Reflections on Teaching Multilingual Learners

Since the TESOL International conference was supposed to take place at the end of this month, I thought it would be timely to repost a piece about TESOL’s publication, The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners.  My longtime colleague, co-author and friend, Dr. Deborah Short, was lead writer on the book and is the current TESOL president so it seemed fitting to hear from her about TESOL’s 6 principles and how they align with the SIOP Model. I’m sure you’ll enjoy her informative guest blog – especially in times like these when we’re unable to hear from experts like Deborah in person!

Deborah: The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners (TESOL, 2018) presents pedagogical foundations that every teacher of English learners should know, including research on second language development so teachers can make informed instructional and assessment decisions, strategies to promote bi/multilingualism, and methods for effective instruction and assessment. The 6 Principles represent an assets-based approach to language development and the book showcases a vision that language specialists are professionals with substantive expertise to share with colleagues.

TESOL developed the 6 Principles to advance the quality of English language teaching. Because English is the most popular new language to learn worldwide, it is important that all educators have a common understanding of second language learning theory and effective instructional and assessment design. When educators have a resource with contemporary research on pedagogy and second language acquisition, they can create beneficial conditions for learning in their classes. The 6 Principles are the core of exemplary teaching and apply to all educational settings where students are learning English as a new language or learning content through English.

The SIOP Model (Echevarria, Vogt & Short, 2000, 2017), which we developed to integrate academic language learning with content area instruction, is the perfect framework for actualizing the 6 Principles. The SIOP Model helps teachers plan and deliver effective instruction so students meet high academic standards and develop their English language skills. Let’s consider each of the 6 principles and show how implementing SIOP will help teachers meet them.

Principle 1: Know your learners

Knowing who your students are is at the center of effective instruction. Principle 1 encourages teachers to gain information about their learners, including their educational and linguistic backgrounds, their interests and talents, their cultures, and their families. With this knowledge, teachers can leverage assets the students have (e.g., first language literacy) and enrich their lessons with resources that learners bring to the classroom. Teachers also can anticipate gaps in knowledge that students might face.

      How Does SIOP Help Teachers Know Their Learners?

• When SIOP teachers consider the features of the Lesson Preparation component as they write their plans, they look at student data regarding proficiency levels in order to target instruction appropriately. They can then set language objectives and adapt content according to student needs.
• The Building Background component calls on teachers to tap personal experiences and knowledge students have about their home country and cultures to build or activate knowledge needed for lessons. Suggested techniques include visuals, video clips, field trips, Quickwrites, KWL charts, structured turn and talks, anticipation guides, and concept maps.
• Teachers recognize student assets and see the value of native language use in the classroom. The Interaction component reminds teachers that using the L1 strategically is beneficial.

Principle 2: Create conditions for language learning

Teachers have control over the culture in their classroom. Principle 2 prompts them to create a safe space for the learners so they are comfortable taking risks with language and learning new academic routines as they develop their skills. Teachers can create a positive climate that motivates the learners and a physical setting that promotes language use, such as by grouping students at desks or tables.

      How Does SIOP Help Teachers Create Conditions for Language Learning?

• To support literacy development, SIOP teachers pre-teach key vocabulary so students have greater access to texts—those they will read and those they will write. Key techniques shared in the Building Background component include 4 Corner charts, Frayer maps, contextualized word walls, foldables, and personal dictionaries.
• To promote collaborative discussions recommended in the Interaction component, teachers post anchor charts of signal words and academic language frames that are used to express functions (e.g., compare, persuade, evaluate). Teachers also configure learning groups deliberately as called for by the task and lesson objectives. Further, they teach students how to function in groups, both in terms of accomplishing their assigned roles and in utilizing discourse moves, such as turn-taking.
• SIOP teachers know that avid reading supports language acquisition so they build multilingual classroom libraries with books on curricular topics and books for pleasure reading. They look for books that reflect the students’ cultures and home countries, and ensure the selection includes texts at multiple reading levels.

Principle 3: Design high-quality lessons for language development

Principle 3 represents the core of instruction. The lessons, whether delivered in an English language class or a general education class, must have clear outcomes and use varied inputs to present information to the students. High-quality language lessons encourage the practice of authentic language coupled with relevant and meaningful content. Teachers help students think critically, use learning strategies, and regulate their learning. Teachers also differentiate instruction as needed.

