http://osu.orst.edu/dept/eli/eisen-eli/, Spring 2001

This has been an exciting winter for the Eisenhower-ELI project! We led six district workshops in Albany, Lebanon, Lincoln County and Springfield, and we offered our Second Language Acquisition workshop at the University of Oregon. In addition to our project team members, the workshops featured several speakers from around Oregon with expertise in different areas. Teacher study groups have also been meeting in the different districts. It has been great to see all the issues and ideas coming out of these discussions! We also have information for those who would like to earn OSU credit for attending the workshops. Finally, we would like to invite you to participate in our final university workshop this year at OSU on May 18!

Table of Contents Winter district workshops Preparing students for standardized tests Alternative assessment Scoring guides Language and culture bias Focus on standards Focus on language proficiency Second language acquisition workshop Language processing and the brain Some comments from participants Teacher study groups Study group leaders Springfield study group news Lebanon study group news OSU credit Upcoming spring workshop at OSU

Preparing Students for Standardized Tests We discussed several test-taking techniques to help English Language Learners (and all other students!) succeed in standardized tests. Among other strategies, we discussed the "think aloud" technique, which is particularly helpful for ELLs, as it guides them to use language as a "thinking tool."

Alternative Assessment We also discussed the use of alternative assessments such as portfolios, journals, group projects and self-assessments. Alternative assessments are helpful because they show us what students can do, not what they can't. Alternative assessments can also better accommodate varying student interests, learning styles, backgrounds and language levels.

Scoring Guides

We also discussed the importance of using assessment criteria or scoring guides to help us focus on the purpose of particular tests. An essay written for a science class, for example, should be graded according to the student's knowledge of the science content, and not on his/her language or grammar. Since it is not advisable to give two grades for the same activity (e.g., a grade for English and a grade for Science), the teacher can always ask the student to re-write the essay and focus on language in a separate activity. The important thing is to choose specific aspects of language that are appropriate to the student's level of development.

Language/Culture Bias

Language/culture bias is a serious threat to test validity because it interferes with the real purpose of the test. As teachers, we must ask ourselves: How can we assess our students' content knowledge without interference from their lack of culture-specific knowledge and limited English proficiency? We all agreed that we must examine test items and determine the exact information that must be known in order to answer the questions. Then, we should determine if the information is universally known or if it is specific to any one culture. In addition, we should examine the language of the test and look for possible sources of ambiguity and difficulty. Participants also tried to answer test questions with culture-specific information from different regions of the world. The experience brought home some of the challenges faced by ELLs when cultural information is simply taken for granted in tests!

"This has been the best day for me. As I think about what all I've learned, each class has been a stepping stone to the next. Without the other classes, I would not have been ready for this one. Thank you!!" "I felt the content of today's workshop was very useful. It provides a framework for knowing where to go (goals) and how to get there with our students." "I always feel at ease at these workshops! You are great! I like the fact that we can ask questions and get great suggestions during these sessions. I love the activities! Thanks!"

Focus on Standards: Sherrilynn Rawson

Sherrilynn Rawson, Program Evaluation Specialist at Woodburn schools, came to Springfield and Lebanon to talk to us about the work being done for ELLs in Woodburn . In addition to offering bilingual and sheltered programs, the Woodburn district is developing "English Language Development Content Standards." These are content standards for English Language Development that are aligned to the English language arts content standards of the state of Oregon. Standards are articulated into five different levels of English language ability and are aligned to English Language Arts benchmarks I, II, III, and IV. The standards can be viewed at the Woodburn school district web page at http://www.woodburn.k12.or.us.

Focus on Language Proficiency Evaluation: Susan Roebber

We were also fortunate to have the participation of Susan Roebber, ESL Coordinator for Lincoln County schools, at our district workshops. Susan's presentation focused on initial identification, assessment and placement procedures for ELLs. Among other things, she discussed the use and interpretation of specific testing instruments, such as the LAS-O, the Woodcock-Muņoz, and the SOLOM (Student Oral Language Observation Matrix).

" I enjoyed the variety of speakers who shared what they're doing in their district."

"The material from Newport was fantastic! Really helpful information!"

"The Woodburn standards are very helpful for assessment and activity ideas."

