ESL/Bilingual Resource

Guide
for
Mainstream Teachers
 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION CHART

STAGE I STAGE II
OFFICIAL NAME PREPRODUCTION EARLY PRODUCTION
OTHER NAMES NEWCOMER EMERGENT/BEGINNER
EMERGENT SPEAKER ONE-TWO WORD
SILENT PERIOD STAGE SOCIAL LANGUAGE STAGE

DEFINITION •Students not ready to actively produce •Students can attend to hands-on
language demonstrations with more understanding
•Listening and responding in non-verbal •May initiate conversation by pointing or
ways to show understanding using single words
•Very limited comprehension/vocabulary

•0 – 500 receptive word vocabulary •Up to 1000 receptive word vocabulary

•Adjusting to U.S. culture •Adjusting to U.S. culture

STUDENT BEHAVIORS • Depends heavily on context • Depends heavily on context

• Has minimal receptive vocabulary • Produces words in isolation
• Comprehends key words only • Verbalizes key words
• Indicates comprehension physically • Responds with one/two word answer or
(points, draws, gestures, etc.) short phrases
• May not produce speech • Indicates comprehension physically
• Mispronunciation/grammar errors

• ABLE TO: observe, locate, label, • ABLE TO: name, recall, draw, list,
match, show, classify, categorize record, point out, underline, organize

TEACHING STRATEGIES • Use manipulatives, visuals, realia, props, Continue Stage I Strategies
games PLUS
• Create climate of acceptance/respect that • Simplify language/not content
supports acculturation • Lessons designed to motivate students to
•Use cooperative learning groups talk
• Require physical response to check
comprehension
• Display print to support oral language
• Model activities for students
• Use hands-on activities
• Use bilingual students as peer helpers
• Adjust rate of speech to enhance
comprehension
• Ask students questions that require
• Ask yes/no questions
one/two word responses: who?, what?,
• Ask students to show/point/draw
which one?, how many?
•Teach content area vocabulary/ • Lessons expand vocabulary
terminology

RELATIVE TIME LINE FOR

EACH LANGUAGE 0 – 6 Months in U.S. School 6 Months – 1 Year in U.S. School
ACQUISITION STAGE

Please note students progress at independent rates depending on previous schooling, acculturation, and motivation.
Students with no previous schooling will take longer to progress through these stages.
Please remember most English Language Learners students have extensive language ability in their first language.
 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION CHART (continued)

STAGE III STAGE IV STAGE V

LOW INTERMEDIATE HIGH INTERMEDIATE FLUENCY ADVANCED FLUENCY
SHORT/PHRASES/SIMPLE BRIDGING EXITABLE
SENTENCES ACADEMIC LANGUAGE STAGE FLUENCY
SOCIAL LANGUAGE STAGE ACADEMIC LANGUAGE STAGE

•Students begin speaking in short •Students can communicate thoughts •Students have advanced skills in
phrases and simple sentences more completely, can participate in cognitive/academic language
• Many mistakes in grammar, word every day conversations without highly
order, word usage contextualized support
•Limited comprehension and
vocabulary

•Up to 7,000 receptive/active word •Up to12,000 receptive/active word •Beyond 12,000 receptive/active word
vocabulary vocabulary vocabulary

• Depends heavily on context • Depends on context • Functions on an academic level with

• Produces whole sentences • Engage in and produce connected age/grade peers
• Makes some pronunciation and narrative (discourse) • Maintains two-way conversations
basic grammatical errors, but is • Shows good comprehension •Uses more complex grammatical
understood • Uses expanded vocabulary structures
• Demonstrates comprehension by • Makes complex grammatical errors • Demonstrates comprehension in
responding orally and in written form • Functions somewhat on an decontextualized situations
(charts, graphs, diagrams) academic level • Uses enriched vocabulary
• Hears smaller elements of speech
• Functions on a social level
• Uses limited vocabulary
• Initiates conversation & questions
• Shows good comprehension (given • ABLE TO: relate, infer,
rich context) hypothesize, outline, revise,
• ABLE TO: imagine, create, suppose, verify, rewrite, assess,
• ABLE TO: tell, describe, restate, appraise, contrast, predict, express, justify, critique, summarize,
compare, question, map, dramatize) report, estimate, evaluate, explain illustrate, judge, demonstrate

Continue Stages I & II Continue Stages I-III Continue Stages I-IV

PLUS PLUS PLUS
• List and review instructions step by •Have students brainstorm, list, web, • Incorporate note-taking skills
step use graphic organizers • Study skills
• Build on students prior knowledge • Test-taking skills
• Incorporate more reading and writing