     How Does SIOP Help Teachers Design High-Quality Lessons for Language Development?

• In many ways, the SIOP Model epitomizes Principle 3. We believe that SIOP’s most significant contribution to instructional practice is the focus on having content and language objectives in every lesson. This hallmark of SIOP fits right in with the clear outcomes stressed in this principle.
• SIOP calls for meaningful activities in each lesson, the use of variety of techniques to make content comprehensible, attention to learning strategies and higher-order questioning, and extensive practice and application that uses language authentically in academic ways.
• SIOP teachers may differentiate the way content information is presented (e.g., using supplementary materials or native language resources, adding visuals or audio supports, building background knowledge with a small group of learners while others in class do a Graffiti write to activate knowledge they already have) or the task that is assigned (e.g., some students work in pairs, students choose from options of a final product, the length is adjusted by proficiency level). However they do not differentiate the content and language objectives.

Principle 4: Adapt lesson delivery as needed

Just ask any teacher–Not all lessons go as planned. Principle 4 shows teachers that making adjustments is part of the teaching and learning process. By checkingstudent comprehension frequently, teachers can find out if a lesson is going off-track or if some students have not understood the material. Instead of waiting until the unit test which could be a week or more away, teachers can start adjusting immediately. They might present the information in a different way, find additional materials to support the students’ comprehension, or work with a small group of students to review the content while the rest of the class completes another task.

     How Does SIOP Help Teachers Adapt Lesson Delivery as Needed?

• The Lesson Preparation component encourages teachers to think in advance about adaptations of content and supplementary materials that might be required for some students. The Lesson Delivery component holds teachers accountable for meeting the objectives so they must be continually monitoring student learning as the lesson unfolds.
• The Strategies component suggests verbal, instructional, and procedural scaffolding to increase comprehension. SIOP teachers paraphrase text or student discourse. They incorporate graphic organizers into activities so students can capture important information in structured ways (as in how a Venn diagram frames the similarities and differences). They remind students of steps in a process, perhaps through illustrated directions.
• The Review and Assessment component encourages teachers to use group response techniques to check comprehension. If students are struggling, SIOP teachers may reteach or provide additional practice.
• Other ways that SIOP teachers adjust their lesson during instruction include modifying their speech, changing the pacing of activities, giving clear explanations of assignments with models of a finished product, and increasing wait time for student responses.

Principle 5: Monitor and assess student language development

The best lesson is worthless if students haven’t learned anything at the end of it. Thus it is important to monitor informally during a lesson and more formally with regular assessments. Principle 5 focuses on language development and calls on teachers to monitor student errors but provide feedback strategically. Teachers can take notes or use a rubric to record data on students’ language use. Teachers are also expected to let students demonstrate their growing knowledge base through various types of assessments—reports, recordings, tests, and so forth.

     How Does SIOP Help Teachers Monitor and Assess Student Language Development?

• SIOP’s Review & Assessment component addresses this principle directly. SIOP teachers monitor student language and content knowledge throughout a lesson. When errors are noted, a teacher may make an explicit correction at the moment, recast what a student has said, prompt a student to self-repair a written or oral statement, or plan a mini-lesson for the class in a near-future lesson.
• SIOP teachers use a range of assessment techniques to ensure students are making progress towards learning objectives. These include quick responses like thumbs up/thumbs down, 3-2-1 fingers (show 1 if you got it [the concept]; 2, are getting it, or 3, don’t get it), and written answers on a whiteboard. Assessment activities built into lessons include Numbered Heads, Send a Problem, vocabulary games, and computer-based programs like Kahoot and Quizlet.
• SIOP teachers assess student work with language development in mind. Teachers learn to analyze the work in two ways: one, to determine if a student conveys an understanding of the content knowledge (even if grammatical or nonconsequential vocabulary errors are present), and two, to determine if the academic language is used appropriately and shows growth in linguistic knowledge.

