Communicative Language Teaching

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an effective method for teaching English language learners.  The goal of CLT is communicative competence, not linguistic or grammatical competence.  Communicative competence is knowing when and how to say what to whom.  The following are characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching:

  1.  Language learning occurs when students communicate in English.  The belief behind CLT is if you want to learn English, then you must practice using English to communicate to others.  Students practice communicating to others in English instead of solely studying the language.  Interacting with others using English is a key characteristic of CLT. Examples of communicative activities are role plays, games, and problem-solving tasks in pairs or small groups.  Working in pairs or small groups maximizes the amount of language practice the students receive.  Students do most of the speaking in this method.

  2.  Students use authentic communication.  Authentic communication means language that is used in real-life situations.  Students are given many opportunities to practice meaningful communication in a variety of real-life scenarios such as role playing ordering food at a restaurant, meeting someone for the first time, asking for directions, or interviewing for a job. Role playing is a common activity in CLT.

  3.  The goal of the student is making themselves understood.  According to CLT, how a student responds to a communication breakdown is beneficial for learning language. In other words, how does the student respond if he/she is not being understood by their peers? Do they repeat what was said?  Do they rephrase what was said? 

4.  Authentic materials are used in lessons allowing students to learn language that is meaningful.  Students communicate with one another using authentic materials.  Examples of authentic materials include newspaper clippings, brochures, menus, or personal photographs.

5.  Errors are perceived as a natural outcome for developing the English language and are part of the learning process. Teachers may not correct student errors, but may note these errors for future instruction or correct the student indirectly. The focus of CLT is communication, so the goal of student interaction is being understood instead of speaking without errors.

  6.  Learners’ fluency skills are evaluated by the teacher along with accuracy skills.  Teachers who use this approach evaluate students by their interactions with others, not by speaking perfectly.  

iTranslate App

iTranslate is an effective language translation app for communicating with ESL students.  You type what you want to say, and the app translates English to the student’s native language.  Students can also speak into the iPad and iTranlsate records what the student says.  The app translates the student’s native language into English.  I found this method to be less effective because iTranslate does not accurately record what the student says, even when the student is speaking slowly and clearly.  Despite this flaw, I still highly recommend iTranslate for ESL and classroom teachers who need to communicate with their English language learners.iTranslate is also helpful for English language learners for learning new vocabulary words and grammar structures.

Reading and Writing Skills for Beginner ELL Students

There is debate whether or not to teach beginner students reading and writing skills before their oral language has developed. I say yes! Go for it! Even though my ESL students did not know any English, I began teaching them letter names, sounds, basic sight words as well as phonological and phonemic awareness skills from the very beginning. Since the ESL teacher’s goal is to catch ESL students up to their peers as quickly and effectively as possible, there is no time to waste! Also, I never encountered any problems with teaching all four skills right from the beginning. In addition, oral and written language often overlap since beginners are reading and writing simple sentences that reflect how we speak. For example, ESL students can learn common sight words from the simple sentences they learn from grammar instruction such as I, am, is, are, come, from, can, like, have, etc. In addition, students read these words in simple texts at their instructional reading level as well as write these words in writing pieces.

Contrastive Analysis

A useful strategy to use when teaching beginner ESL students is contrastive analysis.  Contrastive analysis is where you compare and contrast English and the student’s native language. You analyze vocabulary words (are there cognates or similar sounding vocabulary words), grammar (what is the syntax structure of the student’s native language), pronunciation (what are similar sounds between the two languages), and the reading and writing system (Latin, Arabic, Chinese). By doing a contrastive analysis, you are able to predict easier language skills as well as difficult language skills for the student as they are acquiring English. For example, Spanish speakers use the same writing system as English speakers, so forming letters will not be as challenging like it would be for Chinese speakers. However, Spanish speakers do not have the third person singular (He walks). Therefore, this skill will be more difficult for Spanish speakers to learn. As an ESL teacher, you know ahead of time that your students need more time to practice this skill. Contrastive analysis helps with reading in that you begin with letter names and sounds that are similar between the two languages.  Similar letter names and sounds will be easier to learn than letter names and sounds that differ between the two languages, which you teach last. If you do not know the similarities and differences between English and your student’s first language, listen carefully to the student when they speak their first language. Any sounds that are similar to English will be easier for the student to learn. I have noticed that the “th” sound (soft and hard) is difficult for many English language learners because most languages do not have this sound in their first language. If you have students who do not use the Latin writing system in their first language, then, as an ESL teacher, you can plan extra time for these students to learn how to form Latin based letters during your lessons.

Grammar Translation Method

Grammar Translation Method is a method of teaching language through translation. This method requires learners to translate texts from English (in this case) to the student’s native language. Some of these texts may be literary works. I have seen some teachers use this method to teach English and you may be tempted to use this method with beginners, but Grammar Translation Method is an ineffective method for teaching the English language!  Here are the reasons why:

1. Translating from one language to another does not reflect authentic communication and how we interact with one another. Communication is meaningful, spontaneous, natural, and requires other forms of communication such as speaking and understanding, not just reading and writing.  In order to effectively communicate with English speakers, English language learners need to use all four skills of the English language (understanding, speaking, reading, and writing) in a variety of situations with a variety of people.  This model of teaching is called Communicative Language Teaching.  Grammar Translation Method does not reflect this model.

2. The only type of thinking involved in Grammar Translation Method is translation only.  There are no other ways of thinking while learning English.  Thinking about how to translate from one language to another does not reflect how we think when we are communicating through language. 

3. There is too much emphasis on the student’s native language instead of the focus being on English. If ESL students need to learn English, then students need to use English as much as possible. Some vocabulary words do not translate directly between two languages.