• Ask questions soliciting opinions,

• Engage students in producing judgment, explanation (more why and • Demonstrate how to verify answers
language such as describing, retelling, how questions) (oral and written)
comparing, contrasting, summarizing, • Introduce figurative language • Expand figurative language (idioms)
graphs, charts, diagrams, creating • Develop more academic language
rebuses (oral and written)

1 – 3 Years in U.S. School 3 - 5 Years in U.S. School 5 - 7 Years in U.S. School

Revised 4/24/2000 - PPS ESL/BE Department 1/2000

 Essential Tips for K-12 Mainstream Teachers
Working with English Language Learners

v Learn how to pronounce the student’s name. v Demonstrate; use manipulatives.

Whenever possible, accompany your message with
v Don’t assume he/she does not speak or understand gestures, pictures and objects that help get the
English…take the time to find out. meaning across. Use a variety of different pictures or
objects for the same idea. MODEL, MODEL, MODEL.
v Students who are recent arrivals need time to
adjust. v Make use of all senses.

v Increase your knowledge. Learn as much as you can v Make use of visual clues and graphic organizers.
about the language and culture of your students. Create semantic webs, cluster vocabulary, use graphs,
Encourage students to express their points of view and charts, maps, timelines, diagrams to help convey
opinions on different issues and share information meaning and check for understanding.
about their culture.
v Access prior knowledge. Assess students prior
v Families generally speak their 1st language at knowledge and tap into their past experiences to make
home. Encourage your students to continue to speak learning interesting and meaningful.
their 1st language.
v Write legibly. Some students may have low levels of
v Encourage students to read in their 1st language. literacy or are unaccustomed to the Roman alphabet.

v Focus on vocabulary. Pre-teach vocabulary and v Teach note-taking. For beginners, copying IS writing.
concepts; use realia, demonstrations, visuals, and Language experience is very appropriate.
multiple modalities when teaching. Illustrate, label,
explain multiple meaning words. v Provide frequent opportunities for ELL students to
speak. Use small groups, pairs, cooperative groups
v Read aloud! and native language groups (when possible).

v Cooperative groups are effective! “Buddies” are v Develop a student-centered approach to teaching
great for academics, playground, lunchroom, etc. and learning. Students can better acquire the
language when activities are planned that actively
v Simplify your language, not the content. involve students.

v Speak directly to the student, emphasizing v Ask inferential and higher order thinking questions.
important nouns and verbs. Avoid slang and Encourage students’ reasoning abilities, such as
idiomatic expressions. New vocabulary should be hypothesizing, inferring, analyzing, justifying, predicting
presented, discussed and used prior to teaching and allow them to demonstrate these abilities in non-
content. verbal ways using charts, diagrams, drawings, etc.

v Prepare and provide focus questions before you v Recognize that students will make language
start to teach the lesson. mistakes. Model correct grammatical form in a
supportive, friendly, respectful environment.
v For beginners, adjust the amount of work or the
performance standard to be reasonable. Increase v Do not force reticent students to speak.
requirements as proficiency and comfort increase. Give students opportunities, increase wait time,
respond positively to students’ attempts, and model
v Announce the lesson’s objectives and activities correct grammar.
prior to the lesson.
v Bring the student’s home language and culture into
v Write the objectives. Use pictures, drawings, the classroom.
diagrams, charts, labels, etc. to illustrate what will be
taught. Consider using a slower rate of speech (when v Create listening stations so they may listen and
appropriate), enunciate clearly, use less difficult words read at the same time.
and/or explain vocabulary that may make the content
difficult to understand. v Fluent conversation skills do not necessarily
indicate academic proficiency. Continue to use all of
v Don’t give inflated grades. these strategies for teaching academic content.

EQ:yp4/26/00
 Suggestions for Supporting K-12 Newcomer ESL Students
In The Mainstream Classroom

1. Sensitize mainstream students to the newcomers’ challenges. Prepare English-

speaking peers for the arrival of a newcomer. Ask your students to imagine that their
parents took them to another country to live. Brainstorm with them how they would feel.

2. Be aware of the effects of culture shock. Children may demonstrate physical

ailments or display a wide variety of unusual behavior such as tantrums, crying,
aggression, depression, tendency to withdraw, and sleeplessness.

3. Create a nurturing environment. Give lots of encouragement and praise for what the
students can do, and create frequent opportunities for their success in your class. Be
careful not to call on them to perform alone above their level of competence.