Principle 6: Engage and collaborate within a community of practice

Principle 6 wraps around the other 5 principles and focuses on how teachers can become better professionals and thus improve the instruction they provide. To meet this principle, teachers continue their own personal professional learning, perhaps by joining a teacher association or attending conferences. Teachers also collaborate with colleagues–they co-plan lessons, enhancing language practice opportunities and/or co-teach, sharing responsibilities with all students in a classroom.

     How Does SIOP Help Teachers Engage and Collaborate Within a Community of Practice?

• Just by reading this blog and following this website, you are engaging in a community of practice. And most SIOP teachers do. They are dedicated to their field and their learners and strive for new knowledge to improve their instruction.
• Some of you participate in book study groups and PLCs where you share your expertise with colleagues. You may help with lesson planning, with the selection of materials, or with explanations of language proficiency levels and interpretations of test results.
• Many of you act as mentors or coaches for other teachers and help them implement these 6 principles and features of SIOP in their classrooms.
• A growing number of you are co-teachers. In so doing you bring to life the SIOP Model every day and give students more access to language and content learning.

To sum up, remember that by implementing the SIOP Model you are giving students a leg up—helping them access the content they need in school and pushing their academic English development forward. You are also meeting the 6 Principles that TESOL has set out as universal guidelines for language teaching and learning.

References

Echevarria, J., Vogt, M.E. & Short, D. (2017). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP^® Model, Fifth edition. Boston: Pearson.

Echevarria, J., Vogt, M.E. & Short, D. (2000). Making Content Comprehensible for English Language Learners: The SIOP^® Model. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

TESOL International (2018). The 6 Principles for the Exemplary Teaching of English Learners. Alexandria, VA: Author.

 

 

The SIOP Model was designed as an approach for lesson planning and delivery of high-quality instruction for English learners. At the time SIOP was developed, teachers of English learners needed guidance on how to incorporate research-based practices into their teaching in a consistent and systematic way. They still do.

Because SIOP is an instructional framework, it’s promotion of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) may get overlooked. However, if you compare the tenants of CRT  to the features of SIOP, you’ll see that they intersect quite naturally. Some aspects of CRT are explicit in SIOP’s features and others are implicit. For example, SIOP teaching emphasizes high expectations for English learners by providing multiple ways for EL students to access grade-level content and participate fully in grade-level lessons. While there isn’t a specific SIOP feature, Have high expectations, it is a foundational principle of SIOP teaching. Every child deserves to be equally accepted as a part of her class and/or school, to be equally engaged in its academic and social fabric, to be an equal participant in lessons including having her language and cultural perspectives valued equally.

Let’s take a look at how each SIOP component explicitly promotes CRT:

Lesson Preparation. When English learners develop strong academic skills and content knowledge, they are empowered as individuals. They are better able to advocate for themselves and others and to pursue their dreams. Research confirms that well-planned, focused teaching is effective in promoting learning. As teachers begin to plan a SIOP lesson, they first design content and language objectives which will drive the lesson’s instruction and activities. Posting and reviewing objectives eliminates ambiguity for English learners about the lesson’s purpose and expectations.

During planning teachers ensure that students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds can access grade-level learning by making adjustments based on language proficiency and educational experiences. For instance, leveled reading passages and modified assignments allow all students to learn the same content, but through differentiated texts and tasks. Further, teachers engage students by planning meaningful activities to make the lesson’s content understandable and by choosing materials that are culturally relevant to student backgrounds.

Building Background. SIOP classrooms are student-centered and lessons build on students’ background knowledge and experiences. SIOP teachers capitalize on the funds of knowledge English learners bring to the classroom by integrating students’ realities into lessons. Using students’ own experiences to link to what they are learning not only emphasizes the legitimacy of their cultural heritage but also makes the lesson’s content more meaningful and relevant to them.

Comprehensible Input. SIOP teachers employ techniques such as speaking clearly, using visuals and multimedia, hands-on activities, modeling, and repetition to help students understand instruction at their level of language proficiency, thus providing access to the core curriculum.

Strategies. SIOP teachers recognize that although English learners may not yet be fully proficient in English, they can still think at high levels and respond to higher-order questions. When teachers provide opportunities for English learners to use higher order thinking and encourage them to think critically, not only is it more intellectually stimulating, it conveys high expectations for students. SIOP teachers also use a variety of scaffolding techniques to support students’ understanding of  lessons such as paraphrasing, use of graphic organizers, and showing a model of a completed assignment for reference.

