Page 41 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9-12: English As a Second Language and English Literacy Development, 2007

Special sections of other subjects adapted for English language learners should include the expectations of the mainstream course while focusing on general literacy develop- ment and the language conventions of the subject itself. This approach is most suitable for courses that require a great deal of background knowledge and/or experience that recently arrived students may not have, and for courses that require a high level of profi- ciency in English. For example, in science and technological education courses, students need practice in using the passive voice to write laboratory reports or describe processes. In mathematics courses, students need to understand and use expressions for comparing quantity, speed, and size, and words and phrases that indicate specific mathematical operations. In history, students need to become familiar with a wide range of tenses, words, and phrases that indicate chronological order and causal relationships among ideas and events.
All teachers should remember that English language learners need frequent opportunities to produce language in both written and oral formats. Students need to have plentiful opportunities to communicate with teachers and classmates through a range of interactive activities such as instructional conversations, cooperative group work, jigsaw activities, literature circles, writing conferences, peer tutoring, and community outreach tasks. Students also need to receive feedback in a respectful and helpful manner. English lan- guage learners need to be given sufficient wait-time to formulate their thoughts in a second language before they are expected to answer questions or contribute ideas in class. Teachers should focus on communication first, responding to the content of what the student is trying to communicate, before rephrasing in order to provide a model for the student. Focusing on only one or two errors at a time, in both oral and written work, will yield the most enduring results for English language learners. It is important to remember that making errors is a normal and useful part of the language learning process, allowing students to make and test hypotheses about the English language
and to apply knowledge and strategies from their first language and prior experiences.
More detailed descriptions of effective teaching strategies can be found below.
Anticipation Guide. The anticipation guide is a strategy used to activate students’ prior knowledge by asking them to identify their existing opinions and attitudes before read- ing a text. Prior to reading a text, students are asked to examine and respond to a series of teacher-generated statements that may reflect their pre-reading beliefs and knowledge about a topic. After reading the text, the students revisit the statements to explain how their opinions may have changed as a result of their reading. The anticipation guide
also provides an excellent springboard for discussion of students’ opinions and beliefs. Reading selections that may challenge students’ beliefs and opinions on science and technology, the environment, history, and current affairs all provide appropriate vehicles for the use of the anticipation guide.
Bilingual Books and Labels. Bilingual books allow students to use their first-language knowledge to help them make sense of English text. The use of bilingual books in the classroom affirms and celebrates students’ home languages and cultures, and sends a clear, positive message about the rich contribution of multilingualism to Canadian society. A wide variety of bilingual books is available commercially. In addition, students can create their own bilingual materials using their own stories or by gluing their transla- tions into published English books already available in the classroom.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROGRAM PLANNING IN ESL AND ELD
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