Second Language Acquisition was the focus of our second university workshop, held at U of O on February 16. Pat Rounds led us through a series of stimulating activities designed to help us integrate language acquisition principles into the mainstream classroom. Workshop topics included: similarities and differences between first and second language acquisition processes acquisition of grammatical rules language development stages for ELLs length of time required to achieve age-appropriate levels of social and academic language proficiency

The workshop also included hands-on activities, as participants designed lessons for students at specific stages in language development. Classroom applications were also discussed by Maria Dantas-Whitney, who presented a vocabulary lesson in Portuguese, and Lindsay Jones, U of O teacher supervisor in Foreign Languages, who demonstrated a TPR (Total Physical Response) lesson.

Helen Neville: Focus on language processing and the brain

Helen Neville, U of O Professor of Psychology, gave an exciting presentation about the research she has been conducting on language acquisition and the brain. She presented results of studies with bilingual and deaf subjects on hemispheric specialization of language capacities.

Comments from participants

"This course was well organized, highly interesting, and offered a nice mixture of lecture and discussion. Thank you!"
"Brain research segment was fascinating."
"Having been thrown into teaching ESL with no prior knowledge, I have found each workshop progressively more useful in working with my students. Each workshop has inspired me to want to learn more."

Study Group News

News from Springfield, by Nancy Bray

We then focused on strategies for newcomers, and reviewed a number of handouts with ideas. We discussed the need for books in the student's native language to allow the newcomer to read in the native language as his/her L2 grows, helping students learn to use bilingual dictionaries, and ways to have the newcomer "buddy up" with both L1 and L2 speakers. Since more of our schools are hiring bilingual educational assistants, we talked about an effective model: the teacher planning with the bilingual educational assistants before the lesson, having the bilingual educational assistants preview the lesson in the native language with the students, the students getting the lesson from the teacher in English, and then having the bilingual educational assistants review the lesson in the native language.

Our second study group focused on "Emergent Literacy." We reviewed a number of hand-outs on the topic, ranging from more general research such as "Every Child a Reader: Instruction for English Language Learners" from the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement, to specific instructional strategies such as the Language Experience Approach. Since 90% of the English Language Learners in our district are Spanish-speaking, we went over a hand-out on the phonetic differences between English and Spanish. Study group members expressed the concern about the difficulty of teaching emergent literacy skills to English Language Learners in the upper grades, especially when the students are not literate in their native language. We discussed the use of volunteers, peer tutors and bilingual educational assistants to work with these students, and the role the ESL teacher might take in incorporating reading and writing along with oral language development.

Our third study group focused on "Reading Strategies." We discussed the phonics/whole language debate, and agreed that we need to incorporate both methods in our teaching. We need to help students understand that we use language for literacy and also for solving problems. We went over hand-outs which list reading behaviors, skills and strategies, and shared ways to help students learn these. One group member modeled how enlarged poems might be used. We talked about how English Language Learners may have trouble distinguishing vowel sounds in English, and how a mirror might be used so students can "see" how the sounds are formed. We discussed the importance of activating the students' prior knowledge before reading, and of using a Directed Reading Thinking Activity to help students predict and confirm as they read. We also talked about book selection, and suggested the use of wordless books, predictable books and poems, books which focus on an author or theme, and multicultural books. Study group members were given a list of bilingual books (Spanish/English), and a number of these were on display.

News from Lebanon, by Peggy Sweet

In our district promotion standards are a major concern. We spent time discussing how our ESL students fit into the scheme of things. With many heads put together, good ideas result!

We have looked at a variety of strategies for teaching ESL students (and, of course, other students in the classroom), both from educational articles and from tried and true strategies teachers in the district use. One month we looked at the ESOL educational goals and standards for acquiring English. We have also looked at assessments and how to read the Woodcock-Munoz and LAS-O reports and what that information means to the classroom teacher. Probably the most important thing we do is that we spend the last 20-30 minutes just networking, getting good ideas to try with our students when what is being done is not working.

We meet the last working Tuesday of each month, so everyone knows well ahead of time when the meetings will be. We are planning to continue to meet next year.

• Saturday, April 28
• Saturday, May 5

We look forward to seeing all of you in future workshops!