Interaction. One of the best ways to create a caring community of learning is to teach students to interact respectfully and productively with one another. And, of course, provide them with lots of opportunities to do so. Having English learners and English speakers work together in small groups helps create mutual respect among students from different cultures and ethnicities. Developing relationships tends to break down walls and open communication as students learn about and from one another. At other times, English learners may be grouped by language so that they’re able to work together using the same home language. Having students interacting in groups allows the teacher to act as a facilitator, circulating among the groups and listening to students, gaining valuable information about their understanding of the topic as well as their opinions and perspectives. It’s a great opportunity to get to know more about your students in a way that isn’t as likely to occur in whole class teaching. SIOP’s interaction component also encourages ample use of students’ home language which demonstrates respect for students’ linguistic heritage.

Practice & Application. SIOP teachers enable students to practice and apply what they have learned by encouraging them to engage in activities of their choice that reflect their cultural identity. They might create a presentation, design a game, dramatize the topic, write and perform a song, or generate solutions to real-life problems that represent diverse perspectives. While integrating language skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening), these activities also integrate students’  knowledge, experiences, language, and preferences. Activities such as these are an important part of SIOP lessons because they allow students to use their background in a way that enhances learning and at the same time honors their background and heritage.

Lesson Delivery.  As mentioned previously, well-planned, focused teaching is effective in promoting learning. Beyond merely posting content and language objectives, the lesson’s instruction and activities need to support those objectives. Also, in SIOP classes there is a high level of student engagement since SIOP lessons make content comprehensible for students and include activities, supplementary materials, adapted text, and other practices to help students access the same content their English-speaking peers are learning.

Review & Assessment. SIOP teachers consistently check for understanding to ensure that English learners are comprehending the lesson’s content and vocabulary and are participating fully in learning. Formative and summative assessments are multifaceted and take into consideration the various contexts of a student’s life including home, school, culture, home language, and literacy development in both their home language and English. Such assessments provide the most relevant and accurate information for the teacher to use in designing appropriate and culturally relevant instruction.

As you can see, providing high-quality SIOP teaching to English learners in and of itself is culturally responsive.

SIOP teachers have high expectations for English learners, they value students’ linguistic and cultural assets and integrate their language and experiences into lessons. Creating a safe community of learning in which students are encouraged to interact with one another and build relationships is a priority. Through SIOP teaching, students are empowered by their newly acquired knowledge and skills including the ability to think critically about topics and express their thoughts, beliefs, and ideas from their own cultural perspectives.

Based on: Echevarria, J., Vogt, M.E. & Short, D. (2017). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP^® Model, Fifth Edition. Boston: Pearson.

 

I’m a huge tennis fan and Rafael Nadal is one of my favorite players. Over the years he has become a fluent English speaker, but I found it interesting that when he was interviewed recently on the television show, 60 Minutes, he opted to use Spanish for the extended on-camera interview because “he expresses himself more freely in Spanish.” That is likely true for many second language learners. A friend made the remark that she feels like her IQ goes up 10 points when she uses her first language. Even when fluent in another language, one’s expression is often affected when using a non-native language.

In the classroom, teachers may underestimate English learners’ capabilities since these students may not be able to adequately express their thoughts, understanding of content, or ask questions in a precise way to get at the information they seek. As a result, teachers may confuse English proficiency with ability. In other words, just because a student can’t speak English fluently doesn’t mean she can’t think – and do so at high levels.

To advance academically and linguistically, English learners need to be sufficiently challenged and one way to do so is by providing ample opportunities to think at higher levels.

Research tells us that about 80% of questions teachers ask are at the literal level. That means students are asked to give back information that was given to them or memorized rather than engaging in critical thinking. Examples of literal or recall questions include:

When did ________ take place? and, What is the definition of __________________.

It’s pretty easy to see why teachers tend to ask questions at the lowest levels. Typically, we want students to remember or understand what we’re teaching, and basic comprehension questions reveal what students remember from a lesson. Studies also show that students of color, English learners, and those at lower income levels are more likely to be asked lower level questions than other students. If teachers believe that certain students are unlikely to be successful when engaging in higher order thinking tasks, they tend to teach in ways that make this expectation a reality.

