According to the Cummins (2011), “BICS are Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills; these are the "surface" skills of listening and speaking which are typically acquired quickly by many students; particularly by those from language backgrounds similar to English who spend a lot of their school time interacting with native speakers.” In other words, rather than speak with people of different cultures, they stick within their culture because of familiarity and ease. Academic proficiency is a little different. Cummins (2011) defines that, “CALP is Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency, and, as the name suggests, is the basis for a child’s ability to cope with the academic demands placed upon her in the various subjects.” English learners and English second language learners tend to develop their language skills at different rates.
I believe what Cummins (2011) suggests academic proficiency is simply put understanding and recognizing grade level appropriate DURR sight words and language used inside the classroom. This may be more difficult for ESL learners. “The academic language proficiency Cummins states that while many children develop native speaker fluency (i.e. BICS) within two years of immersion in the target language, it takes between 5-7 years for a child to be working on a level with native speakers as far as academic language is concerned” (Cummins, 2011). A question I have is: Are there resources and training available to students to help decrease the gap of 5-7 years so a child can be on a working level of native speakers in terms of academic language? Reference: esl.fis.edu/teachers/support/cummin.htm Adapting the content for second language learners is an important step for promoting EL development and growth. Within using the SIOP model, a teacher can use a variety of different ways to promote English language learning for second language learners. Many times, as indicated by Echevarria, Vogt, & Short (2004) “there are different ways a teacher can promote this development. One approach is mentioned is rewriting the text to meet the needs of students who are second language learners or lower reading leveled students.” While this approach is effective one needs to be cautious, because many times re-writing the information may result in a loss of pertinent details, which assist in understanding the reading. One thing I noticed is when you re-write the information using the appropriate leveled vocabulary for the age group, it can tend to result in a longer statement. Echevarria, Vogt, & Short (2004) also note this as a typical of re-writing information. Within Sheltered Instruction (SI), Echevarria, Vogt, & Short (2004) state, “In effective SI lessons, there is a high level of student engagement and interaction with the teacher, with other students, and with text, which leads to elaborated discourse and critical thinking.” I believe that making the content comprehensible to the student is an important step, so re-writing the text is an appropriate way to obtain materials for ESL and EL students.
Another strategy suggested is content based instruction. Echevarria, Vogt, & Short (2004) state, “The content-based language approach transforms an ESL class into a forum for subject area knowledge generation, application, and reinforcement, by addressing key topics found in grade-level curricula. The sophistication of the material presented necessarily varies according to the language proficiency of the students in class, but nonetheless this material is considered relevant and meaningful by the students. In content-based ESL, content from multiple subject areas is often presented through thematic instruction. For example, in a primary grade classroom, one theme might be “Life on a Farm.” Presently, I teach content-based instruction, and am working on a farm theme for my class. My book is Funny Farm by Mark Teague, and I utilize this book for EL and ESL toddlers. This book explores many different themes on the farm. For example, in the literature, I am able to study animals on the farm, cultivation, tools used on the farm, and even transportation. From each page a new theme is introduced. I take my children through a page at a time and completely study each picture in detail, supplying supplemental text and materials for the book. For example, when learning about cultivation, the main character Edward, plowed the field with his uncle. The illustrations in the text demonstrate this beautifully; however, in order for the student to understand about soil, and planting, my students will be learning how to make compost, dig a hole using the appropriate tools, and plant seeds and observe their growth. Personally, I believe content-based instruction offers a variety of ways to present information, covering many different subjects, such as English, Science, Math, Social Studies, and many more. Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. J. (2004). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP Model (2nd ed.). Needham Heights, NJ: Allyn & Bacon. |
Lindsey PietrocolaSince 2010, I've been incorporating technology (in some form or another) into a classroom as a teacher. Archives
April 2019
|