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Introduction
This handbook is a resource for teachers who want to integrate limitedEnglish proficient (LEP) students more fully into the ongoing verbal interactionin the classroom. It highlights issues related to the verbal participationof LEP students and provides suggestions for encouraging them and helpingthem improve their oral skills.
The ideas in this handbook constitute applied findings which resulted froma collaboration between the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington,DC, and Fairfax County Public Schools, a large suburban school districtin northern Virginia. The study, entitled Academic Language Talk. SignificantFeatures in the Responses of Effective Communicators, was a three-yearstudy performed pursuant to a contract from the Office of Educational Researchand Improvement, for the Center for Language Educationand Research (CLEAR). However, the opinions expressed herein do not necessarilyreflect the position or policy of OERI/ED and no official endorsement byOERI/ED should be inferred.
The two major goals of the research effort were to identify significantfeatures in the responses of students identified by their teachers as "successfulcommunicators/responders" during academic verbal interaction and totranslate these findings into teacher strategies that promote languageand cognitive development.
Seven third and sixth grade teachers collaborated on the project by invitingthe researchers into their classrooms for observation of math and sciencelessons. Furthermore, they provided their own understanding about teachingand learning through question-answer sequences and their standards forquestions and responses.
Children themselves were sources of much of the data, both during observationsand during interviews. In interviews with them, we found that all childrenare aware of the characteristics of a "good" response duringclassroom interaction. They mentioned linguistic, cognitive, and interactivefeatures. Linguistic features include using the "right words"and "speaking clearly." Cognitive features refer to answers thatare "complete" and "show you know what you're talking about."Interactive features are turn-taking and behavioral characteristics ofthe effective responder, such as raising one's hand and showing confidence.
Classroom interactions (teacher questions and student responses) have instructionalvalue for children. Children told us that they learn from listening toteachers' questions and other children's answers. This classroom interactionis of greatest value if it is structured so that all children know whetis expected and are able to work with the teacher to build a collaborativeresponse.
The language skills of LEP children (and, indeed, of all children) canbe developed through techniques which make the social and instructionalfeatures of classroom language more clear. Limited English proficient childrenbest succeed in a classroom where a routine is established and is clearto every student, so the rules for appropriate conduct are explicit andeach student knows what is expected. They also do best when they are expectedto contribute, but do not have to constantly compete for the teacher'sattention. The most successful environment for LEP students is one wherethere is a balance between teacher-directed activities and individual andsmall group work, and where lessons are organized in a predictable fashionso that students know what to anticipate and how to focus their attention.Predictable consistency encourages LEP students to focus on the communicationof information rather than on procedure or form.
Sometimes teachers assume that when LEP children are mainstreamed and appearto be fluent in English, they do not have communication difficulties, andany problems they have in school reflect cognitive or academic, ratherthan communication, problems. Research shows, however, that it takes longerto achieve competence with academic language than with casual conversationallanguage. For this reason, explicit teaching of academic vocabulary aswell as explicit teaching about what constitutes an effective academicquestion and response is very important for the LEP child.
Many teachers worry that making accommodations for LEP students means slowingdown or watering down the content of their programs, with negative consequencesfor their native English speaking children. What we found, however, isthat those classroom interactive practices which are helpful to LEP studentsare helpful to all students. In fact, the suggestions we make in this handbook were practiced veryfrequently in the Gifted and Talented (GT) classrooms we observed as partof this study.
This handbook focuses primarily on the use of language by students andteachers during the classroom activities we call "verbal review."Verbal review is that time during the lesson when the teacher stops toask questions about material previously taught. It is a time for childrento find out what is important and to express new concepts in clear language.
We found that verbal reviews follow certain general patterns of organization.In the typically "good" verbal review, the teacher does the following:
1) captures the students' attention and redirects it from the previouslesson activity (experimentation, teacher presentation, seatwork) to theupcoming verbal review;
2) "frames" the verbal review, reminding students of the topicof the instructional unit, and also how this lesson or activities fitsin with it;
3) begins with factual recall and factual description questions about theactivity;
4) expands the discussion with questions which require students to: - compare the behavior or characteristics of things being studied, and/or
- apply or generalize from the facts, and/or
- explain the math processes or scientific principles behind the facts;and
5) closes the discussion with a summary.
Verbal review has the potential to help students develop important skillsin verbal academic language competence, such as describing, explaining,exemplifying, comparing, and relating real vents to abstract principles.All too often, however, the opportunity is missed, because students arenot encouraged to go beyond one- or two-word responses. Teachers shouldtry to refrain from doing all the work in verbal review discussions byfollowing these guidelines: - Avoid fill-in-the-blank questions in favor of questions requiring descriptionsor comparisons. Rather than ask "The fourth planet from the sun iswhat?", ask "Who can compare the positions of the Earth and Marsin the solar system?" Both questions check essentially the same factuallearning, but the latter also gives the student the opportunity to develophis/her communicative competence. If such questions have been given aspart of a seatwork or homework assignment, or have been gone over in small-groupor partner discussions, LEP students are given a fairer chance of succeedingin answering them.
- Give students more time than usual to think through challenging questions.Comparisons, generalizations, and explanations are difficult to formulatewell, and research has shown that if teachers wait three seconds for aresponse (instead of the usual one-second wait), they get more responsesand better responses.
This handbook is organized into two major sections, each containingshort "capsules" that summarize the research results and presentsuggestions for classroom use. Many of these suggestions include examplesof dialogue between a teacher and a student. The teacher's statements aredenoted by "T:"; the student's responses by "S:". Thefirst section presents some general ideas for structuring classroom interactionand outlines strategies for making classroom interaction expectations moreexplicit. The second section presents specific strategies for dealing withthe special problems of LEP children. Capsule 1: WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?