4. Grammar Translation Method is boring and students need to be motivated to learn any language!

Zone of Proximal Development

A hindrance to many English language learners is that classroom teachers teach less challenging material compared to their monolingual peers. Classroom teachers may believe that their ELL students do not have enough language proficiency to grasp the content being taught. Often times though, ELL students do in fact have enough English proficiency to understand the same content as their peers.

In my own experience, I have observed ESL students not being pushed enough with their learning by not only classroom teachers, but by ESL teachers as well. For example, kindergartners will learn their letter names and sounds throughout the entire school year instead of moving on to digraphs and magic/silent “e” words. This occurred even when the students mastered all of their letter names and sounds.

I have been told by ESL teachers that their students were not progressing because they are English language learners! This was not the case! In my opinion, the ESL students in her class were not being pushed enough. In other words, there lacked a zone of proximal development(ZPD) among the students. ZPD is the difference between what a student can achieve independently and what the student can achieve with help. “Proximal” means skills that the learner is “close” to mastering on their own, but cannot master at that point in time. Therefore, the teacher uses scaffolding, which is support that builds on a student’s existing knowledge in order for the student to accomplish the slightly more difficult task being presented. Scaffolding helps the student achieve the skills or tasks that they could not have achieved on their own. Scaffolding only works within a student’s ZPD. This means that the teacher should not stretch the student’s knowledge and abilities too far from what the student currently knows. Scaffolding is effective when the teacher slightly stretches their student’s knowledge and abilities (working within the students’ ZPD) by building on the students’ prior knowledge and by having high expectations of their ELL students. Support is gradually removed as the ESL student is able to complete the task on their own.

As an ELL teacher or classroom teacher who has ELL students, have high expectations for your ESL students! I have often observed that ESL students know much more than they let on! Assess your ELL students, so you are aware of their current knowledge and skills. Share your assessments with the ELL teacher or the classroom teacher. This way, you both know when and how to expand your ELL students’ learning.

Bilingualism/Multilingualism: Literacy and Bilinguals

If you have a bilingual child, what is the best way to develop their literacy skills in both languages?  There are a variety of  programs for learning to read and write in both languages.

The dual language model is where both languages are used for literacy instruction and development throughout the day. The immersion bilingual education program is where children learn to read in their second language before they learn to read in their native language. Literacy in the native language is added to the child’s education and not replaced.

Another program is the opposite of the previous model.  Children develop their literacy skills in their native language first and then develop literacy skills in their second language. Educators who support this model claim that it is easier to understand texts in a language that you already know and understand. The goal of these models is additive bilingualism where a second language is added to the child’s native language without replacing their native language.

Research has concluded that literacy skills in a student’s first language is a strong predictor of their development of reading skills in their second language. The more literacy skills a student has in their first language, the easier and quicker it will be for that student to acquire literacy skills in English.  If a child understands the concepts of print and uses comprehension strategies (scanning, skimming, visualizing, using background knowledge, making inferences, etc.) in their native language, the child transfers these literacy skills from their first language to their second.  Many educators believe that because of this research, it may be more effective to develop the child’s literacy skills in their native language first and later on, develop the child’s second language literacy skills.  

Reading and writing skills need to be explicitly taught, especially the differences between the two languages. The child’s writing system in their first language and whether or not the child’s first language is a literate language may affect the ease and rate at which English literacy skills are acquired.

An important point to language success is language development. The more a parent develops their child’s native language in all four domains (speaking, understanding, reading, and writing), the more successful the child will be in acquiring a second language.

Bilingualism/Multilingualism: Translanguaging

Bilingual teachers usually use one language during each block of instruction. But, is separating each language the most effective way for teaching both languages? The current bilingual trend is moving away from separating the two languages to using both languages in the same lesson. Using both languages in order to solve a problem or to understand content in the classroom is called translanguaging.

Translanguaging is used to maximize students' learning. The reasoning behind using translanguaging in the classroom is the belief that students naturally use both languages in order to fully understand and learn academic content. The goal of bilingualism and translanguaging is to develop academic learning and skills in both languages.  If translanguaging is occurring in the classroom, then progress and learning need to be achieved in both languages through effective language planning.  Ensuring that students are effectively using both languages during a lesson needs to be managed, so students do not overrely on one language over the other. This may be difficult to regulate since students may naturally prefer using one language over the other.

What is the difference between translanguaging and codeswitching: Translanguaging in the classroom is a much deeper process than codeswitching. Translanguaging is when both languages are used in order to solve an academic problem or to understand academic concepts in a deeper way. The goal of translanguaging is to fully understand and learn academic content by using two languages. Codeswitching or codemixing is when a bilingual person switches between two languages while speaking.  Codeswitching may occur to solve an academic problem or to understand academic content, but there are many other reasons why codeswitching occurs that do not involve academic content. There are a variety of social reasons for codeswitching, whereas the only goal for translanguaing is to obtain a deeper meaning and understanding of academic concepts.

Bilingualism/Multilingualism: ESL Programs

The various English as a Second Language (ESL) programs along with their acronyms can be confusing, even for ESL teachers! The goal of these programs is for ESL students to acquire social and academic English as quickly and as effectively as possible, so they are able to succeed in school and beyond. Here is some clarification with ESL programs in the United States:

Mainstreaming/Submersion: ESL students are placed in a classroom with no English support. The curriculum and instruction are not modified to make the content more comprehensible for ESL students.

