Sheltered Instruction for Young EnglishLanguage Learners

A ConversationPresenter: Jo Gil

2011-2012

“For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have

abundance; but whoever does not have, even

what he has will be taken away from him.”

Matthew 13:12

The New King James Version

“The Matthew Effect”in Reading

“Those who already have good language understanding will gain still more

language proficiency, while those who lack initial understanding

will fall further and further behind.”

E.D. Hirsch, Jr. 2008

The earlier children acquire a large vocabulary,the greater their

reading comprehensionwill be in later grades.

Hirsch, Jr. 2008

We learn words up to four times faster in a familiar context than in

an unfamiliar one. (Support for theme-based

Instruction)

Hirsch, Jr. 2008

“The Early Catastrophe”

The 30 Million Word GapBy Age 3

Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley, 2003

“Vocabularyis completely

socio-economically based.”

Entering Kindergarten:Middle Class: 6-8,000 wordsWorking Poor: 5,000 words

Poor: 3,000 words

Ratio of Encouragements to DiscouragementsHeard by Children:

Professional Families: 6:1Working Families: 2:1Welfare Families: 1:2

Hart & Risley, 2003

What you say matters!

Powerful interactionsAre like rich gifts.

Dombro, Jablon, Stetson, 2010

Play vs. Instruction

Does it have to be one or the other in order to level the

playing field?

Chien, 2010

“In some ways, all children at age 4 are

‘English language learners.’”

Pedro A. NogueraProfessor of Culture, Education, and Human Development at NYU

How do children learn language?

It’s part of the softwarewe’re born with!

(called “universal grammar”)

Dr. Charles YangAuthor of “The Infinite Gift: How Children Learn and Unlearn the

Languages of the World.”

Even babies can pick up onthe rhythm and cadence of speech

–prosody.

That is how they distinguish between different languages.

Dr. Charles Yang

“Children learn a language by unlearning all other possible

languages.”

The more we adapt to one language, the more our brains ignore the subtle

inputs which can mean a great deal for the other.

Dr. Charles Yang

The less unlearning that takes place the better.

So… teach and reinforce different languages as early as possible!

Dr. Charles Yang

“Rules” for TeachingEnglish Language Learners

ELLs

A conversation starter

(Karen Nemeth)

1. Preschool needs to be high quality.

2. Well prepared teachers make a difference in child outcomes.

3. Every child must be read to at least once a day in English and at least

once a day in their home language. Somehow.

4. There is no research basis for prohibiting young children from using their home

language.

5. All the languages of the classroom must have equal status.

6. Volunteers and aides should be provided with training so they can be effective

language models and conversationalists.

7. Teachers should learn a few words in each of the languages of the children,

and provide books that match those languages and cultures.

8. Teachers should develop their skills for nonverbal communication.

9. Understand that children need more than four years to become fully, academically

fluent in their second language.

10. Help parents to support home language – this is a key to future school success

and strengthens the family bond.

11. Do not teach language – teach children. Language and vocabulary must not, and

can not be separated from meaning, function and concept learning.

12. Use real, authentic, recognizable items – to build on prior knowledge, evoke

conversation, build real functional vocabulary, and can be duplicated at

home.

13. Teach in themes that extend over several or many days. Children need time,

repetition, and practice in a variety of contexts.

14. Use real, authentic, recognizable items – to build on prior knowledge, evoke

conversation, build real functional vocabulary, and can be duplicated at

home.

Resources

www.languagecastle.com(Karen Nemeth’s website and blog)

www.colorincolorado.org