"Look at the next page. This is a review of metrics. You're goingto be doing some problem-solving and writing your answers." (thirdgrade teacher)
ISSUE
Being "on task" requires different behavior in differentsituations, including active involvement in a science experiment, attentivelistening during teacher presentations, or oral participation during verbalreviews. Some students, especially students from different cultural andlinguistic backgrounds, may be willing and able to be "on task,"but do not understand the particular demands of each situation. Studentsneed to know when to pay attention and how to participate. The teachercan help by providing dear signals about the goals and rules for interactionin different lesson activities by letting students know what you expectthem to do and how you expect them to do it.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Mark transitions between activities very clearly. Identify the activityby name, and explain how it will be accomplished. For example,
T: Now, first we're going to review your homework answers, and thenI'm going to ask you some questions about it. Then we'll start on today'slesson.
Model the thinking process you want students to use, "talking through"the steps one at a time.
In order to do well, students have to know "what's going on here andwhat is my responsibility?" To help them answer these questions, discusswith them the different types of questions you ask and the times duringthe lesson that lead to different purposes for your questions. For example,during instructional activities, questions are most often used to involvestudents in a discovery approach to learning. Students are not held responsiblefor providing the "right" response, but instead are encouragedto provide opinions and make guesses while they learn new concepts andskills. On the other hand, during verbal review or "quiz" time,questions are asked to determine if students have learned what has beentaught, and they are held responsible for a specific correct answer. Understandingthese differences may help students be more active participants.
Throughout the lesson activities, "signposts" should be usedto guide students to successful completion of the tasks (see Capsule4, NOW, WHERE WERE WE?).
Closing activities explicitly is as important as marking the opening. Usea summary of what has transpired to help students clarify what you havedone and what they should have learned (see Capsule 13,WRAPPING IT UP).
Capsule 2: WHY ASK QUESTIONS?
"When the teacher asks questions it's good because if someone didn'tknow something they could just listen and the others would tell them."(third grade student)
ISSUE
Teachers ask questions to find out what students know, but questions andanswers also fulfill another function in the classroom. They help studentsto clarify concepts and deepen their understanding of lesson content bylistening and volunteering responses.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Be aware of the instructional function of questions and answers tomake sure that the concepts you are teaching are verbalized clearly. Thisgives children another chance to learn through the interaction.
Be aware that your question, while addressed to and answered by an individual,is useful for the whole class. As one sixth grade student said, "Teachersask questions mainly to teach the class so if somebody in the class doesknow, it will help the other people in the class who don't know. It's notactually for individuals -- more like for the whole class." Repeatand rephrase students' responses so they are heard and understood by allstudents. LEP students say that even though they might not raise theirhands and actively participate in the discussion, they learn a great dealfrom questions and answers.
Ask questions often during the lesson. Use questions and answers to summarizewhat has been learned at each step. "Why" and "how"questions give students the opportunity to explain their answers and theirthinking. For example:
"Why do you think I asked you to do this?"
"What was the purpose of this?"
"Can you tell us what that means?"
Allow many children to participate. When more children participate, a "goodanswer" is developed collaboratively, and topics are discussed morefully. This increases the instructional potential of verbal review.
Allow the children plenty of opportunities to speak -- and listen carefullyto learn ,more about what they understand and where they need further instruction.Use questions to give students an opportunity to describe what they havelearned, gain confidence in themselves, and come to conclusions. Questionsand answers are a time for thinking and talking together.
Use follow-up questions to allow a student to revise an incorrect answerrather than going immediately to another child. One sixth grade "unsuccessful"responder told us, 'When you don't know and someone else is called on whodoes, you don't learn because you're not listening." This indicatesthat a successful response should be built from the unsuccessful attemptif the instructional value of verbal reviews is to be promoted.
Capsule 3: HOW DO TEACHERS KNOW THAT KIDS KNOW?
"They (LEP students) feel like they know how to do it but theydon't know how to say it. " (third grade teacher)
ISSUE
Children who do not frequently participate in question and answer exchanges(often LEP students or the less confident students) are unable to "showtheir smarts." Teachers cannot involve all students equally due totime and other limitations on participation. We know that those studentswho are outspoken and raise their hands frequently participate more thanothers. Teachers should develop verbal review activities which increaseLEP students' participation, increase the instructional value of oral reviews,and "democratize" oral reviews by minimizing student differencesin "verbal performance" and maximizing the focus on content knowledge.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Conduct your oral reviews in small groups as well as large ones. Changethe composition of the small groups so that students who rarely participateare sometimes grouped together, and at other times are grouped with moreactive students.
Tell students in advance what questions you will review with them. Be sureLEP students understand the questions (see Capsule 14,WHAT IF I CAN'T UNDERSTAND THE CHILD'S ENGLISH?). Then give the studentstime to organize and plan their answers in small groups of LEP and nativeEnglish speaking students. This gives them a chance to discuss relatedtopics and issues and increases their verbal participation.
Increase the instructional value of verbal reviews by extending the discussionbeyond the one-word answer. Ask students to give reasons for their viewsand provide evidence for their answers. Encourage other students to askquestions and contribute to answers.
Plan your verbal review in two stages: first ask questions about contentknowledge and the information that has been taught to clarify the topic.Then "recycle" the review and extend your questioning to expandthe topic and give students the opportunity to relate what they have learnedto broader questions and to predict the next step in learning.
Use plenty of visual aids. Write on the blackboard and demonstrate wheneverpossible. This helps students with limited English proficiency as wellas those who learn best through a visual modality.
Allow students to respond non-verbally, by pointing to a location on amap, adding a feature to a diagram, or demonstrating a calculation at theblackboard. Then build that into a verbal response.
