In order to teach ELLs with LD effectively, we need to become “culturally and linguistically responsive teachers” (Nguyen, 143). This means we need to become aware of both the cultural and linguistic reasons students are experiencing challenges in their learning, and then implement teaching strategies and accommodations that address both areas, not just one or the other.
Strategies for teaching can be broken down into two categories: strategies of thought for teachers, and strategies of implementation for the classroom.
Strategies for teaching can be broken down into two categories: strategies of thought for teachers, and strategies of implementation for the classroom.
part 1
Teachers should approach the instruction of ELLs with LD with a mind open to learning and discovering how the student is already a learner (Nguyen, 143). They have learned concepts, language and activities prior to our classroom, and paying careful attention to how a student already learns successfully can provide helpful clues to the teacher as to what teaching strategies may be most effective to implement.
Additionally, teachers should view both language and culture as assets, not liabilities, that the child carries with them into their new learning environment (Nguyen, 144). In some schools, teachers hold the view that the best way to learn English is to have “English only” classrooms. However, an ELL’s L1 can be a very valuable asset to their learning, and is an important part of their identity. We can capitalize on that, and affirm the value of their prior knowledge and family culture, by making authentic and meaningful connections between that and our classroom curriculum and culture.
It is important to note that making meaningful connections between cultures means far more than simply talking about food and religious/national holidays. It is possible, if one is willing to put the time and effort into it, to make deep and authentic connections to cultural values and world views (Eppolito, Lasser and Klingner, 149). This kind of cultural insight cannot be gained from simply looking at another culture and drawing conclusions based on what you observe, though; to truly begin to understand the way another culture thinks and views the world, one must be willing to ask questions and then simply listen to the answers and absorb their full meaning. This is ideally accomplished through meaningful dialogue with a member of that culture, though there are some written resources available, as well (several excellent books are listed on the Cultural Intelligence Centre's resource page: http://www.culturalq.com/tmpl/resources/books.php).
On a practical level, it is important to teach students the cultural norms of our classrooms and schools so that they can get along well with their peers, but this can be done in a way that still validates their own cultural norms (Eppolito, Lasser and Klingner, 147). Look for opportunities for students to share their own experiences, or how things were done in their home country, and then build off of their experiences instead of quickly dismissing them or moving on. For example, if a student shows respect for a teacher by not asking questions but simply listening and obeying, we can dismiss that by responding, “well, here I want you to ask questions when you don’t understand!”, or we can affirm it by responding, “I love how respect for your teachers is so important to you! In my classroom, I feel respected when students feel safe enough to let me know when they don’t understand, so that I can have a chance to help them!”
We need to keep this same concept in mind when assessing and evaluating student progress; that is, we need to be aware of how cultural norms may affect our assessments (Klingner, Artiles and Barletta, 125). For example, if we are having a discussion about the pros and cons of a moral issue, and our ELL with LD does not seem able to participate meaningfully, it could be because of the language barrier, and it could be a result of the LD, but it could also be a product of a cultural clash. Because of some cultural or religious beliefs, some issues may simply be absolutely beyond debate in their mind, and they may be unable to come up with pros or cons simply because the concept of thinking through both sides of the issue is absolutely foreign to them (Schwarz, 9). Not all cultures have been raised from an early age to debate or even consider both sides of an issue, regardless of personal preference; in this case, the challenge would be totally unrelated to a language or intellectual challenge.
Activity
Choose a culture that is relevant to your teaching situation or that interests you personally, and investigate their cultural norms surrounding education and classroom expectations. Interview someone from that culture, if possible, and use online resources to supplement your findings. Write a paragraph explaining your findings, and another paragraph highlighting some ways you could affirm those cultural norms in your classroom while also teaching and adhering to Ontario cultural norms. Post your findings and ideas to the discussion forum to share with others.
Additionally, teachers should view both language and culture as assets, not liabilities, that the child carries with them into their new learning environment (Nguyen, 144). In some schools, teachers hold the view that the best way to learn English is to have “English only” classrooms. However, an ELL’s L1 can be a very valuable asset to their learning, and is an important part of their identity. We can capitalize on that, and affirm the value of their prior knowledge and family culture, by making authentic and meaningful connections between that and our classroom curriculum and culture.
It is important to note that making meaningful connections between cultures means far more than simply talking about food and religious/national holidays. It is possible, if one is willing to put the time and effort into it, to make deep and authentic connections to cultural values and world views (Eppolito, Lasser and Klingner, 149). This kind of cultural insight cannot be gained from simply looking at another culture and drawing conclusions based on what you observe, though; to truly begin to understand the way another culture thinks and views the world, one must be willing to ask questions and then simply listen to the answers and absorb their full meaning. This is ideally accomplished through meaningful dialogue with a member of that culture, though there are some written resources available, as well (several excellent books are listed on the Cultural Intelligence Centre's resource page: http://www.culturalq.com/tmpl/resources/books.php).