Bloom’s taxonomy provides guidance for asking the type of questions that challenge students to think more deeply about information. The most recent version of Bloom’s sets the levels from lowest to highest as, Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create. The graphic above provides ideas for engaging students at higher levels such as analyzing information: “Can students distinguish between different parts?” In this case students would be asked to compare, contrast, or test information.

There are lots of websites that have sample questions for Bloom’s higher order thinking but the challenge for teachers of English learners is to formulate questions that reduce students’ linguistic load while being cognitively challenging. For example, What is the relationship between ________ and ________ ? (analyze)), or Did ________ choose a wise course of action? Give reasons. (evaluate) English learners should be encouraged to demonstrate their knowledge about these and other higher order questions in a variety of ways such as drawing, through drama, building a model, using a graphic organizer, creating PowerPoint slide presentation, and so forth. The purpose is for students to engage in and demonstrate higher order thinking, not to show their level of English proficiently.

Some ways of increasing the use of higher order questions include:

• Plan for higher order questioning during lesson planning. Several SIOP lesson plan templates have a section for developing higher order thinking skills (HOTS). Planning specific questions ahead of time is important since it’s unlikely that teachers can come up with a variety of good higher order questions on the fly.
• Teach students about higher order thinking and higher order thinking strategies. Explain to students why they are being asked questions that provoke thought and require them to grapple with an idea or analyze a problem. Making students aware of HOTS helps them understand their own higher order thinking strengths and challenges.
• Post anchor charts with question stems representing each level of Blooms. These posted resources can be used:
  • To teach students about HOTS and to become familiar with questions at each level (see previous point);
  • By teachers to stimulate class discussions. The visual question starters remind teachers to go beyond literal questions and ask questions that deepen students’ thinking;
  • By students to refer to and use different levels of questioning when working with peers. The charts model how to ask good questions.
  • As students read, urge students to ask themselves questions from the charts to enhance comprehension and engagement with text.
• Use prompts to stimulate thinking.  Prompts can be placed purposefully throughout the text, asking questions of readers that intentionally emphasize different skills such as inference or analysis.

In post-match interviews, professional tennis players, most of whom are multilingual, are asked to analyze a point, compare their match to a previous one, evaluate their play or that of another. All these questions require higher order thinking and although the players’ English may not be fluent, they are able to think beyond literal levels — just like our students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Educators are well aware of the oft-cited achievement gap experienced by English learners. The term achievement gap implies that some students don’t do as well as others academically because they aren’t trying hard enough, aren’t motivated, or aren’t as capable as higher performing students. However, in the past decade there has been growing awareness – and evidence – that there is a pervasive opportunity gap for these students.

A recent report provides some interesting results regarding the opportunity gap. The authors observed nearly 1,000 schools across five diverse school systems and concluded that there are ways to close the opportunity gap. The report recommends that each day students should have the following four resources:

1. Consistent opportunities to work on grade-appropriate assignments.

The idea that English learners can only be successful if they’re given watered-down materials and assignments has been refuted. Research with the SIOP Model, as well as other studies such as the one linked above, have found that when English learners are provided with appropriate supports, or scaffolds, these learners can be successful in learning grade-level concepts and material and can meet academic standards. Supports are intended to make content comprehensible while at the same time develop students’ English proficiency. Proven supports include:

• Presenting information in chunks, so that students can process both the concepts presented and the language used. Some English learners may be mentally translating the information and need time to do so. After a chunk of information is presented (or read), ask students to do something to actively process the information such as summarizing it with a partner, answering questions, or filling in part of a worksheet. This process makes large amounts of information more manageable.
• Pre-teaching vocabulary. Vocabulary knowledge is key to understanding text, however, vocabulary lists in textbooks are usually created for English-speakers. Be sure to select words and phrases that will support readers’ understanding of the story, text passage, or lesson. For example, a math lesson’s objective might be to divide multi-digit numbers using an efficient strategy. Typically, the teacher would select key vocabulary such as, divide, quotient, multiply, dividend, and divisor. These are essential content vocabulary terms for students to know but English learners would likely also need to learn the meaning of efficient and strategy. It is assumed that students know these general academic words, but they are vocabulary terms English learners need to learn for this lesson and for use across content areas.
• Using graphic organizers. In many content-area lessons there is a lot of information and language for English learners to digest. Graphic organizers provide a visual illustration so that students can better understand the material while also learning its associated vocabulary.