Allow the child enough time to give an answer. As one teacher told us,"sometimes when you allow the student time to explain his/her thinkingyou can unscramble the confusion and get an effective response." Researchshows that waiting three seconds after you ask a question and before yourespond to the student's answer will lead to higher quality responses.
Capsule 4: NOW, WHERE WERE WE?
"All right, ah, this is the kind of problem we are going to bedoing in our second objective. We are going to multiply a two-digit numberby a one-digit number." (third grade teacher)
ISSUE
The successful verbal review is cohesive, with teacher and student contributionsfitting together clearly, and new topics linked to the ongoing discussion.Students do cooperate in this, but it is the teacher who is primarily responsiblefor managing a cohesive verbal review. One important way experienced teachersdo this is by providing frequent "sign posts, or focus-of-attentionwords, as in the example quoted above, which keep the class informed ofwhere they have been, and where they are going.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
In planning the verbal review, identify places where "signposts willbe needed. These include every place where the discussion changes direction.
At the beginning:
"Before we go over the homework, let's review what we have to dowhen we add or subtract fractions. Let's look at this problem."
When you give or ask for an example:
"Okay, everybody, ah, let's think a little bit about the word 'float.'When you go fishing, what makes that fishing line stay up?"
When you return to the main point after talking about a sub point:
"Now, we're going to look at our objective, to find out the nextstep in our sequence after multiplying. "What is it, Terry?"
When you resume the verbal review after the class has worked an exampleor a set of problems:
"All right. We matched the term 'prediction' with its definition,'telling what you think will happen'. Now, what did you have for 'buoyancy'?
When you shift from talking about specific examples to talking about generalprinciples:
"So, we've seen that you used foil boats, you used clay boats,you used a paper bag with air, and without air. What is it about thesethings that makes them float?"
Focus students' attention on your "signposts" by using focus-of-attentionwords and phrases such as okay, all right, now, so, and well, spokenwith some emphasis (slightly louder and either slower or faster than youhad been talking). The examples above all include focus-of-attention markerswhich help keep students "on task" and paying attention.
These techniques work together with those for summarizing the discussion(see Capsule 13, WRAPPING IT UP).
Capsule 5: THE "RIGHT" WORDS
"I think when you're asking questions you're looking for somethingin particular...and until someone says the right words, you're just solicitingfrom everybody." (third grade teacher)
ISSUE
Students need to learn the "right" words to use in answeringteachers' questions. Vocabulary should be presented and practicedso that as students learn concepts, they also learn the words they needto express those concepts. This is especially important for LEP studentswho may not know common words that other children know, or their rangeof meaning and use.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Identify new and important vocabulary related to each new lesson. Writethese words on the board or display them on a wall chart in the classroom.Provide concrete connections, whenever possible, to help students remembernew words through visual, auditory, or other sensory cues.
Help students understand the meanings of words by using them in meaningfulcontexts. Here's an example of how a teacher effectively provides a definitionfor a word in the workbook.
T: The first question says: "Name the properties used to describethe powders. n We didn't call them properties, but what words didwe use to describe the powders? Eric?
S: Color, shape, smell... (teacher writes these on the board) 7' Thesethings are the properties of the powders....
Guide your students in using the correct terms. By using the correct words,students will better remember the concepts you are teaching.
S: ...because the soap makes the water heavy?
T: Is heavy a good word to use for that? When something flattens thatway, what kind of power do we say it has ?
S: adhesive force?
T: Good.
Don't restrict yourself to "simple" words when talking with LEPstudents. Allow your language to be rich, but use synonyms often, so thatthe student who doesn't recognize one word may recognize another word forthe same thing.
T: What did you f ind out about powder number six? Leah ?
T: What did you discover about powder number nine? Terry?
Use diagrams or charts to show visually the relationships among terms,events, or steps.
Capsule 6: SAYING IT THE RIGHT WAY
"He'll know what it is, but he can't actually say it out andsometimes that happens with people who do know English, you know, it'sjust that you can't phrase it right." (sixth grade student)
ISSUE
Although teachers say that they listen for the student's meaning, itis dear from what children said that if they do not express a concept inthe way the teacher expects, the teacher may not understand. Try to separateform from content; an answer might be correct, but said "wrong."
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Listen for the meaning of the student's answer. Sometimes teacherslisten for a particular word or phrase and do not recognize correct answerswhen given in a form that is unexpected. Try to be open to each answerand consider what the child is contributing to the discussion, even ifthe answer takes the discussion in a different direction than you had intended.
When you recognize that a student is having difficult expressing a correctanswer coherently, acknowledge the basic correctness of the response. Thenrephrase the response and/or redirect the question to another student.
T: What is the most important thing to remember?
S: Put the zero,...,you times
T: (To the whole class) I know what she means and you know what shemeans--who can say it another way?
Don't be distracted by non-standard grammar when listening for content.One sixth grade student told us "...you say it in the wrong way butyou be right, and she don't quite understand what you are saying."Dialect should not be a factor in your evaluation of student responsesin content areas. Just as with grammatical errors by LEP students (seeCapsule 17, WHAT ABOUT GRAMMAR?), these responses shouldbe accepted for their correct content. As you work with students with non-standarddialects, you will come to understand their intentions and meanings whenthey are expressed in nonstandard forms.
Children have different sales of organizing their answers. We expect responsesto be topic-centered, and most are. Another organizational style whichyou may encounter is the topic-associating style, which makes useof parallelism, analogy, and other associations between seemingly unrelatedthings. When you expect a topic centered response, but get a topic-associatingresponse, it may seem muddled or even incoherent. In such cases, probefor connections among the points the student wants to make to clarify whetherthe student is "packaging" pertinent and valid information differently,or is just plain "off-base." As one teacher put it, "Youknow, it's a whole lot easier to get them to make the connections clear,if you assume that the connections are there in the first place"* * Quoted in "Narrative presentations: An oral preparationfor literacy with first graders," , in The SocialConstruction of Literacy, edited -Gumperz, pp. 9= 116.New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Capsule 7: TALKING ABOUT NUMBERS
"There is only one correct answer in math operations. "(thirdgrade teacher)
ISSUE
Because the typical math problem has only one correct answer, question-answerexchanges during math tend to be very short and allow the students littleopportunity for talk. We know, however, that talk during math instructioncan help students to understand concepts and procedures and to developthe language skills they need to communicate and extend mathematical ideas.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Ask questions that will encourage talk during math instruction. Even thoughthere is only one correct answer, many questions can lead the child tothat answer.