Mainstreaming with Pull-Out: ESL students are placed in a mainstream classroom and are pulled out of the classroom for English language instruction and learning that is at the level of the ESL student. The amount of time the ESL student spends with the ESL teacher depends on their proficiency level, state regulations, and, realistically speaking, the schedule of the ESL teacher. The ESL teacher can also “push-in” to the mainstream classroom to provide ESL instruction for their ESL students and/or to provide support during the classroom teacher’s instruction.Co-teaching (complementary teaching) can also occur where both teachers plan and give instruction that is appropriate for all students.

Sheltered English Immersion (SEI):ESL students are placed in a mainstream classroom where the curriculum and content are modified by a trained and licensed teacher in order to make content understandable for ESL students.The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) is a model that helps ESL teachers plan and evaluate their sheltered instruction. It is important to note that many teachers believe that SEI is “just good teaching” and modifications are not really needed for ESL students if they have a “good teacher” who implements “good teaching”. Although some modifications are similar, there are differences between being a “good teacher” and effective second language teaching and learning. There is much knowledge and experience that comes with teaching ESL students that a mainstream teacher understandably lacks.

Newcomer Program: Students who recently arrive in the United States may be placed in a newcomer program. Newly arrived ESL students are placed in an ESL sheltered classroom that is welcoming and supportive, so they can adjust to the English language and American culture. When the student has developed enough English, the student transitions to a mainstream classroom and still receives ESL support. This may take one to two years or longer.

Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE): ESL students are first taught in their native language and are allowed to use their native language in the classroom. Students’ native language in the classroom is gradually decreased and is replaced with English. The goal is to increase proficiency in English while decreasing the use of the native language in the classroom. When students are proficient enough in English, they are transitioned to the mainstream classroom.

It is important to mention that none of the above ESL programs are bilingual programs because the aim of these programs is monolingualism.  Just because these programs are used for bilingual students does not mean that they are bilingual education programs.  Even the TBE model is a weak form of bilingual education since the goal is to replace the students’ native language with English.

Bilingualism/Multilingualism: Underachievement for Bilinguals

Have you ever wondered why so many bilinguals are struggling in school despite the positive beliefs about bilingualism?  If research suggests that bilinguals have cognitive advantages over monolinguals and at a certain point, surpass their monolingual peers in the classroom, then why are so many bilinguals underachieving in schools?

It is claimed that the underachievement of bilinguals is due to factors other than knowing two languages. The following factors may contribute to the underachievement of bilinguals in school.Some of theses factors can overlap.

Weak Competency in First Language:

The Developmental Interdependence theory states that the stronger your first language, the easier and faster it will be to acquire a second language. Academic vocabulary and literacy skills will transfer from the first language to the second. Therefore, the stronger the skills in the first language, the stronger the second language will become. As a result, the student will experience more language and academic success in school.  If proficiency is weak in the first language, it will take more time and be more difficult to learn the second language.  If there is a lack of academic vocabulary and reading skills in the student's native language, then it will take more time and be more difficult to learn these skills in the second language.

Culture:

Some parents in the American culture take on an active role in their children’s education. These parents work with their children to prepare them for school and continue to play an active role throughout their child’s education. These students come from families who value education at home and nurture critical thinking skills in their children. Some cultures do not view their role in their child’s education in this way. Parents from some cultures view school, and school alone, as being responsible for their child’s education and it is not the role of the parents to educate their child at home. This is not wrong, but may be a reason as to why some bilinguals lag behind in school.

Some cultures may value rote learning over critical thinking skills, skills that are valued in the American school culture. Some parents of some cultures may jump in and solve a problem that their child is struggling with at home instead of allowing the child to solve the problem on their own. Therefore, bilingual students from these cultures may not have sufficient critical thinking skills because they are not used to thinking and learning in this way.

Higher Standards:

While teaching English as a second language, I noticed that the grade level standards increased throughout the years. The higher standards could be an additional factor for why some ESL students are underachieving in schools. As a bilingual teacher or an ESL teacher, what can you do when school is not valued at home?  One solution is that you can provide lists of vocabulary words that will be taught in the classroom each trimester or quarter. These lists can be translated and parents can pre-teach these words at home if they are able.If parents are able to read English, you can provide lists of sight words as well as books from a lending library that the child can read at home. You can encourage parents to visit their local library.  You can also foster critical thinking skills in your classroom.

Socioeconomic Status:

There is a strong correlation between students’ socioeconomic status and academic achievement.Poverty and lack of resources could contribute to underachievement in school. As an educator, you can provide books from your lending library and/or encourage your students to go to the public library to obtain books to read.

Quality of Education:

Some monolingual schools have bilingual teachers and aides, however, there is no effective model for language instruction and learning. I have taught in a school where ESL classrooms speak mostly the students’ native language or resort to the first language often when teaching. This causes over reliance on the student’s native language and does not increase the students’ English language skills or their confidence in English. I noticed that these students remained in ESL classes year after year and did not exhibit confidence with their English skills. If the child is to receive a bilingual education, the model needs to be effective and benefit the students in both languages.

Interrupted Schooling and Trauma:

Some bilingual students may come from countries of civil unrest or oppression. As a result, the child may experience stress from this experience in addition to the stress of adjusting to a new culture and language.  Also, there may have been periods of time when the child could not attend school.

Learning Disabilities:

Bilingual children can have learning difficulties just like their monolingual peers. It is important to note that bilingual children must receive both special education services and language support.

Final Thoughts:

When thinking about your bilingual students, it is important to accept your students as they are as well as where they are academically. Your role is not just teaching language skills. Your role is also caring about your bilingual students, supporting your students and being there for them, and empowering your bilingual students. From an educational perspective as a whole, how can we make education in America more accessible for all students? What needs to change and how do we change, so that bilingual students are more successful in American schools?

