ELL 240 Linguistically & Culturally Diverse Learners
Jerrica Mesquita
7 /30/2022 Process Groundwork: English as a Second Language Comment by TutorMe Tutor: Remove the title from the header.
Part one: Analysis
Introduction Comment by TutorMe Tutor: remove
Handling K-12 young learners to acquire and learn English as a second language comes with ups and downs both for the teachers and learners. Some instructors lack the appropriate knowledge and skills to handle such learners as has been proved by research outcomes. This study, therefore, provides an inside on some of the effective strategies including modeling ranked among the most effective way to handle ELLs, the theories appropriate for the learners, and how to incorporate them into the learning objectives and activities, presenting the learner as the center of focus. Comment by TutorMe Tutor: You have a good start here; the scope of the paper is clear.
A description of the Unique Characteristics of the students
The two students have unique characteristics as Maria is affected by BICS while Abed is affected by CALPS. Maria can only be heard talking while in the playground and socializes with friends but is silent in the classroom, thus, she is affected by BICS. Abed, on the other hand, is very interactive in class and can communicate effectively. He makes the right grammatical sentences, and his language of communication is understood. Surprisingly converting what he speaks to paper is a great challenge and this embarrasses him; he often makes grammatical mistakes. Abed has acquired the academic language, which is CALP, while Maria has not acquired the academic language, instead, she only has a social language that is BICS that does not require any training.
How the Characteristics could Impact Language Learning
The characteristics named affect language learning differently in that CALP allow the learner to develop various skills such as comparison, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis that are useful in academic settings while BICS enable the learner to acquire listening and speaking skills in a new language to help them communicate with their peers and friends. The CALP language takes a long time to acquire as compared to BICS thus in the case study provided, Maria has not mastered its concepts because it requires training and high order thinking level to enable a learner to understand the concepts underlying it. Language learning involves the ability of the learner to put down notes on paper. This implies that a learner must first understand the words, be able to read or speak the words then put them in a write-up. Having acquired the BICS language, the learner, with the help of laid down strategies by the instructors should be able to learn the second language gradually. Comment by TutorMe Tutor: Run on sentence.
Their Current Proficiency Levels
Proficiency levels are divided into five, namely, the beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced, and advanced proficiency stages (Teemant & Pinnegar, 2019). The two learners are in different stages; Maria is at the beginning proficiency level while Abed is in intermediate proficiency level
Strategies that are currently being used by the Teacher
Some of the strategies that are currently applied by the teacher include modeling, use of non–verbal cues during classroom activities, and giving verbal instruction to the learners. Modeling involves demonstrating various concepts to learners before they do it. It also involves the use of models such as charts in the classroom to enhance learning in the class. The use of non-verbal cues entails body movement, gestures, and facial expressions during learning sessions. Verbal instructions entail giving out information to the learners orally (it involves oral instructions). Comment by TutorMe Tutor: Elaborate and be more specific.
Effectiveness of the Strategies based on what is known and the Evidence to Support
Modeling
As mentioned earlier, modeling based on language learning involves demonstration of pronunciation of words by the instructor followed by mimicry of the sounds by the learners and the use of visual models. The teacher clearly outlines the learning objectives to the learners to have consistent instructional decisions that align with the intended learning outcomes (Kristy et al., 2020). The instructor repeats the word severally to enable the learner to remember it based on the principle that severally repeated words are easily acquired by the learners instead of speaking the words fewer times. Visual models remain the most effective models because the learners easily master what is seen and apply it to their write-ups, compared to content learned through listening only. To gauge the effectiveness of the modeling techniques, a teacher instructs the learners to come up with novel models and interpret them, answering short or long answers. Through this, the learners develop both interpretation and modeling skills. Both learners presented in the case study benefits from these strategies since they are learner centered. The learners can read what they see and put it down on paper, correcting the grammatical corrections. Comment by TutorMe Tutor: Add a hyphen.
The response from the learners enables the instructor to determine the strength and weaknesses of individual learners and hence can offer solutions to the weak learners. Other effective models include conversational moves and videos (Witt & Soet 2020).
Theories currently used by the Teacher that would be beneficial in this situation
There are four theories suggested for teaching and learning English as a second language. They include the behaviorist, cognitivist, interactionist, and innatist theories. Currently, the instructor uses behaviorist and innatists theory. According to Tseng (2021), behaviorists assert that for learners after exposure to a new language, consistency in repetition, practice, and motivation makes the learner make it habitual and gradually master its contents effectively. This will help Maria. Innatist theory, on the other hand, projects that second language learners acquire the second language content the same way as native language learners. The theory was developed by Stephen Krashen with the following outline; the learning hypothesis which entails subconsciously learning the language, the monitor hypothesis which involves correcting the contents while speaking or writing, and the natural order hypothesis which is concerned with the use of grammatical units such as articles and verbs, comprehensible input hypothesis- here the learner get exposed a language beyond their understanding but can understand their meanings, and lastly the affective filter hypothesis which entails the ability of the learner to articulate words in the new language acquired (Tiseng, 2021). This theory benefits both the learners. Comment by TutorMe Tutor: Generic stamen, remove or merge with another sentence.
Part two: Action Plan
Two Language Objectives that would be beneficial for helping the ELLs Progress in Language at this point based on the course content
According to Himmel (2012), stating objectives before beginning a unit has proven to be very helpful in language learning and other dimensions of teaching. The two language objectives that would positively impact the ELLs are;
Two Interventions\ Activities for each Language Goal will provide a Comprehensive Input Necessary for the Students to Progress
The activities that align with the first language goal include the learners being engaged in groups and each coming up with a word or words, the learners taking part in role-playing with their peers the words acquired in a text and describing the words in a picture form. The second objective aligns with activities such as displaying letters and words around the classroom to enhance learner engagement and reading, creating word families, introducing the learners to phonetic concepts, and allowing them to join the single letters to make words – phonemic concepts, thereafter, read them allowed. These activities will enable them to read words aloud depending on whether they understand them or not. Comment by TutorMe Tutor: Run on sentence, structure it properly.
Synthesis of how the Fundamental Theories, Concepts, and Vocabulary are applied to develop the Strategies or Interventions
The strategies included modeling, use of non–verbal cues during classroom activities, and giving verbal instruction to the learners. Whereas the fundamental theories were the behaviorist and the innatists. They can be utilized to develop the above objectives in that the learners will be exposed to the new words and engaged in regular and repeated practice of the new words until it becomes a habit for the learners and later master the new words. I will further make up visual models alongside the goals, and drop them at different places in the classroom, hence, they will read them whenever they come across the words. Through reading, they develop reading and modeling skills.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the challenges of teaching and learning English as a second language can be easy with the correct strategies and theories in place. Teachers should be informed about the English learning and acquisition theories to impact the right content that is also helpful to the learners. Teachers should also note the proficiency levels so that they handle learners according to their proficiency levels. Comment by TutorMe Tutor: remove Comment by TutorMe Tutor: Make sure to recall the key points and explicitly address the thesis and summarize the entire paper. Overall, you have a very well-written paper here, you don’t need to make any significant changes to it.