These are but a few of myriad ways to support English learners’ comprehension of grade-level work, and many resources are available to help teachers make grade-level lessons comprehensible for English learners.

2. Strong instruction where students do most of the thinking in a lesson.

The authors define strong instruction as, “instructional practices that allow students to grapple with appropriate material in robust ways.” Some teachers maintain a mindset that students are empty vessels in need of filling. In fact, students come to school with lots of experience and knowledge and use what they bring as a springboard for new learning. Teaching involves more than presenting information, it includes equipping students to think for themselves, to find information, and to be challenged by new ideas. Some of the most effective instruction I’ve observed is found in classrooms where teachers introduce a topic (or story, or math or science procedure), then students work together to think more deeply about the topic, followed by regrouping for review or sharing students’ ideas. Teachers move seamlessly from whole class to small groups or partners, then back to whole group. Small groups may be used for a quick think-pair-share or turn-and-talk, and at other times a group of 3 or 4 students work together to grapple with an idea or topic, research the answer to a question, or problem solve. Grouping is flexible and there may be several grouping configurations in one lesson, each designed to encourage students to do the thinking. Two cautions related to this point:

• Be aware of wasted instructional time. A pet peeve of mine is watching time that could be used productively disappear, never to be reclaimed. For example, designed as a way to get students to think about a topic and interact with peers, teachers frequently ask students comprehension or prediction questions such as, “Based on what we’ve read, where do you think our main character will go next? Turn and talk to your elbow partner.” The answer to this question, and most others teachers ask students to discuss, takes about 15-20 seconds, but it is not unusual to observe three to five minutes of valuable instructional time devoted to answering simple questions. Minimal amount of student thinking occurred in this example and the lost minutes add up to hours over the course of a week, a month, a year. English learners are students who can least afford wasted instructional time.
•  Be careful not to overuse language frames. Used as scaffolds for oral or written expression, sentence frames are effective in helping students communicate ideas using complete sentences and specific vocabulary. Sentence frames are intended to support students in producing language that they wouldn’t be able to produce on their own, but they can be overused which stunts authentic expression as I discuss in this post.

3. Deep engagement in what they’re learning.

Many students go through the motions of participating in lessons without actually being connected cognitively or emotionally. Compliance is not the same as engagement. Student engagement may be easier to see than describe. In this video, you’ll find students across grade levels working together productively.  Some specific ways to encourage student engagement include:

• Grouping students to work collaboratively. As seen in the video, students enjoy working with peers on well-structured assignments. Teachers facilitate productivity by first modeling the tasks and showing an example of the final product, then setting time limits on aspects of the assignment, and circulating amongst students to offer assistance as needed.
• Explicitly linking the topic or assignment to students’ background knowledge and experiences. For example, hook students by asking questions such as, What would you do in that situation? Have you ever had a similar experience? If you were in this situation, what would you advise? Tell us about how your family might react, Based on your own experience, how might you solve this problem? An important aspect of asking probing questions is to really pay attention to what students have to say orally or in writing. Encouraging students to express their thoughts based on their own experiences can be a powerful way to engage with the topic whether it be characterization in a story, an historical event, or a topic in science.
• Capitalizing on the assets students bring to the classroom by providing activities that are meaningful, interesting and relevant to them. Create student agency by allowing English learners to research topics that interest them, on their own or with peers, and offering alternative means for completing assignments based on their interests, e.g., drawing, writing, or filming. When students are given voice and choice in how they learn, they are more likely to take responsibility for their own learning and engage more deeply in assignments.

