Page 46 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 to 12 | First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies

THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9–12 | First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies
In planning programs for students with linguistic backgrounds other than English, teachers need to recognize the importance of the orientation process, understanding that every learner needs to adjust to the new social environment and language in a unique way and at an individual pace. For example, students who are in an early stage of English-language acquisition may go through a “silent period” during which they closely observe the inter- actions and physical surroundings of their new learning environment. They may use body language rather than speech or they may use their first language until they have gained enough proficiency in English to feel confident of their interpretations and responses. Students thrive in a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment that nurtures their self-confidence while they are receiving focused literacy instruction. When they are ready to participate, in paired, small-group, or whole-class activities, some students will begin by using a single word or phrase to communicate a thought, while others will speak quite fluently.
In a supportive learning environment, most students will develop oral language profi- ciency quite quickly. Teachers can sometimes be misled by the high degree of oral proficiency demonstrated by many English language learners in their use of everyday English and may mistakenly conclude that these students are equally proficient in their use of academic English. Most English language learners who have developed oral proficiency in everyday English will nevertheless require instructional scaffolding to meet curriculum expectations. Research has shown that it takes five to seven years for most English language learners to catch up to their English-speaking peers in their ability to use English for academic purposes.
Responsibility for students’ English-language development is shared by all teachers, including the ESL/ELD teacher (where available), and other school staff. Volunteers and peers may also be helpful in supporting English language learners in the classroom. Teachers must adapt the instructional program in order to facilitate the success of these students in their classrooms. Appropriate adaptations include:
• modification of some or all of the subject expectations so that they are challenging but attainable for the learners at their present level of English proficiency, given the necessary support from the teacher;
• use of a variety of instructional strategies (e.g., small-group instruction; extensive use of visual cues, graphic organizers, and scaffolding; previewing of text; pre-teaching of key vocabulary; peer tutoring; strategic use of students’ first languages);
• use of a variety of learning resources (e.g., visual material, simplified text,
bilingual dictionaries, materials that reflect cultural diversity);
• use of assessment accommodations that support students in demonstrating the full range of their learning (e.g., provision of options for students to choose how they will demonstrate their learning; provision of additional time; use of oral or visual representations, or tasks requiring completion of graphic organizers or cloze sentences instead of essay questions and other assessment tasks that depend heavily on proficiency in English).
Teachers need to adapt the program for English language learners as they acquire English proficiency. For English language learners at the early stages of English language acquisi- tion, teachers are required to modify curriculum expectations as needed. Most English
44