2. Participant Goals
Objectives
We will…
• understand the process of second language acquisition
• Make connections between the process of language acquisition
and stages of acquisition.
2
3. Timeline
•Formal VS Informal language acquisition
•Social acquisition VS academic acquisitions
•Called BICS and CALP
3
4. Conversational Fluency /BICS
(BICS -Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills - Cummins 1979)
• From birth until the child goes to school (0 – 6)
• The child can see facial expressions, gestures and so on
• Playground talk
• Embedded in social context
5. Academic Language Proficiency/CALP
(CALP – Cognitive academic language proficiency)
• Formal in nature
• Active instruction of language
• Language use is cognitively challenging
• Vocabulary – low frequency
• From about 6 to 50+
• CALP is a timeline for SLA developed by Jim Cummings
Cummins 1979
6. Stages of Language Acquisition
ELP Standards
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Krashen (1982) and (2003);
WELPA numerical levels
NOTE: These terms were developed by Krashen in 1982 and
provide loose descriptions of the levels.
7. Characteristics of Level 1
• “Silent period”
• Uses little or no English.
• May or may not connect words with objects or pictures.
• Student watches carefully.
• Student follows lead of others.
• Student repeats language heard in and out of appropriate context.
• Needs to see and uses words connected to gestures and actions
• Responds to simple academic content and directions
• Begins to correct speech in group activities
• Needs visual and social academic supports
8. Characteristics of Level 2
• Mostly silent.
• Watches carefully.
• Mimics what others do.
• Points frequently while communicating.
• Repeats words and simple phrases uttered by others but not
always with understanding.
• Begins to recognize words in the classroom written in English.
• Participates in academic discussions with words and phrases
• Begins to use content related vocabulary
9. Characteristics of Level 3
• Speaks simplified English.
• Demonstrates frequent grammatical and word choice errors.
• Uses simple sentences with inconsistent grammatical forms
• Follows simple directions especially when accompanied by gestures.
• Uses a few well-chosen English words and phrases to communicate.
• Relies on non-linguistic cues for meaning.
• Participates in social discussions on familiar topics.
• Tells and retells simple stories and content.
• Has problems understanding nuances of deeper meaning.
• Doesn’t understand many jokes.
• Uses word parts to determine meaning of new words (grades 3 to 12)
• Reads scaffolded (adapted) text
10. Characteristics of Level 4
• Speaks clear but simplified English.
• Communicates with most speakers on many topics with some ease.
• Influence of home language phonology and sentence structures evident.
• Begins to self monitor.
• At times frustrated due to lack of vocabulary. “Knows what she doesn’t know.”
• May mix home language with English when trying to communicate ideas.
• Relies on literal meanings.
• Attempts descriptive sentences in academic discussions
• Uses common grammatical forms with some errors
• Reads at close to grade level with support
• Uses simple figurative and idiomatic language (grades 3 to 12)
11. Characteristics of Level 5
• Uses and understands more complex speech.
• Communicates effectively with some language errors.
• Jokes and teases easily in English.
• May still be confused by idioms.
• Speaks clearly and comprehensibly using standard forms.
• Applies content related vocabulary in various contexts.
• Reads at grade level.