4. Teachers who have high expectations for all students and believe they can meet grade-level standards.

All too often, English learners are characterized by what they cannot do: they cannot speak English, they aren’t prepared for mainstream classes, their parents cannot attend school events. Deficit-based attitudes contribute to low expectations for students’ academic prospects. Decades of research has made clear that If teachers believe that their students are unlikely to learn, they tend to teach in ways that make this expectation a reality. In contrast, most of us are drawn to a person who believes in us and we don’t want to disappoint that person. Students perform better for teachers who communicate high expectations for them. These teachers take time to develop relationships with their students which pays dividends in the classroom. Teachers who have high expectations let each student know that they are important and can be successful. They make comments such as, “I see you finished that assignment. I knew you could do it.” “I appreciate you showing up for tutoring this morning. I know it will help you do well in that class.” Authentic expressions of affirmation signal your confidence in students and can have a positive impact on their success. We would all do well to communicate to students the essence of Mr. Rogers’ approach: You are special. I like who you are.

 

 

Writing language objectives can be hard!

Teachers are generally comfortable writing content objectives because those are based on content standards that teachers are familiar with and are sometimes stated right in curricular materials, e.g., In this unit students will…..

Language objectives, not so much.

Including a language objective in every lesson was popularized by the SIOP Model beginning in 2000 and is now a widely accepted practice. After nearly twenty years, it is the feature about which we continue to receive the most questions, bar none.

In short, content objectives (CO) are related to the key concept of the lesson. Although language objectives (LO) connect to the lesson’s topic or activities, their purpose is to promote student academic language growth in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Writing a LO isn’t always as straightforward as a CO because it is based on an aspect of language that students need to learn. It typically takes more thought and preparation. Fortunately, there are ELL/ELD standards to help guide you in writing language objectives.

In our book, Developing Academic Language, Deborah Short and I provide guidelines for identifying objectives and incorporating them into lessons. These guidelines include determining what we want students to learn (CO) and then considering the language needed to accomplish those objectives (LO). It is important that active, measurable verbs are used in objectives so that learning can be assessed. Students are more likely to take responsibility for their own learning when measurable objectives allow them to gauge their progress. Avoid verbs such as learn, understand, become aware of since these cannot be measured.

In a lesson from a unit on the Lewis and Clark expedition, the unit’s guiding standard is, Explain events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text. A content objective for the lesson might be: Students will identify and describe the main events on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Language objectives might be: Students will describe the main events using past tense verbs, and Students will categorize vocabulary terms using a List-Group-Label activity.

We promote the practice of posting and discussing objectives with students. An agenda, commonly written by teachers on the board, is a list of activities and is not the same as objectives. Objectives focus on an outcome, not an activity. They are the content-based learning targets students need to be able to accomplish the activities. Remember, objectives are what you want students to know or be able to do by the end of the lesson, so instruction needs to address what you’ve set out to do.

When writing language objectives we suggest that teachers:

• Have a consistent introduction that students recognize. Pick whichever one will resonate with your students: SWBAT (students will be able to), SW (students will), We will, Today I will and so forth.
• State the outcome using active, measurable verbs. SIOPer @carlota_holder created this graphic to illustrate some active verbs that may be used across the four domains.. The lists aren’t exhaustive but are a handy reminder of verbs to use. Some, of course, fit in multiple categories. Compare works in writing and speaking as does persuade.

In the listening domain above, the objective would need to include an observable, measurable action such as, Students will listen for details and raise a hand when a key detail is mentioned, or Students will pay attention to the presentation and take notes on the outline provided.

• Focus on the aspect of language students will learn or practice in the lesson. The language feature may need to be explicitly taught or refined and practiced.

So, here’s how a language objective is constructed:

     Students will  describe the main events using past tense verbs.

     Introduction – Active, measurable verb –  Language to be learned or practiced

Additional information may be part of the objective, if desired for clarity:

     Students will categorize vocabulary terms using a List-Group-Label activity.

      Introduction – Active verb  – Language learned    –     Activity

To see objectives in action in a social studies classroom, click here.

One thing is certain, the more you practice writing language objectives, the easier it becomes. Keep in mind a quote from SIOP expert Andrea Rients (@RientsAndrea), “Nobody dies from writing a bad language objective” to which another veteran SIOPer Ana Segulin (@asegulin) replied, “A bad language objective is better than NO language objective.”

Touché!

 

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Post based on : Short, D. & Echevarria, J. (2016). Developing Academic Language Using the SIOP Model. Boston: Pearson.

Echevarria, J., Vogt, M.E. & Short, D. (2017). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP^® Model, Fifth Edition. Boston: Pearson.