Bilingualism/Multilingualism: Theories

The most relevant theory that ESL teachers need to know is called the Developmental Interdependence theory. This theory suggests that a child’s second language acquisition and competence partly depends on the level of competence the child has in their first language. In other words, the more the child knows in their first language, the easier and quicker it will be for the child to develop their second language. The reason for this is that the ESL student transfers their knowledge from the first to the second language. An example of this is vocabulary knowledge. When learning a second language, the ESL student transfers vocabulary knowledge from their first language to their second. Therefore, the more vocabulary words a student knows in their first language, the easier and faster it will be for the student to acquire proficiency in their second language (and the easier it will be for ESL teachers to teach these students!) When a student’s vocabulary knowledge is weak in their first language, then the student must be explicitly taught the meaning of the vocabulary word and the language for that word.This makes learning a second language more difficult and more time consuming.

The Developmental Interdependence theory stresses language in general for the success of learning a second language. As a parent or an ESL teacher, the emphasis on your child's/student’s native language is key. Therefore, as an ESL teacher, it is important to inform parents to teach their children as much of their first language as possible. This will make their first language strong and will therefore result in a strong second language. If parents are able, giving lists of academic vocabulary words for parents to pre-teach to their children may be helpful.  Encouraging parents to read with their child can also help develop their child's vocabulary.  Stressing the importance of your students’ first language could be a topic to discuss during Open House and parent/teacher conferences. The Developmental Interdependence theory challenges the English only policy that is sometimes supported in monolingual schools where the majority language is English. The Developmental Interdependence theory suggests that English is not the key, but a strong first language is.

Supporting the Developmental Interdependence theory is the current theory about bilingualism and the thought system behind learning languages. This theory is called the Common Underlying Proficiency Model (CUP). The CUP suggests that both languages function within the same system. This model also states that humans are able to store two or more languages and there is no limit for learning another language or multiple languages in the brain. The CUP supports the evidence that bilinguals are able to use both languages with ease and can transfer knowledge from one language to their other language. The CUP also supports the Developmental Interdependence theory in that the student is able to transfer their knowledge from their first language to their second. An example of transferring between languages is codeswitching.

An outdated theory about bilingualism states that there is limited room in the brain for learning two or more languages.This false theory is called the Separate Underlying Proficiency (SUP). This theory states that each language acts separately from one another. For example, for a bilingual child learning English and Spanish, one operating system stores and uses English and the other operating system stores and uses Spanish. Each language area is separate from one another and do not interact or work together.

Bilingual Education:

The Thresholds Theory states that cognitive advantages of bilinguals depend on the level of competence in each language. A child must reach a certain level of proficiency to avoid negative consequences of bilingualism. The child must then reach a second threshold, or level of competence, to experience the positive benefits of bilingualism. It is believed that the Thresholds Theory helps to explain why bilingual children in bilingual immersion classes experience a delay at first when learning their second language. The bilingual students’ proficiency in their second language catches up to the proficiency in their first language.  As a result, the students become balanced bilinguals. Once these students’ second language develops to a certain level of proficiency where students are able to comprehend academic language in the classroom, these students begin to benefit from being bilingual.  Research suggests that balanced bilinguals surpass their monolingual peers.

Bilingualism/Multilingualism: Cognitive Advantages of Bilingualism

Have you ever heard that learning another language is good for your brain? Well, it’s true! Studies have shown that learning another language has positive effects on your brain. It is claimed that cognitive advantages of bilinguals occur when a certain level of proficiency is obtained. Research that has been done on bilinguals has mostly focused on balanced bilinguals or bilinguals whose two languages are well developed. Recent research has shown that balanced bilinguals have cognitive advantages that monolinguals do not have. Studies have concluded that the more a child is proficient in both languages, the greater the probability of cognitive advantages.

Research has shown that bilinguals are more divergent thinkers. Divergent thinkers are more creative, flexible in thinking, and imaginative. They are also more original and elaborate with their thinking. For example, if you asked a bilingual, “How can I use a piece of wood?”,convergent thinkers would give you typical answers that you would expect such as building a house or building a wall. Divergent thinkers may give you answers such as for propping up a wobbly table, blocking a hole, or breaking a window.

Transferring Knowledge and Skills:

Studies have shown that bilinguals have increased metalinguistic awareness than monolinguals. If ESL students, or emergent bilinguals, have reading skills in their first language, then gaining reading skills in their second language will be easier. ESL students already have the knowledge of concepts of print and phonological awareness in their first language (metalinguistic skills), so they can transfer their reading knowledge and skills to reading in their second language. This may be especially true for languages that share the same writing system. The same is true for academic vocabulary. The more developed a child’s vocabulary is in their first language, the easier it will be for this child to transfer their vocabulary knowledge to their second language.  This is called the Developmental Interdependence theory.  The more proficient a child is in their first language, the easier and faster it will be for the child to acquire their second language.

Aging:

Learning another language helps decrease some of the negative cognitive effects of aging. Bilinguals who know and speak two or more languages throughout their lives show a decrease in cognitive decline as they age, especially with memory. Research has shown that signs of dementia or Alzheimer disease are delayed with aging bilinguals compared to monolinguals.

Socioeconomic Factors:

An important question to ask is if all children benefit from bilingualism. Do children from all socioeconomic backgrounds share in the cognitive advantages of being bilingual?Have studies only focused on children from middle or higher socioeconomic status or have children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds been included in research as well? Do balanced bilinguals come from families who encourage creative thinking and nurture metalinguistic skills? Does this factor contribute to the cognitive advantages of bilinguals? What about children who come from families who do not foster creative thinking and metalinguistic skills?