12. What might a Level 1 student understand?
______ the ____ game __ the ______ball ______, Fernando ___
______ a _____ __ 73 ______. He ______ 20 ______ in the ____
game, ______ ___ ______ _______ 15.5 ______ ___ game. To
____ the _____ ______ __ games he ______, _____ ____ the
___ __ 73 and 20 and the_
___ the ___ to 15.5
________ 15.5 ____ 73
________ the ___ __ 15.5
______ the ___ __ 15.5
13. What might a Level 2 student understand?
______ the last game __ the basketball ______, Fernando had
______ a _____ of 73 points. He ______ 20 points in the last
game, ______ his ______ _______ 15.5 points ___ game. To find
the _____ number of games he ______, first find the ___ of 73
and 20 and then
___ the ___ to 15.5
________ 15.5 ____ 73
Multiply the ___ by 15.5
______ the ___ by 15.5
14. What might a Level 3-4 student understand?
Before the last game of the basketball season, Fernando had
______ a total of 73 points. He ______ 20 points in the last
game, making his season _______ 15.5 points per game. To find
the total number of games he played, first find the sum of 73
and 20 and then
Add the sum to 15.5
Subtract 15.5 from 73
Multiply the sum by 15.5
Divide the sum by 15.5
15. What’s so important about language?
Before the last game of the basketball season,
Fernando had scored a total of 73 points. He scored 20
points in the last game, making his season average 15.5
points per game. To find the total number of games he
played, first find the sum of 73 and 20 and then:
Add the sum to 15.5
Subtract 15.5 from 73
Multiply the sum by 15.5
Divide the sum by 15.5
16. Sort for the Level
With your table group:
•Organize the descriptors in your envelope from
least demanding to most demanding
•How would you group these descriptors into
levels or stages?
17. What is Academic Language?
This term has been around for awhile now… discuss what you know.
It is…
…a register
…specific linguistic features associated with academic disciplines
…found in textbooks, tasks, talk and tests
…students must produce it!!!
(Anstrom, 2010; Bailey, 2007; Bunch, 2009; Ernst-Slavit &
Mason, 2011; Gottlieb, Katz, & Ernst-Slavit, 2009; Gottlieb &
Ernst-Slavit, 2013; Francis et al, 2006; Schleppegrell, 2004;
Zwiers, 2008)
19. Academic Language General Areas
Word/Phrase Level • Vocabulary-general, specialized, technical
• Multiple meanings of words
• Nominalizations
• Idiomatic expressions
• Metaphors
Sentence Level • Types of sentences-simple, compound, complex
• Compare/contrast
• Prepositional phrases
• Syntax (forms & grammatical structures)
Discourse Level • Text types/ genres
• Cohesion across sentences
• Coherence of ideas
• Organization of text or speech
Gottlieb & Ernst-Slavit (2013). Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms. Corwin.
20. The Language of Mathematics
v Vocabulary
v Letter Conventions
v Symbols
v Grammatical Features
v Discourse or Genres
v Language Functions
Gisela Ernst-Slavit
22. Grammatical Features
E.g., prepositions
“Do you say divided by or divided into?”
--Maximo, 5th grade ELL
Of and Off (percentage of or off
something)
The temperature fell by 12 degrees
The temperature fell from 12 degrees
The temperature fell to 12 degrees
Gisela Ernst-Slavit
23. Discourse
“There are 4 windows
in the attic and each
window has 8
panes of glass.
One friend cleans
Every third pane. Two
of you clean the rest. Who
cleans the least
number of panes?”
24 Gisela Ernst-Slavit
• Will the friend start on pane 1 of
window 1 or on pane 3 of window 1?
• Will s/he then move to window 2 or
continue in window 1?
• Is the comparison among the 3
friends or between the “one friend”
and the “two of you”?
• What is a pane?
24. The Language of Math:
Discourse
Story Problem
A certain construction job usually
takes four workers six hours. Today,
one worker called in sick, so there
are only three workers. How long
should it take them to do the job?
Gisela Ernst-Slavit
25. ELP Standards
o focus on function
o tied to the Washington State Learning Standards
o assessed with ELPA 21
o language objectives in content areas
o
oNext: Aida Walqui on language function
26. Standards 1-7: Content-Area Practice Focus
Standards 8-10: Language Specific Focus
1
construct meaning from oral presentations and literary and informational text
through grade-appropriate listening, reading, and viewing
2
participate in grade-appropriate oral and written exchanges of information, ideas, and
analyses, responding to peer, audience, or reader comments and questions
3
speak and write about grade-appropriate complex literary and informational texts and
topics
4
construct grade-appropriate oral and written claims and support them with reasoning
and evidence
5
conduct research and evaluate and communicate findings to answer questions or
solve problems
6 analyze and critique the arguments of others orally and in writing
7 adapt language choices to purpose, task, and audience when speaking and writing
8
determine the meaning of words and phrases in oral presentations and literary and
informational text
9 create clear and coherent grade-appropriate speech and text
10
make accurate use of standard English to communicate in grade-appropriate speech
and writing
FunctionForm