"Why did you choose that operation ?"
"What key words in the problem might help you?"
"How will you do the work?"
"Can you estimate an answer? Does your estimate sound sensible?"
"How will you know? Where can you look? What do you need to know?"
"Can you check your answer? How?"
Ask students to explain the process they have gone through when they geta wrong answer. Often, merely explaining the difficulty they are havingwill help them see where they have gone wrong. The act of expressing theirthoughts aloud in words helps students clarify and organize their thoughts.
Ask children to talk as they work at the blackboard, describing what theyare doing. Or have them work together in pairs, explaining the processesthey go through to solve math problems.
Ask one child to tell another student who is at the blackboard exactlywhat to write and what the next step is. This helps them verbalize mathematicalprocesses.
Remove yourself from the role of saying whether each answer is corrector not. A technique we have seen used successfully to accomplish this follows:
T: Number seven, Jeff?
S: Thirty-eight.
T: Anyone else get that?
Ask students to compose original word problems applying the math conceptsthey have learned.
As in other subject areas, use synonyms to expand your students' vocabularyand to aid the LEP child in comprehending what you are saying. Example:
T: So you say we can reduce the fraction four-eighths, because two cango into four and eight. Four and eight are divisible by two. Four and eightcan be divided by two.
Capsule 8: DEVELOPING SCIENTISTS
"ESL students love science, because it's hands-on. " (thirdgrade teacher)
ISSUE
Hands-on activities in science can provide a springboard for a well-structuredverbal review. When a verbal review directly follows the experimental activity,the experienced teacher will often begin with factual recall and factualdescription questions about what the students have just been doing. Then,questioning can be expanded to issues of comparison, and the explanationof the causes of what the students observed, or the principles being illustratedby the experiment. The expansion of the verbal review into questions ofcomparisons and causes is an important means of linking the hands-on activitiesto their science concepts. Our purpose here is to help teachers to developan awareness of effective ways to discuss comparisons and causes, as wellas some pitfalls to avoid.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
About comparisons:
Many two-way comparisons stem from the design of the experimental activity,that is, things that sink vs. things that float, or liquids exhibitingcohesion vs. liquids exhibiting adhesion. But even when there are morethan two things to be compared, you can begin on a two-way level, for clarityand simplicity.
"Now which of the mystery powders contain starch and which do not?"
Make your comparison questions explicit as to which two things are beingcompared. This is especially important when the discussion, as a whole,involves multiple comparisons.
Unclear:
"Okay, so metal would sink but wood has a lower density, so wouldit sink or float?"
More explicit:
"Okay, so metal would sink because it is more dense than water.But wood has a lower density than water, so would it sink or float?"
LEP students need to be aware that questions which include the words so,it/then, when, and because are important, because they often concernthe point of the activity, the connection between what occurred and whatcaused it:
"So, the ship that's floating is really displacing the water, isn't?"
"Would it have floated if you had not put the air in?"
"Soapy water flattens out and won't mount up like plain water does,because we said water has what kind of power?"
"Why" questions are a typical way to ask about causes. If a student'sresponse is not at the level of abstraction, guide him/her with the follow-up.Here, for example, the student responds to the "why" questionwith a description of an experimental procedure, rather than the explanationof the cause behind what was observed.
T: Why did the powder turn purple?
S: Because I added iodine.
T: Okay, and what did this prove?
Help students develop the vocabulary needed for communication about theabstract and concrete levels of science experiments.
- Concrete questions/responses include words like: see, touch,notice, behave, such as, "What did you see/touch/hear/smell/noticewhen you...?"
- Abstract questions/responses include words like: principle,example, property, explain, generalize, for example, "Can youexplain/generalize about the principle/property behind what you saw?"
Some words are used to describe both levels, among them: discover,happen, make, cause. This is because occurrences and causes can bethought of on both a physical, concrete level and an abstract level ofprinciples, as illustrated by the "why" questions example above.Note also that concrete verbs such as see and show are frequently usedon the abstract level, as synonyms for understand and prove, respectively.When such words are used in a question (or response), make sure there areother indicators of which level is intended.
Avoid questions which are vague as to level of abstractness, such as, "Whathappened?" Instead ask, "What happened when you added soapy waterto the plain water?" for a concrete description, or, "What happenedto the surface tension of the water drop when you added soapy water toit?" for a more abstract explanation. Capsule 9: CAN THEY APPLY IT?
"If you ask them to apply it at the final stage in some form,then you have a better understanding whether they've learned the concept."(sixth grade teacher)
ISSUE
The kinds of questions teachers ask can help students not only to showthat they have really learned the material, but also to extend and strengthentheir understanding. Even while students are in the process of learningthe basic facts and skills of a subject, teachers can reinforce students'learning of these basics by asking them questions which require them tosee connections among facts and to apply factual knowledge to their understandingof their larger world. Unlike factual questions, these "higher cognitive"questions require students to craft their own responses. Higher cognitivequestions are thus demanding from both a cognitive and linguistic standpoint;students must not only do some higher level thinking, they must expressthat thinking using language which has not been "pre- packaged."This does not mean, however, that only the most apt students are readyfor higher cognitive questions. Research has shown that all students candevelop skills with these more challenging questions, given the opportunityto do so.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
LEP students often face particularly difficult linguistic demands whenresponding to higher cognitive questions. Techniques which may help include: - Basing your higher cognitive questions on homework or seatwork, sothat students can have more time to think about and compose their responses.