Limitations of Test Findings:

It is important to note that test findings have limitations. For example, how are intelligence and creativity measured? As asked above, which populations of bilinguals were included in bilingual research?

Bilingualism/Multilingualism: Children As Interpreters

In families where parents do not speak, or have limited proficiency in, the majority language, children sometimes become interpreters for their parents. When I was an ESL teacher, some of my high school students acted as interpreters for their parents during job interviews.I also have had students interpret during Open House. There can be advantages and disadvantages for a child acting as an interpreter for their parents.

Advantages:

Confidence. As students act as interpreters, their confidence with the majority language and culture may increase. Children may gain metalinguistic awareness by learning new words and phrases in both languages. They may also earn praise and status within the family as well.

Maturity. In many situations, children are exposed to adult information. They are also acting in a more adult way when speaking to professionals. In addition, acting as an interpreter is a big responsibility. All of these factors may lead to greater maturity.

Closeness.  Family members learn to rely and trust one another, resulting in feelings of family unity and closeness.   

Disadvantages:

Unable to Interpret or Inaccurate Interpretations. Children may not know specialized terms or phrases in the majority language, especially technical terms. As a result, they may be unable to interpret information or interpret information correctly. Also, it may be difficult to translate exactly between the two languages. This may decrease the child’s confidence in the majority language and possibly their native language.

Pressure. Children may feel pressured and overwhelmed by acting as an interpreter, especially if they do not know the words being expressed in the majority language or if the exact translation between the two languages is difficult to achieve. Their parents may be relying on them as interpreters, and children may feel pressure and stress with being able to perform effectively as their interpreter

Inappropriate. Children may be exposed to information that may be inappropriate. Some information could have an emotional impact on the child such as medical or financial problems.

Parents and Native Language as Inferior. Children and professionals may perceive the parents as being in an inferior position because they do not know, or have limited skills, in the majority language. The majority language may be perceived as having a higher status since it is used for professional and important matters. As a result, children may perceive their native language as well as their native language community as being inferior.

Bilingualism/Multilingualism: Codeswitching

Have you ever noticed your ESL students switching between languages while talking to one another? When I lived in Nairobi, Kenya, I often noticed this phenomenon. Codeswitching or codemixing is when a bilingual person switches between two languages while speaking. You may be wondering why bilinguals do this. Are they being lazy? Not at all! There are numerous reasons why codeswitching occurs.

1. Codeswitching is easier. Some words may be easier to say in one language than the other.  Speakers may substitute words that have less syllables or that are easier or quicker to say. If the speaker does not know the word(s) in one language, the speaker may substitute the word(s) in the other language. For example, technical or academic words may only be known in one of the two languages.

2. Accurately expressing oneself.  Some words may not exist in a language, so the speaker needs to switch to the other language.  Also, a bilingual speaker may be able to more accurately express oneself by using a certain word in one of the two languages.  

3. Problem solving. Codeswitching may occur to help solve a problem. If the bilingual’s academic language is English, the bilingual may switch to English in order to solve an academic problem.

4. Understanding. This usually occurs in the classroom where a teacher may explain a concept in one language and then switch to the other language to reexplain the concept to ensure understanding.

5. Communicate closeness or identity.  Bilinguals may switch from the majority language to the minority language to express closeness and to identify with the minority language community. A bilingual may also use codeswitching to be accepted within a group. On the other hand, if a bilingual wishes to keep distance with another person or keep a professional relationship, they may only speak a specific language with this person.

6. Reported Speech. A bilingual may use codeswitching while describing conversations they previously had or heard. For example, for the sake of accuracy, the bilingual may switch to English in order to tell the other person what a person said in English word-for-word.

7. Exclusion. Codeswitching is sometimes used to exclude others from a conversation. Bilinguals may switch to their minority language in order to talk about a private matter.

8. Topic being discussed. Certain topics are discussed using a specific language. For example, sports may be discussed in the minority language while current events or business matters may be discussed in the majority language.   

9. Emphasis.  Codeswitching may occur when the speaker wants to emphasize a point.

Bilingualism/Multilingualism: After Childhood

Is it easier to learn a second language when you are a child or when you are an adult?

The critical language hypothesis claims that acquiring a second (or multiple) language(s) in a rich language environment is easier for children due to biological cognitive advantages. This hypothesis states that it is ideal to learn a second or third language as a child, and after puberty learning another language is more difficult.

The age when learning a second language becomes more difficult is up for debate. Some claim that learning a second language is more difficult after the age of eight, and others believe that learning a second language is more difficult as one enters adolescence.

Critics claim that the critical language hypothesis is too simple and general, and that there are many factors such as motivation and intelligence that affect second language acquisition.

Critics stress that successful language learning has more to do with the advantages of the individual learning the second language. One advantage may be opportunities for learning the second language. For example, school aged children learn the second language in school, whereas adults may only learn the language once a week for a few hours in a formal language class.

Another advantage is life responsibilities. Adults have responsibilities such as work and taking care of their family which may take away from learning the second language, whereas children do not have these responsibilities. When children learn a second language in a rich language environment (school) when they are young, they are able to maintain and become more proficient in their second language throughout the grade levels.

When I was an ESL teacher, most of the time, the younger the students began learning English, the easier it was for these students to learn English.  Teaching young students was easier for me since I did not have to catch the student up to grade level skills as much as I did with students who entered school in the older grades. Also, kindergarten skills in the classroom corresponded to learning beginner English, so the student received extra practice and reinforcement with, for example, learning letter names and sounds.

