single words.

• Strong oral language in English = better English reading comprehension.

• Strong oral language in English = better English writing.

• Oral language in English is not closely tied to spelling (you can spell without knowing meaning).

• ELLs need consistent ESL support for comprehension, not just general good teaching.

• Home language reading + strong English oral language = better English reading comprehension.

What makes listening challenging for MLLs?

• How much of the content of English was understood?

• Pace and tone of the speaker

• Processing time

• Lack of prior knowledge of cultural contexts.

What makes speaking challenging for MLLs?

• Phonological Awareness

• The level at which a student can express his/her ideas in an understandable flow.

• Grammatical competence: Various kinds of rules of grammar.

• Fear of making mistakes in front of others.