- Giving students practice in asking each other for summaries and explanationsby having them conduct review discussions in pairs. This "reciprocalteaching" technique gives them more opportunities to formulate moredifficult responses in a less pressured setting. It also trains them toanticipate the kinds of questions teachers might ask, a valuable studyhabit.
Teachers are often understandably reluctant to put students who areusually unsuccessful responders (native and non- native English speakersalike) on the spot by asking them higher cognitive questions. Commentsby the teachers who cooperated with our study indicated that the way theteacher follows up in such cases may be the important issue. - Encourage the less successful responder with more questions."IfI ask a person such as N. (an unsuccessful responder) a question that maybe difficult for her to answer, then I accept her answer and add a commentto clarify."
Capsule 10: DO THEY KNOW WHAT A GOOD ANSWER IS?
Question: What makes a good answer to a teacher's question?
"Effective" responder: When your answer is complete and understandableand it shows what you know.
"Unsuccessful" responder: When you pay attention and raise yourhand and don't copy somebody.
ISSUE
Children identified by their teachers as "effective" respondersknew more about the content characteristics of successful answers thanthose children identified as "unsuccessful." The "unsuccessful"children were very aware of procedural and interactive features of thegood response; for example, not shouting out, waiting your turn, not foolingaround. But these children were less able to describe an answer that iscorrect and shows knowledge.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Make explicit your expectations for a good verbal response. Some of thefeatures of a good response identified in this study are: - Using the appropriate words (relevant vocabulary)
- Including details and description; being specific
- Giving a complete, well-organized answer
- Giving an on-topic, thoughtful answer, not just guessing; showing youknow what you're talking about
- Giving the correct answer
Choose particular features from this list and focus on a different featureeach day, asking the children to be attentive to whether answers have thefeature. Write the feature on the blackboard to remind all the childrenand to provide extra support to the LEP students.
Give children practice in making effective responses. Have them work insmall groups, asking each other questions about what they have learned.Give them a checklist to rate each other on how well each answer meetsthe criteria you have established (which might include features from theabove list as well as other features you think are important for answersin your classroom). The children can help each other to expand their answersto provide more information.
When a child gives an effective response, indicate to the other childrenwhy that response was good. For example,
T: Which would weigh more, a block of metal or a block of wood the samesize? Matt?
S: The metal, 'cause the wood floats.
T: Good, you told us your evidence for your answer...
Capsule 11: LET ME ASK THAT ANOTHER WAY
"Sometimes you start to ask something, and you realize thatnobody's going to understand it the way you 're saying it, and you tryto paraphrase it and the kids try to guess what exactly it is you want."(third grade teacher)
ISSUE
Now and then, even the most experienced and skilled teachers find themselveslooking at a classroom full of blank or puzzled faces, after having posedwhat they believed to be an easy and straightforward question. There canbe several reasons for this, including the following: - The question may not have been "framed" adequately.
- The class may be having trouble following the teacher's plan for thediscussion as a whole.
- The question may have included a vague reference.
- The question may have included unfamiliar key terms.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO WHEN THIS HAPPENS
The difficulty, of course, is that when these problems occur, you mustattend to them immediately, without being able to stop to analyze the probablecause. The safest course is to assume that all four factors listed abovemight be the cause of the confusion. Fortunately, all four factors canbe dealt with efficiently by rewording the question, keeping these pointersin mind:
- First, tell the class why you are asking the question, or give somebackground information, or otherwise link the question specifically towhat the students can be expected to know and be thinking about. This addressesthe first two problem factors.
- To avoid comprehension problems in the reworded question, be neithertoo technical, nor too vague. For example, "Did it lack cohesion whenit did that, then?" could be rephrased as "Why did the soapywater spread out when you put it on wax paper?"
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO BEFORE THIS HAPPENS
To lessen the likelihood of the whole class being confused during verbalreviews,
- Frame the verbal review as a whole, telling the class not only thegeneral topic of discussion, but also something about its scope and organization.
- Plan for the use of "signposts" to make your organizationmore clear and easier for the class to follow (see Capsule4, NOW, WHERE WERE WE?).
Have ready a list of synonymous terms, phrases, and descriptions ofparticularly difficult key concepts used in texts and other instructionalmaterials. The list-making itself could be a good auxiliary instructionalactivity, with students working in pairs or small groups to compare listsand justify them.
Capsule 12: RESPONDING TO RESPONSES
T: Is that the final answer?
S: No, it's not in simplest form.
T: Now how did you know that?
S: Because they are not even, the numbers are not even.
T: Oh, all right, how would you explain it, Karen ? (sixth grade mathclass)
ISSUE
Verbal reviews are more than sequences of questions and answers. Followingthe student's response comes the teacher's evaluation of that response.Whatever a teacher says or does following a student's answer is usuallyinterpreted by students as an evaluation of that answer. Students findout what is correct and what the teacher sees as important both in termsof content and in terms of how the content is expressed. Students knowthat teachers have different styles of evaluating; some almost never rejectan answer, preferring instead to focus on the right answer and expand onthat, while others are quite animated about both praise and correction.Teachers indicate acceptance by positive statements ("Excellent!","Terrific!") or more matter-of-fact acceptance ("Right","Okay" "Yes"), or by repeating the answer, or simplynodding and moving to the next question. Knowing the role of evaluationcan help teachers maximize its value during verbal review.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Recognize that evaluation may not always be appropriate. Evaluationcan become so automatic that everything students say is evaluated, includingopinions, questions, and comments. Evaluation tells students whether theirunderstanding of lesson material is valid, and thus is appropriate whenlesson material is being reviewed.