When referring to children in this post, I am referring to children in early childhood and school aged children who learn the second language in school. It would be different if a young child attended formal language classes along with teenagers or adults. In this case, the teenagers and adults would most likely have the advantage of learning a second language due to metalinguistic and higher level thinking skills.

Acquiring An Accent:

It is widely believed that children who begin learning another language after puberty will acquire an accent, whereas children who acquire a second language before puberty will not speak with an accent. The reason for this is that children are able to physically pronounce sounds from a language (phonology) easier than adolescents because their mouths are more flexible and malleable. After puberty, our mouths become less flexible and more fixed, and it is, therefore, more difficult to produce the sounds of the second language. From my experience, I did find that young children did not acquire an accent, whereas older children did. Personally, I have observed some students, and this is very rare, who retained an accent despite their age.I believe that these students retained an accent in order to affiliate to their native language community. In this case, I respected this decision and never forced a student to speak like a native English speaker without a foreign-sounding accent.

Bilingualism/Multilingualism: Early Childhood

Most of the world is bilingual.How does this happen? How do children become bilingual?What are the most effective ways for children to learn a second or third language? Does learning a second language benefit or hinder a child’s language abilities?

As ESL/ELL teachers, it is important to know about bilingualism because most to all of your students are bilingual.  At parent/teacher conferences, you may need to address parents' concerns about their child learning two languages, and what type of method is the most effective for their child for acquiring two languages.

Some children learn two languages from infancy. This kind of bilingualism is called simultaneous bilingualism. Simultaneous bilingualism refers to a child from birth who learns both languages at the same time.

Other children learn one language at birth, and then the other language later on. This is called sequential bilingualism. Parents may wonder if learning two languages is confusing or overwhelming for their child. They may also question whether or not learning two languages hinders their child’s language skills. Children are like sponges and soak much information from their surroundings. This is a crucial time for language development and therefore, it is very important to foster their learning at this age. 

The process of a child acquiring two languages is not destructive to the child’s language abilities or progress. Learning two or more languages is actually a natural process because as humans, our brains are programmed to be able to learn, store, and discriminate between languages from infancy.

Factors that Ensure Successful Bilingualism:

Children need to be able to differentiate between the two languages.  Studies have shown that children as young as infants show discrimination between the two languages very early on.  This may be due to research that has shown that infants begin to hear language sounds while in the womb.  By the age of two, bilingual children know which language to speak to which person and in what situation.

Children need to effectively store the two languages. As stated above, this is a natural process because we are biologically programmed to store language(s). T

Types of Early Childhood Bilingualism: 

One Parent - One Language The one parent- one language method is when one parent speaks one language to the child, and the other parent speaks the other language to the child.For example, the father speaks Farsi to the child, and the mother speaks English to the child. This is considered a successful method for a child to acquire two languages. One would assume that the child would become equally proficient in each language (balanced bilingualism), but this is very rare. Proficiency in a language depends on many factors. One factor is which parent the child interacts with the most. For example, the child may talk to the mother more because she remains in the home to raise the child versus the father who is absent due to working outside of the home. As a result, the child may become more proficient in the mother’s language than the father’s language. Another factor is the community language.Despite the mother speaking one language to the child, the community may speak the other language.For example, a mother using English with her child while the community speaks French. Languages used by siblings or others in the the home, print, television, and the internet are other factors that may influence the proficiency of each language.  

Language Used at Home is Different from Community Language One circumstance in which a bilingual child acquires two languages is when the language used at home is different from the community language. The parents use one language at home with the child, and the child acquires the other language outside of the home. This method is regarded as a successful method for acquiring languages. For example, both parents speak Spanish to the child, and the child learns English at school and in the community. Multilingualism could occur here where the child learns one language from the father, another language from the mother, and a third language at school and in the community. An example of this is the father speaking Spanish to the child, the mother speaks German to the child, and the community language is English. Maintaining all three languages over time may be difficult.  

Languages that are Mixed This method refers to both parents speaking both languages to the child.   

Second Language is Introduced to the Child Later in Life In this case, the parents may introduce the second language to the child later on in the child’s life. For example, parents may speak Dutch to the child until the child is three or four, and then add English. The purpose of this is to create a strong first language foundation in the child before the dominant language in the community becomes more prevalent.  

Language Shift A language shift may occur because of changes in a bilingual child’s life. The child will most likely be more proficient in one language than the other. However, the child can become more competent in the less proficient language if, for example, the child moves to an area where the language community uses the child’s weaker language.

Bilingualism/Multilingualism

When you hear the word, “bilingual”, what is the definition that comes to mind? What does it mean to be bilingual? How do you identify a person who is bilingual? Is a bilingual person equally competent in both languages or more competent in one language than the other? To whom and in what situations do bilinguals use one language and to whom and in what situations do bilinguals use the other?

Defining what exactly bilingualism is can get quite complicated. My blog posts are written for ESL teachers or staff members in an educational setting who have ESL students, so the information in this post will be based on this audience.

Ability vs. Use One way that helps define bilinguals is their ability in each language. Some bilinguals are able to understand and speak in both languages. Others are able to understand, speak, read, and write in one language and speak and understand in their other language. Language dominance, the language the person is more proficient in or uses more, may vary with each bilingual. Bilinguals may use each language in different situations or settings. For example, some may use one language in school with their teachers and peers and another at home with their family members.

Monolingual Schools For many monolingual schools in the US, a common occurrence and perception of ESL students is that they are socially fluent in both languages and academically fluent in the majority language (English). It is important to determine the language goals and purposes of your ESL students. If you are in a monolingual school where most students speak English, then the language goals of your ESL students would most likely be that they learn English with native-like proficiency. Some may question why you do not develop your students’ first language. First, a bilingual who is equally and highly competent in both languages in all four domains (reading, writing, understanding, and speaking) is very rare (balanced bilingualism). Second, many monolingual schools do not have the resources or time to fully develop both languages. Third, many ESL teachers simply do not know multiple languages socially and academically to develop the student’s first language.

