For content teachers

1
For content teachers

• Three
• Must-Know Concepts in ESL

2
First Concept Linguistic

• I found the issues of morphology, phonology, and
  syntax revealing and helpful. It is important to
  understand how and why ELLs experience
  difficulties with sound production, word
  formation, word order, and understanding sentence
  patterns. When teachers realize these things,
  they can select strategies and activities to help
  make ELLs language acquisition successful.
• "I've seen the phonetic alphabet before, but
  didn't know what each represented. This
  information on helps me explain to my students
  why certain letters sound different. It was also
  helpful to see the explanation of why
  Spanish-speaking students pronounce words
  incorrectly. 

3
PhonologySignificant sounds in a language

• Phonology is the study of the significant sounds
  in a language. Each language has its own
  phonology, and even though many sounds may be
  shared among languages, some sounds may exist in
  one language and not another. When this happens,
  the speaker tends to substitute a sound in the
  native language that approximates the sound in
  the second/foreign language.
• Example The English th, as in father and
  thorough, does not exist in many languages. The
  French speaker says, My fazer is very sorough in
  his work. (My father is very thorough in his
  work).

4
Phonology

• The rules of phonology also specify which sounds
  may occur in word initial and word final
  positions.
• Many Asian language do not have as many consonant
  clusters in word final positions as English does,
  making it difficult for speakers to pronounce
  such words as asked / æskt/ or talked /t?kt/.
• English has 14 vowels, but Spanish has only 5.
  When speaking English, Spanish speakers may
  substitute an existing sound in Spanish for an
  English one, as in pronouncing sick /sIk/
  as seek /sik/.

5
Morphology

• Morphology is the study of word and word
  formation, including affixes (prefixes and
  suffixes). Speakers will sometimes transfer the
  word formation rules of their own language to
  English.
• Example Romance language speakers may prefer the
  more or most forms for comparative and
  superlative adjectives when English calls for er
  or est Carlos was more big than his brother.
• Example Speakers may overgeneralize the past
  tense forms of verbs to irregular forms Ella
  eated her lunch.

6
Syntax

• Syntax refers to the rules that govern word
  order. Syntax is specified in English. Students
  must learn the order of words in basic statements
  and questions as well as the specific order of
  noun phrases and verb phrases in both affirmative
  and negative forms. When there is a difference
  in the students native language, there may be
  some interference.
• Example A French speaking student may say or
  write, Mary has a dress red instead of Mary
  has a red dress because color adjectives follow
  nouns in the French noun phrase.

7
Second Concept Error Correction

• "I learned about the different errors students
  make (global and local). I now know not to over
  correct or under correct errors. I know to take
  in consideration the learner's needs, level of
  language proficiency, and personal reaction to
  error correction before correcting."
•  

8
Global Errors and Local Errors and Mistakes

• Global errorsincorrect forms that hinder
  communication
• Example The different city is another on in
  the another two. 
• Local errorsa minor violation of the correct
  form but the hearer or reader understand the
  message
• Example Does John can sing? (examples from
  Brown, p. 262)
• Mistakea slip of the tongue, something not
  pervasive in the ELLs speech
• Example I like fruits and vegetables, maybe
  turpin greens. Yes, turnip greens are very good.

9
Where do errors come from?

• Interlanguage transferthe student refers to
  first language knowledge when unfamiliar with the
  second language
• Example the Spanish speaker may say sheep
  instead of ship.
• Intralanguage transfer the student
  overgeneralizes rules in the second language, for
  example, by regularizing irregular verbs
• Example I goed to the zoo.

10
When to correct

• Help students work through global errors by
  helping them rewrite or restate their comments.
  Doing so aids communication.
• Decide whether correcting local errors is
  disruptive to communication and impedes the
  student from conversing. If not, then correct.
  If the focus is on the message, do not correct.
• Mistakes can be ignored if the student knows the
  correct form and the mistake was a simple slip in
  performance.

11
How to correct

• Keep in mind that overcorrecting may result in
  the student refusing to take risks and use
  language in speaking and writing.

12
Important Acquisition of some forms is
developmental

• Students may go through the same developmental
  process of acquiring some forms in English.
• Example The acquisition of negation goes through
  various stages
• I no like football.
• I no can play football.
• I do not can play football.
• I cannot play football or I do not play
  football.

13
Important Acquisition is not linear

• A teacher was overheard saying, I know Juan can
  speak English better. I heard him talking to
  his classmates, and he spoke correctly. When I
  call on him, he pretends not to know English and
  makes lots of mistakes.
• Students make progress and then sometimes
  regress. Teachers should not interpret that as
  defiance or lack of intelligence.

14
Third ConceptLegal Issues

• "One of the most important things that I learned
  was about the legal issues surrounding ESL. I've
  heard people at my school express sentiments
  along the line of I don't understand why we have
  to teach them, we know they're illegal and it
  shouldn't be our responsibility."

15
Federal and State Laws on the Education of ELLs

• Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Office of Civil Rights Memorandum (Standards for
  Title VI Compliance) of May, 1970
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 1973
• Requirements based on the Supreme Court decision
  in Lau v. Nichols, 1974
• Equal Education Opportunities act, 1974

16
Federal and State Laws on the Education of ELLs
continued

• Requirement of Vocational Education Guidelines,
  1979
• Requirements based on the Supreme Court decision
  in Plyler v. Doe, 1982
• Americans with Disabilities Act (PL 94-142)
• Florida Education Equity Act, 1984

17
Legislation The Least You Should Know

• Federal Laws
• Title VI, Civil Rights Act, 1964,-no person may
  be denied rights and benefits of citizenship
  because of race, color, or national origin
• Lau V. Nichols, 1974, U.S. Supreme Courta child
  must have basic English skills to participate in
  the educational process and may not be denied
  access to education because of limited English.
• Plyler v. Doe, 1982, U. S. Supreme Courtupheld
  Texas court ruling that undocumented children
  have the same right to a free public education as
  U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
• No Child Left Behind Act of 2001makes school
  districts accountable for the education of all
  children, including ELLs.

18
References

• Ariza, E., et al (2006). Why TESOL? Theories
  issues in the teaching English to speakers of
  other languages in K-12 classrooms. Dubuque, IA
  Kendall/Hunt.
• Brown. H. D. (2007). Principles of language
  learning and teaching (5th ed.). White Plains,
  NY Pearson Longman.