4. Establish a regular routine for newcomers. At first, everything will be chaotic to

your newcomers. Give them help in organizing time, space, and materials. Give them a
copy of the daily schedule. Tape it to their desks, or have them keep it at the front of their
ESL notebooks. Send a copy home so that parents can help their children feel more
connected to the classroom.

5. Engage newcomers in language learning from the beginning. Here are some ways
to actively engage your newcomers in language learning.
v COPY WORK Have students copy alphabet letters, numbers, their name, your
name, the names of other students in the class, and beginning vocabulary words.
Have them draw pictures to demonstrate comprehension of what they are copying.
v ROTE LEARNING While this is not popular in American schools, it is common in
many other countries. Initially, parents and students often feel more comfortable if
they can see some kind of end product. You may wish to have students learn sight
words, poems, chants, songs, lists, and spelling words through rote learning.
v THE CLASS AUTHORITY. Each newcomer has many strengths that he or she can
share with the class. When appropriate include them as resources so they too can be
seen as important members of the group. Areas of expertise might be computers,
math, origami, or art work.

6. Recruit volunteers to work with newcomers. At first, many students will not speak
at all. It is critical to provide students with plenty of aural input in order to familiarize
them with the sounds of the English language.

7. Use recorded material. A word of caution about the use of tapes and tape recorders.
The student using headphones is isolated from the rest of the class.
 13 Things for K-12 Mainstream Teachers
to Consider When Teaching Newcomers to Read

1. Read to newcomers every day. Appropriate reading material for beginning English
Language Learners (ELL) should include at least some of these characteristics.

v Numerous illustrations that help clarify the text

v Story plots that are action-based
v Little text on each page
v Text that contains repetitive, predictable phrases
v High-frequency vocabulary and useful words
v Text that employs simple sentence structures

2. Use reading strategies to increase students’ comprehension. When you read to

beginning ESL students, be sure to make language comprehensible to them.

v Point to the corresponding pictures as you read the text.

v Act out, dramatize, and provide models and manipulatives for students to handle.
v Read sentences at a slow-to-normal speed, using an expressive tone.
v Allow time after each sentence or paragraph for students to assimilate the material.
v Verify comprehension of the story by asking students to point to items in the
illustrations and to answer yes/no and either/or questions.
v Read the same story on successive days. Pause at strategic points and invite students
to supply the words or phrases they know.
v Point to the words in the text as you read them. This is particularly useful for
students who need to learn the left-to-right flow of English text.
v When students are familiar with the story, invite them to “read” along with you as
you point to the words.
v If appropriate for younger students, use Big Books, as both text and illustrations can
be easily seen.

3. Teach the alphabet. Preliterate students and literate newcomers who speak a language
that does not use the Roman alphabet need direct instruction in letter recognition and
formation as well as beginning phonics.

4. Use authentic literature. Begin with materials that have easily understood plots, high
frequency vocabulary and few idiomatic expressions.

5. Teach phonics in context. Using authentic literature, you can introduce and reinforce
letter recognition, beginning and ending sounds, blends, rhyming words, silent letters,
homonyms, etc. Phonics worksheets are not generally useful to the newcomer since they
present new vocabulary items out of context.

6. Make sure students understand the meaning. Your students may learn to decode
accurately but be unable to construct meaning out of the words they have read. Teach
newcomers to reflect on what they have decoded and to ask questions to be sure they
understand.
 7. Check comprehension through sequencing activity. Check student comprehension
with one or more of the following activities.
v Write individual sentences from the text on separate sheets of drawing
paper; then read or have the students read each sentence and illustrate it.
v Informally test students’ ability to sequence material from a story: print
sentences from a section of the story on paper strips, mix the strips; have
students put them in order.
v Check students’ ability to order words within a sentence; write several
sentences from the text on individual strips of paper; cut the strips into
words; have students arrange each group of words into a sentence.

8. Provide for audio review. Set up a tape recorder and record stories as you read.
Newcomers then have the opportunity to listen to a story, and read along, as many times
as they wish.

9. Teach reading in the home language first. Whenever feasible students should have
an opportunity to receive reading instruction in their home language prior to receiving
reading instruction in English. If you are a mainstream teacher and find yourself
responsible for the developmental reading instruction of preliterate newcomers, allow
newcomers time to develop some aural familiarity with English and build a vocabulary
base before beginning reading instruction.

10. Encourage reading outside of the classroom. Stock your classroom library and
encourage newcomers’ parents to join the public library and check out picture books, books
with read-along tapes, and home-language books, if available.

11. Encourage newcomers to explore creative writing in English. Students will learn
to write faster when they have real reasons to write. Motivate students to write by
providing them with meaningful reasons to write.