Evaluate appropriately:
- Don't praise a simple calculation or factual recall answer with "Excellent!"or "Great!" Giving praise highlights both the responder and theresponse, so praising an answer solely to encourage the student who volunteersit may embarrass (or even insult) the responder and may also confuse studentsabout the important points of the discussion.
- Don't leave conflicting or clearly wrong answers unevaluated; be verycautious about assuming that the correct answer is obvious. Rather, follow-upto make sure the class knows how the correct answer was determined. Oneeffective way is for the teacher to work the problem at the board, withthe class (in unison) directing the teacher as to the steps to take tocorrectly solve the problem.
If you turn the evaluation over to students ("What did you thinkof that answer, Mary?"), make sure it is done generally enough thatyour most apt responders aren't the only ones doing the evaluating. Youcan ensure quality control" by evaluating their evaluations.
Capsule 13: WRAPPING IT UP
"You have to have closure. You have to say, 'Now, this is whatwe've done'." (third grade teacher)
ISSUE
How the teacher ends a verbal review discussion can either enhance or detractfrom its educational value. While an un-summarized verbal review may haveserved its evaluative purpose by giving the teacher some notionof how well the lesson material has been learned, it will certainly beless instructional than a verbal review with a good summary. Summariescan be oral or written and can be done with the whole class, small groups,or in pairs.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
The summary should relate the foregoing discussion to the knowledge basewhich the students are in the process of acquiring. This usually meansrelating the discussion to the purposes and structure of the curriculumunit, or the overall subject. The scope and detail of the summary will,therefore, vary according to the place the lesson material has in the curriculumunit. A good summary will: - Provide the students with some labels for organizing their knowledgebase into manageable "chunks," as in this example:
Okay. Good thinking. Good work. You had some great ideas on how to makethese things float, and what makes them float, and that's what this isall about. Okay. I want you to put all of these things back..." - Involve students actively in organizing their knowledge base, as inthese examples:
"Okay, now, we need to summarize what we've reamed today. Butfirst, who can tell me what a summary is?"
Okay, now that you've finished your assignment, what did you think asfar as our objective was concerned?"
What did you learn from this unit on the behavior of mealworms?" - Provide teachers and students with an opportunity to co-construct students'developing knowledge base, as in this example, in which the teacher providesthe broader labels, but asks students to provide the important details:
"Our first objective was to practice the multiply-add sequence.And your second one was to multiply a two- digit number by a one-digitnumber, with trading. What are some of the things that you have to knowin order to do that successfully? Who can sort of wrap it up forme? Kisha?"
Capsule 14: WHAT IF I CAN'T UNDERSTAND THE CHILD'S ENGLISH?
"LEP students have a difficult time explaining what they mean.I have to ask them to repeat it several times because I can't understandthe way they run their words together or however it is they're phrasingit. " (sixth grade teacher)
ISSUE
Both teachers and students have trouble saying "I don't understand."LEP children will often say they understand something when they reallydon't, just to avoid extra attention on their language problems. Also,teachers sometimes don't want to say they don't understand for fear ofmaking the child more self-conscious.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
If you have LEP children in your classroom it is important that everyonefeels free to say "I don't understand." Without the freedom toadmit that communication is not taking place, children will retreat intosilence and many more misunderstandings will occur.
Help the LEP children to know what to do when they do not understand theteacher or another classmate. The common response of LEP students in thissituation is to pretend that they do understand, when they really do not.This leads to serious problems if the teacher thinks the child understandsbut is being uncooperative. If in your classroom it is common and acceptablefor anyone to say "I don't understand" then you have createdan atmosphere that encourages learning. Language is best learned throughinteraction, and when language proficiency is weak, a great deal of negotiationof meaning between teacher and student is important for further languagedevelopment.
If you have a large number of LEP students in your class, there may befrequent miscommunication. The class will need to learn verbal routinesto understand each child's contributions to the discussion. Have the childrenpractice role-playing these verbal techniques so they become a naturaland accepted way to respond to an answer that is not understood. Perhapsa more proficient LEP student can negotiate misunderstandings and act asa tutor when needed.
There are two common techniques used by teachers that are helpful in negotiatingwith a child to understand meaning. To be most effective, these techniquesshould be explained to all students in the class, so that everyone expectsthem and feels comfortable using them.
- Repeat what the student says, with question intonation, to check yourcomprehension of the
S: Forty-seven
T: Forty-seven? Right,.... - Tell the student you don't understand. ("Sorry, I don't understand;please say it again)
Capsule 15: DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
"I don't want my teacher to think that I 'm stupid; I know I cando that stuff the other kids are doing, but I don't understand the directions.I don't understand what she's saying, but I know I can do it." (thirdgrade LEP student)
ISSUE
The LEP children we interviewed gave us some insights into the problemsthey face in verbal classroom interaction. They said they are embarrassedto make mistakes, often feel that they are outsiders and feel unable toexpress what they know. They said they are unable to fully understand classroomcommunication, and feel that their knowledge may be undervalued.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Rephrase your questions and the answers other children give so that LEPchildren have more than one opportunity to understand what is said. Suchrephrasing is also helpful to other students. Change questions that requirefull content answers into questions that give the student a simpler choicewhen you see the child is having trouble understanding. For example,
T: What happened when you added the drops to the powder? (no answer)...Didthe powder change color when you added the drops?
Use plenty of visual aids, such as writing on the more than just an auralchannel for comprehension. blackboard or giving demonstrations where possible,to provide
Recycle your content so that children have multiple opportunities to understandwhat is going on in the classroom.