How much of the first language should be used in the classroom for ESL students to be successful in and out of school? If you know the student’s first language, how will you use it effectively? Again, knowing your ESL students’ goals and purposes for each language is key. I have been in an educational setting where mostly the first language is used for teaching concepts and completing work in the majority language (English). I observed that these students developed English more slowly and were not confident in using English since they were reliant on their first language. These students remained in their ESL classrooms year after year.In this case, how do your ESL students become less reliant on their first language while developing the majority language?

The students in the ESL classroom are called circumstantial bilinguals. Circumstantial bilinguals learn the majority language that is used in their surroundings in order to function and live in their surroundings. The majority language is the language used for business/employment, education, political, and social purposes. If this is the case, we, as ESL teachers, need to ensure that our students are successful in the community that they must live and function in.How will your language goals and objectives reflect your students’ surroundings and needs? What about large cities where there are multiplelanguages and cultures?

One of the most crucial points when talking about ESL students and bilingualism in monolingual schools is for ESL teachers and staff members to value and accept both of the student’s languages. English is not a substitute for the student’s first language, but an additional language. ESL students are not a problem in schools. The ESL student’s first language is also not a problem. ESL students do not “limit” a school’s performance. This is especially true with standardized tests. ESL students may be perceived as inferior and less competent if they do not score as well as their monolingual peers on standardized tests that are written in the majority language.

Holistic View The holistic view of bilingualism perceives both languages as interconnected.  The holistic view believes that both languages are interrelated instead of the two languages functioning separately.  The theory that supports this view is called theCommon Underlying Proficiency Model.  

The Common Underlying Proficiency Model suggests that bilingual students are able to transfer their knowledge from one language to their other language.  Codeswitchingis an example of switching between languages with ease.  Cognates are another example where the same words in the first language exist in the second language. Making connections between the students’ two languages can help students develop their second language while raising awareness of their first language. The holistic view also believes that knowing and understanding one language helps the student know and understand their second language.  The theory that supports this view is called the Developmental Interdependence theory.  If you teach in a bilingual school, do you agree with these beliefs?What are the language goals and purposes of your students? How does your teaching reflect these goals and purposes?

When to Correct Beginner ESL Students

When you have a beginner ESL student, your first priority is to make that student feel as accepted and secure as possible. This helps students adjust to the new language and culture.  In regard to language learning, ensuring that your beginner students feel emotionally safe and comfortable helps students to take risks by using and practicing their English skills. Taking risks with the English language greatly increases students’ language acquisition.  Correcting a beginner ESL student may make a student feel uncomfortable with practicing their English language skills and may inhibit their learning.  So, when do you correct a a beginner ESL student?

There are four factors when correcting beginner ESL students:

If students make an error when you have already taught the language skill.  For example, if you have already taught subject/verb agreement and the student says, “I happy.”  You need to correct the student by requiring the student to say, “I am happy.”  Do not correct students if the error is above their language level and you have not yet taught the language skill.

If the error is embarrassing for the student or inappropriate.  If the student is mispronouncing a word so that it sounds funny or inappropriate, then you need to correct the student.  I had a student pronouncing “witch”, but it sounded like an inappropriate word in English.  In this case, the student was corrected by pronouncing the word correctly.

You can correct a student if the student does not mind being corrected or wants to be corrected.  This is usually rare, but I have had one student who wanted to constantly be corrected from the beginning.  If this is the case, by all means, correct the student when they want to be corrected.

If what the student is saying causes confusion and communication breaks down.  Most of the time I could figure out what the student was trying to say despite language errors.  If I did not understand what the student was communicating despite asking them to repeat what they were saying, then I corrected the student usually by modeling the correct language.  If the language they were using was above their language level and I had not taught these language skills, then I would correct the student by modeling the correct language.

Correcting students is a necessary, but delicate balance.  Your goal is for the student to practice and play with the language without feeling embarrassed or hindered in any way, so you do not want to overcorrect the student unless they want to be. However, you also do not want students’ errors to fossilize and become ingrained either.  Your goal as an ESL teacher is for your students to use English like native speakers.

The above factors can serve as a guide as to when to correct your beginner ESL students.  Remember to be compassionate toward your students, especially beginner students who are most likely feeling vulnerable.  Imagine how you would feel if you were in their place.  This perspective may help guide you to not only when to correct your students, but how you correct them as well.  When correcting a student, be encouraging and positive and praise students after they produce the correct language.  You are not only teaching your students the English language, but you are a symbol of support and empowerment for your students as well.

Native Language in the Classroom

Have you ever wondered how much of your ESL student’s native language should be used in your classroom, especially if your student is a beginner and has limited skills?In this case, I am referring to a monolingualclassroom.The answer to how much of an ESL student’s native language should be used in the classroom varies from person to person and has been a controversial subject.In monolingual settings where the majority language is English, the language goal of ESL students is to acquire English as quickly and as effectively as possible, so these students succeed in and outside of school.