12. Establish and English Language Learner Center. Fill the ELL Center with activities for your
new language learners.
Here are some of the items you may want to include in your ELL Learning Center. It is
not necessary to put everything in at once. Add to the Learning Center a little bit at a
time.

v Tape recorder and earphones

v Copies of appropriate activity pages, and keep them in a loose-leaf binder, a large
envelope, or a folder with pockets.)
v Crayons, scissors, pencils, erasers, and paper
v An ESL notebook
v An ESL folder for Dictionary pages
v Labels for classroom objects
v A picture file (class-made or commercial)
v Well-illustrated magazines for cutting out pictures
v Blank 3”x 5” index cards to be used for flash cards or concentration games
v A picture dictionary
v Home-language books on your newcomers’ reading levels
v Home-language magazines with lots of pictures
v Nonfiction picture books from the library that cover the same content material you
 are currently teaching
v Beginning phonics books with tapes
v Taped music in both English and home language
v Picture books and well-illustrated beginning-to-read books with tapes
v Simple games: dot-to-dot activities, word searches, concentration games, sequencing
activities, and jigsaw puzzles
v An “object” box containing small manipulative objects for beginning vocabulary or
phonics learning.

13. Make up individualized Starter Packs for your newcomers. The Starter Pack
enables entry-level students to work independently on activities suited to their specific
needs. Encourage students to work on these activities when they cannot follow the
work being done in the classroom. Remember, however, not to isolate the newcomers
from their peers with separate work all day long. They, too, need to be a part of your
class and should be integrated as much as possible.
 List of Terms Related to ESL/Bilingual Programs
BICS: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills. Social Language that is less cognitively demanding

Bilingual Instruction: Instruction using two languages, usually the student’s first language and a second
language

CALP: (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) Language proficiency related to academic setting.
Language that is more intellectually demanding and abstract

Comprehensible Input: The language the learner already knows plus a range of new language that is made
comprehensible by the use of planned strategies

Content-Based ESL: A second language learning approach where teachers use instructional materials,
learning tasks, and classroom techniques from academic content areas to develop second language, content,
cognitive and study skills

Culture: The sum total of the ways of life of a people; includes norms, learned behavior patterns, attitudes,
and artifacts; also involves traditions, habits or customs; how people behave, feel and interact; the means by
which they order and interpret the world; ways of perceiving, relating and interpreting events based on
established social norms; a system of standards for perceiving, believing, evaluating, and acting

ELL: English Language Learner

ESL: English as a Second Language

Home Language: Language(s) spoken in the home by significant others (e.g., family members, caregivers);
sometimes used as a synonym for first language, primary language, or native language

Language Proficiency: The level of competence at which an individual is able to use language for both basic
communicative tasks and academic purposes

LEP: Limited English Proficient

NEP: Non-English Proficient

Newcomer: Any non-English speaking student who has never attended American schools and is new to this
country

PHLOTE: Primary Home Language Other Than English

Primary language: First or native language spoken by an individual

Pull-out Instruction: In the case of ESL pull-out instruction, when students are withdrawn from their
regular classrooms for one or more periods a week for special classes of ESL instruction in small groups

Realia: Concrete objects used to relate classroom teaching to real life (e.g., use of actual foods and
supermarket circulars to develop the language related to foods, food purchasing)

Sheltered Instruction: An approach in which students develop knowledge in specific subject areas through
the medium of English, teachers adjust the language demands of the lesson in many ways, such as modifying
speech rate and tone, using context clues and models extensively, relating instruction to student experience,
adapting the language of texts or tasks, and using certain methods familiar to language teachers (e.g.,
demonstrations, visuals, graphic organizers, or cooperative work) to make academic instruction more
accessible to students of different English proficiency levels
 REFERENCES FOR IMMERSION

Ada, Alma Flor (1990). Spanish-Language Children’s Literature in the Classroom. Compton,
CA: Santillana Publishing Co.

Christian, Montone, Lindholm, Carranza (1997). Profiles in Two-Way Immersion Education.

McHenry, IL: Delta Systems.

Cloud, Genesee, Hamayan (2000). Dual Language Instruction. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.

Curtain, Helena & Pesola, Carol (1998). Languages and Children: Making the Match.
Longman, NY: Longman Publishing Group.

Freeman, David E. & Yvonne S. (1994). Between Worlds, Access to Second Language Acquisition.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Freeman, David E. & Yvonne S. (1997) Teaching Reading and Writing in Spanish in the
Bilingual Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.