Use synonyms frequently to ensure LEP children's understanding. Specificwords commonly known to native speakers may present problems for LEP children.As one teacher put it, "For example in spelling we had trail, andthe question was 'What's another word for path?' The native English kidsknew that it was trail...the LEP kids knew what a path was but they hadno idea what a trail was because they'd learned only one word for thisthing."
Have children give directions to each other. For example, when one childis at the blackboard, have another child "talk out" what thechild is writing.
Have the children work together in pairs or small groups to complete workbooks,worksheet exercises, and produce "collaborative" responses. Askthem to read the questions together and help each other with spelling andcorrect terms. Vary the composition of the groups to put LEP and nativespeakers together sometimes and for LEP children to work together sometimes.
Use comprehension checks such as "OK?" or "Was that clear?"Attempt to establish that the learner is following what is being communicated. Capsule 16: ASK A SIMPLE QUESTION
"There is a boy (in my class)...who doesn't speak English verywell, so (the teacher) doesn't call on him, because he doesn't know whatshe means." (third grade student)
ISSUE
"Democratizing" class participation is a difficult balancingact indeed! It may be helpful to bear in mind that during the course ofa class discussion or verbal review, questions can be posed at varyinglevels of linguistic sophistication and cognitive demand, offering opportunitiesfor participation to students of varying proficiency levels. Although allstudents should be given practice in responding to "higher cognitive"questions (see Capsule 9, CAN THEY APPLY IT?), factualrecall questions predominate in verbal reviews. Factual recall questions,while relatively undemanding from a cognitive standpoint, can vary considerablyin their linguistic difficulty. The following suggestions are intendedfor teachers of recently mainstreamed "ESL kids," who have learnedthe basics of English, but are not yet fluent.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Fitting questions to the students' level of English proficiency involvestwo considerations: the linguistic difficulty level of the question andthe linguistic difficulty level of the (appropriate) response. Choice questions,which ask the student to pick the correct answer from alternates givenin the question, should be the easiest, since the question contains theanswer:
"So, do the heavy things float, or do the heavy things not float?""Which is more like a gas: desks in a classroom or leaves blowing?"
However, choice questions which are long and/or structurally complex, orcontain unfamiliar words can be linguistically taxing for the non-nativeEnglish speaking student:
"Which is more like a liquid: a sidewalk with lots of people walkingon it, or a crowded elevator?" (The LEP student might confuse elevatorwith escalator)
"If you could weigh a block of water, and weigh a block of woodthat are the same size, which would weigh more?" (The if/then complicates)
The next easiest type of question is the more usual factual recall question,in which the student is required to respond with a calculation, name, date,or other very short factual response. Linguistically, these responses aresimple (and often also easy), but the linguistic difficulty level of thequestion may be a source of comprehension problems for LEP students. Anotherproblem can be inadequate "signposts" indicating the directionof the discussion (see Capsule 4, NOW, WHERE WERE WE?).In such cases, - Rephrase the question (perhaps as a choice question).
- All of the suggestions given in Capsule 15 (DO YOUUNDERSTAND?) are also pertinent.
Support comprehension by repeating students' answers, while modifyingfor correction and elaboration as needed. This not only reinforces correctanswers, it also helps students to extend their concepts and meanings throughlistening to your elaboration (see Capsule 14, WHAT IFI CAN'T UNDERSTAND THE CHILD'S ENGLISH?).
Capsule 17: WHAT ABOUT GRAMMAR?
"You're looking for ideas, you're not splitting hairs on whetherthey're saying the English correctly or not, you just want them to makesure that they know what the concept is." (third grade teacher)
ISSUE
Teachers agree that they don't evaluate LEP students' responses accordingto their English proficiency, but rather according to whether or not theiranswers are correct. But teachers are also aware that lack of proficiencyin English can be seen by others as a lack of intelligence and want toknow what they can do to help improve their LEP students' academic oralproficiency.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Focus on the content of what the child says and respond to the meaning,while modeling the correct form. An effective strategy is to repeat whatthe student said, supplying the correct grammatical form. For example,
S: Did the kids went outside already?
T: Did the kids go outside already? Yes, they did.
S: Some them high.
T: Yes, some of them are high.
Write student responses on the blackboard. This is another technique whichallows you to recast the response into appropriate and grammatical formswithout giving overt correction. Writing the responses has the additionaladvantages of reinforcing the information and providing a correct modelof the grammatical form. For example,
T: Okay, what did this prove? Juan?
S: If it purple, it's with starch.
T: (writes on board) What did this prove?
If it fumed purple, it had starch in it.
If it didn't turn purple, there was no starch in it.
Be realistic about the impact you can have on the LEP student's grammardevelopment. English is acquired slowly through interaction and practice,not solely by memorizing rules. Correcting speech errors only draws attentionto the inadequacies of the LEP child and is not likely to help improvehis/her grammar. An excellent medium for working on grammar mistakes iswriting. Use the child's written work to comment on grammar and focus onwhat the child is saying, not how he/she says it, during oral reviews.
Use visual aids and have students rephrase their verbal responses. Smallgroups, including students with varying levels of English proficiency,can be given tasks linked with coursework in science, social studies, etc.,which reinforce both academic content learning and grammatical development.
Capsule 18: WHAT IS ACTIVE PARTICIPATION?
"Perhaps we're not always aware of who is responding when we'regoing through these lessons. Perhaps some other children may beresponding much more than I'm aware of." (third grade teacher)
ISSUE
Usually when teachers talk about active participation, they refer to socialbehaviors such as hand-raising and body orientation. The successful --and active -- participant also shows good content knowledge by giving full,clear, and correct answers and by using the right words. The goal of manyteachers is to foster this sort of "active participation" inall students.