As an ELL teacher, I would suggest to classroom teachers that their beginner students complete writing pieces in their native language if they did not have enough English skills to complete the assignment in English.  By doing this, you are valuing the student’s native language and the ESL student feels capable and has a better sense of belonging.  I would allow students or teacher aids who speak the same language as the beginner ESL student to help the student by translating directions and summarizing classroom material if the student who is translating wants to do so.  Many students feel embarrassed, uncomfortable, and do not want to stick out among their peers by speaking their first language in the classroom. In addition, translating content can be a lot of responsibility for the student who is responsible for translating.  This is something to consider before asking students to translate for you.  Although you want to continue to value the student’s native language, you need to decrease the number of times the native language is used in the classroom.  This is not intended to devalue the student and their first language, but to ensure that the student learns English and becomes confident with using English, so that they become successful in and out of the classroom. Decreasing the use of the native language decreases the dependency that the student has with their native language and on others who will translate for them.  The only time that I would suggest translation is for tier three words that are confusing for the student.  Tier three words are low frequency words that are subject-specific such as mitosis, hyperbole, amino acid, etc..  It is faster and easier to simply translate the word for the student, so the student understands the word quickly and easily.  The student should be speaking their first language at home except when getting help with homework if this is possible.  

Strategies for Beginner English Language Learners in the Classroom

The following strategies are for classroom teachers, teacher aids in the regular classroom, and ESL teachers.

Classroom

ESL students should sit in front of the classroom, so he/she can easily see and hear you.

Provide a buddy for the student.

Bring in the student’s parent(s) to talk about their language and culture.

Provide manipulatives and hands-on activities.

Provide demonstrations.

Have a peer teach the student basic vocabulary words after they finish their work or when they have time.

Have the ESL student read to a peer if they feel comfortable in doing so or have a peer read to the student when they have time.

Establishing a Sense of Belonging

Label your classroom in the student’s native language and English.

Display pictures of the student’s native country.

Display a flag (real, student made, or picture) of the student’s native country.

Read literature about the student’s native country.

Celebrate holidays from the student’s native country.

Have peers greet each other in the student’s native language.

Have peers use simple words or phrases from the student’s native language throughout the day/week (Thank you. You’re welcome. Please.)

Have the student share an object from their native country.

Have peers share an object from their native country or from their heritage if applicable.

Provide group work. Focus on what the student can do during group work. The student can be the time keeper, can draw or color for the group, or can label words for the group.

Speaking and Understanding

Use gestures, facial expressions, pictures and/or objects while speaking to your student. For example, while asking, “Do you like to draw?”, pantomime drawing in the air.If you state, “You need a pencil”, show the student a pencil.

Emphasize key words in a question or statement. “You need a pencil.”

Rephrase what you are saying. When giving directions and you say, “Only do the even numbers.”, you can rephrase this direction by saying, “Only do numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, …”and write these numbers on the board.

Paraphrase your question or statement into simpler words while emphasizing key words.

Repeat questions or statements at a slower pace as many times as necessary emphasizing key words.

Give the student a lot of wait time to answer a question. The ESL student needs a lot of time to process what you are saying. The student may be translating English to their native language and then their native language to English if they are required to respond. This takes a lot of time! Give the student at least 30 seconds of wait time.

Speak slowly and clearly to the student. If you speak slower than you usually speak, you are probably speaking too quickly. You do not need to speak louder! Use simple English such as short and simple sentences.

Sentences should be short and should include basic grammar and basic vocabulary words. Avoid using abstract language such as phrasal verbs or idioms.

Simplify directions using simple words, short sentences, pictures or objects, and few steps. Write the directions on the board and use pictures or objects where applicable.

Avoid using pronouns like he, she, we, they or it.

Reading

Begin with similar sounding consonant names in the student’s first language and with the most common letters.

Begin with similar sounding consonant sounds in the student’s first language and with the most common sounds.

Begin reading basic, repetitive texts.

Texts should be at the student’s instructional reading level. Texts should contain graphic elements such as pictures, glossary, captions, etc. and should be about universal subjects (food, animals, people), so the content is easier to understand.

Vocabulary words should be taught/reviewed before reading.

Background knowledge should be provided if there are differences between the American culture and the student’s native culture in the text. Perform a picture walk before reading a text discussing vocabulary words, sight words, and/or pictures.

Writing

Give the student an alphabet chart to refer to.

Provide a written model for the student.

Provide sentence starters for student if applicable.

Provide child friendly/student dictionary whether it is a word dictionary, picture dictionary, or both.

Modify the student’s spelling words by giving spelling words at his/her level or by giving the student less vocabulary words by picking the most important/easiest.

Give opportunities for the student to write about what interests them. Often ESL students will write about their country and/or culture.

Use sentence strips to help students with grammar. Laminate them so you can reuse them. Cut sentence strips into pieces and write each word on a piece of sentence strip. The student can unscramble simple sentences.

Modifying Student Work/Quizzes/Tests:

Give simple directions.

Do the first question together.

Focus on key concepts/vocabulary words.

Give the student less work/questions.

Give the student extra time.

Use multiple choice, true/false, matching, labeling activities, or a word bank.

Use graphic organizers.

Allow the student to use a bilingual dictionary.

Grading:

Grade the student on content, not their English.

Give the student “NA” (Not Applicable at this Time) if you are unable to assess the skill. In the comments section, say something like, “Some skills were unable to be assessed at this time due to (child’s name) language skills." Focus on what the student can do. In your comments section, mention the positive characteristics and behavior of the student such as motivation, intelligence, being a hard worker, being attentive, etc.

Remember To:

Respect the child’sSilent Period. Do not force ESL students to speak or to repeat what you say.

Encourage the ESL student by smiling and praising the student whether it is after they speak or when looking at their work.

Provide a safe environment.

Focus on the student’s meaning, not their grammar. Do not make the student correct their English unless they feel comfortable to do so and do not overtly correct the student unless they feel comfortable with you doing so.If the student makes a mistake, model the correct language.