Because they have developed a conversational ability, these children sound fluent to many people. They understand the teacher's questions, converse with classmates in English, and even translate for their parents. However, their daily schoolwork and exams may not reflect this fluency. Frustrated parents and teachers, faced with this contradiction, often conclude falsely that such students have learning disabilities, are poorly motivated, or are just plain lazy.
Let's go back to the iceberg. If we apply the iceberg metaphor to our fluent but underachieving students, we are likely to see that they have only developed the tip (i.e., conversational English). They have not developed academic English—the large portion of the iceberg that is hidden under the sea.
Academic English, or cognitive academic language proficiency, is the language of the classroom—the language of isosceles triangles, complex compound sentences, and photosynthesis. Students must master academic English to understand textbooks, write papers and reports, solve mathematical word problems, and take tests. Without a mastery of academic English, students cannot develop the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills needed to understand and express the new and abstract concepts taught in the classroom. However, academic language takes at least five to seven years to develop, and it can take even longer for a student who was not literate in her primary language when she started in a U.S. school (Collier & Thomas, 1989).
In the chapters that follow, you will find examples of instructional strategies that have been modified to meet the needs of ELLs according to their language acquisition level. You will also find examples of how to engage these students in whole-class activities by asking tiered questions associated with their level of language acquisition. Each chapter features an example of how an instructional strategy can be adapted for Preproduction, Early Production, Speech Emergence, and Intermediate and Advanced Fluency students. By providing stage-appropriate adaptations of instructional strategies, we hope to help you achieve the greatest possible success with your ELLs.
Frustrated