We advocate some caution in this regard because it is ethnocentric to assumethat children from all cultures share these conventions for participation:they do not. Moreover, attentive students are developing their listening/thinkingskills even though they may not respond correctly or may not offer responses.If active participation is seen only in terms of responding, being ableto formulate intelligent questions may not receive appropriate emphasis.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Those children who do not "actively participate" in the senseoutlined above may be following different cultural conventions for classroomparticipation. Learn more about classroom participation in the culturesfrom which your LEP children come. Some cultures do not value childrenwho volunteer answers or speak out. Your social studies lessons can bea good time to have students "role play" or describe how lessonsare conducted in the countries they come from. This can give you (and thewhole class) insights into what other cultures consider appropriate classroombehavior.
Remember that LEP children can understand before they are able to speak.Their seemingly passive behavior may mask their active role in attendingto and learning from the interaction that is taking place. Listening andreflecting thoughtfully is also an "active" process.
Students should be thought of as more than responders. They should be givenopportunities to formulate and initiate questions that they find important.Encouraging students to be questioners allows them to develop a broaderrange of functional language skills.
Teachers use a variety of question types during verbal reviews. Studentsmust recognize the function of each question type and the appropriate formof the response. These include factual recall questions, which elicit definitionsor repetitions, and higher cognitive questions, which elicit predictions,substantiations, opinions, and explanations. Provide your students withopportunities to practice answering questions of different types. For example,you might talk about predicting and show them a variety of forms that mightbe used to ask them to predict, such as:
"What do you think will happen if... ?"
"Can you predict what will happen when you add iodine to powder number23?"
Capsule 19: WHAT'S EXPECTED HERE?
"When a teacher asks them (LEP children) a question, they justsmile." (third grade student)
ISSUE
Children from different cultural backgrounds are socialized to learn accordingto their cultural traditions. In our educational system, teachers teachby talking and students learn by listening, or they learn through verbal/writteninteraction with the teacher. In other cultures, children learn by observationand imitation. Therefore, the behaviors of learning are different in differentcultures. In this capsule we want to focus on the nonverbal behaviors LEPstudents bring to classroom interaction and how miscommunication mightbe avoided when the different meanings of nonverbal behaviors are understood.
WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO
Nonverbal behaviors vary from culture to culture. In some cultures, tolook at the teacher is considered rude and unacceptable behavior. It isimportant that teachers understand that the LEP child who exhibits behaviorthat might be judged as inattentive or "uncooperative" may beexhibiting appropriate student behavior within the context of his or herown culture. The student must be helped by learning to show behaviors thatin our culture are associated with attentiveness and cooperation, addingthis new knowledge to his communicative repertoire.
Teachers can help LEP students by making their expectations for postureand other nonverbal behaviors explicit in positive, nonjudgmental ways.American children are very aware of the classroom requirements for nonverbalbehavior and are able to talk about them. Discussions with the whole classand role-playing of effective and ineffective nonverbal behaviors can helpthe culturally different student to understand the values of the Americanclassroom.
Children need time to learn American culture. Give them time. Childrencannot change their behavior immediately, but with a focus on appropriateactivities -- cooperative peer-peer activities, for example -- positiveresults will be achieved.
Ask culturally different students to share with you and their classmateshow schools are organized in their own countries, how their teachers teach,what behaviors are expected of them, and how teachers signal their expectations.Parents of these students might be invited to talk to the class and sharetheir own experiences. Limited English proficient parents and their childrenneed to feel proud of their own heritage to be motivated to learn and beproud of their new country.
Authors: Carmen Simich-Dudgeon, Education Program Specialist, Divisionof State and Local Programs, Office of Bilingual Education and MinorityLanguages Affairs, U.S.
Lynn McCreedy, Research Associate, Center for Applied Linguistics
Mary Schleppegrell, Language and Training Specialist, Center forApplied Linguistics
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank the administrators andteachers in the Fairfax county Public Schools, Fairfax, Virginia, withoutwhose cooperation this project would not have been possible: Dr. Esther Eisenhower, Coordinator, English as a SecondLanguage;
Dr. Claudia Chaille, Chairman, Research Screening Committee;
Mrs. Emily Williams, former Principal Parklawn Elementary School;
Mrs. Roberta Mahoney, former Principal Belvedere Elementary School;
Ms. Marie Baglio, Grade 3 teacher, Belvedere Elementary School;
Ms. Saralynn Bowling, Grade 3 teacher, Belvedere Elementary School;
Mrs. Sue Hartman, Grade 6 teacher, Parklawn Elementary School;
Mrs. Sue Kraft, Grade 3 teacher, Parklawn Elementary School;
Mrs. Marjorie Naidorf, Grade 3 teacher, Parklawn Elementary School;
Mr. William Rippe, Grade 6 teacher, Belvedere Elementary School;
Mrs. Jane Smith, Grade 6 teacher, Parklawn Elementary School;
Ms. Valorie Sweat, Grade 6 teacher, Parklawn Elementary School.
Special thanks go to Mrs. Hartman, Mrs. Naidorf, Mr. Rippe, and Ms. Sweatfor their helpful comments on an earlier draft. This guide has also benefitedfrom the review and comments from the following professionals: Dr. G. RichardTucker, President; Dr. Donna Christian, Co-Director of Research; Dr. GeorgeSpanos, Research Associate; and Peg Lorenz, Consultant, all of the Centerfor Applied Linguistics.
Last but not least, we want to thank all the parents who gave us permissionto work with their children, and the children themselves who allowed usto come into their classes and shared their academic experiences with us.
Program Information Guides are submitted to NCBE bypractitioners involved in teacher education, research, and the educationof language minority students. These guides are intended to be practicalresource guides on innovative teaching practices in the education of limitedEnglish proficient (LEP) students. | This publication was prepared under Contract No. 300860069for the Office of Bilingual Education Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA),U.S. The contents of this publication do not necessarilyreflect the views or policies of the nor doesthe mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations implyendorsement by the U.S. Government. |
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