On a practical level, it is important to teach students the cultural norms of our classrooms and schools so that they can get along well with their peers, but this can be done in a way that still validates their own cultural norms (Eppolito, Lasser and Klingner, 147). Look for opportunities for students to share their own experiences, or how things were done in their home country, and then build off of their experiences instead of quickly dismissing them or moving on. For example, if a student shows respect for a teacher by not asking questions but simply listening and obeying, we can dismiss that by responding, “well, here I want you to ask questions when you don’t understand!”, or we can affirm it by responding, “I love how respect for your teachers is so important to you! In my classroom, I feel respected when students feel safe enough to let me know when they don’t understand, so that I can have a chance to help them!”
We need to keep this same concept in mind when assessing and evaluating student progress; that is, we need to be aware of how cultural norms may affect our assessments (Klingner, Artiles and Barletta, 125). For example, if we are having a discussion about the pros and cons of a moral issue, and our ELL with LD does not seem able to participate meaningfully, it could be because of the language barrier, and it could be a result of the LD, but it could also be a product of a cultural clash. Because of some cultural or religious beliefs, some issues may simply be absolutely beyond debate in their mind, and they may be unable to come up with pros or cons simply because the concept of thinking through both sides of the issue is absolutely foreign to them (Schwarz, 9). Not all cultures have been raised from an early age to debate or even consider both sides of an issue, regardless of personal preference; in this case, the challenge would be totally unrelated to a language or intellectual challenge.
Activity
Choose a culture that is relevant to your teaching situation or that interests you personally, and investigate their cultural norms surrounding education and classroom expectations. Interview someone from that culture, if possible, and use online resources to supplement your findings. Write a paragraph explaining your findings, and another paragraph highlighting some ways you could affirm those cultural norms in your classroom while also teaching and adhering to Ontario cultural norms. Post your findings and ideas to the discussion forum to share with others.
part 2
Here are a few practical teaching strategies to consider building into your professional practice.
Making Use of L1
Providing Opportunities for Success
Whole Child Development
Activity
Research other suggested teaching strategies for students with LD and choose three that interest you. Briefly describe them, and then suggest ways you could use it or modify it for use with an ELL.
Making Use of L1
- When teaching reading strategies in English, encourage students to use them when reading in their L1, too (Klingner, Artiles and Barletta, 125). Provide parents with a list of good questions to ask their children about their reading and encourage them to have those conversations in their L1.
- Teach students the strategy of looking for cognates (Eppolito, Lasser and Klingner, 146-147). This encourages them to draw on their existing knowledge and vocabulary to actively assist in and improve their understanding of English text.
- Encourage students to use either their L1 or English when seeking to understand their reading better (Eppolito, Lasser and Klingner, 153). For example, if a student does not understand a word, they may look it up in an English dictionary; but, if that is not helpful, encourage them to use a translation dictionary. If they want to Google something they are reading about to better understand it, allow them to search in their L1 if they choose to. This allows them to grow and develop their understanding of what they are reading, without keeping the language barrier intact.
- Encourage students to continue learning and communicating in their L1 in contexts outside of the classroom. Parents can assume that the best way to make sure their child learns English well is to switch to using only English in the home, too. However, when a child develops strong proficiency in their L1, research shows that it actually has a really positive effect on the development of their English proficiency (Eppolito, Lasser and Klingner, 150). A strong L1 foundation is ultimately of benefit to both L1 and English capabilities (Klingner, Artiles and Barletta, 125).
Providing Opportunities for Success
- Determine what their ideal or strongest communication style is (listening/reading, oral/written) and make an effort to design lessons and tasks that play off of those strengths (Garcia and Tyler, 117). Keeping in mind the principles of Differentiated Instruction and Universal Design for Learning, ensure that students have the opportunity to successfully demonstrate their understanding through using the skills they have. Building skills in the weaker areas can be done separately or in a different context. [If the concepts of Differentiated Instruction and Universal Design for Learning are new to you, you can find links to some helpful articles on the Resources for Professional Development page.]
- Make an effort to reduce the amount of information the students are expected to generate on their own (Garcia and Tyler, 117). Consider offering them a version of a class activity that has been turned into a cloze procedure, or providing them with a multiple choice test instead of a short answer one. Make sure that if you are asking a student to generate a lot of information independently, it is really necessary for them to do so; if there is an alternative way of assessing whether they understand the content of your lesson, that is probably a wiser choice so that their mental energy is expended in a way that is most helpful.
- Give students a ‘secret signal’ to give students a heads up that you will call on them soon. This gives them a minute or two to plan out their answer before having to say it in front of the class, and take the pressure off of having to generate a response in the heat of the moment (Nguyen, 144). If you will be having a class discussion on a major issue, let the student know about it the day before so that they can research the topic in their own language and prepare their thoughts to contribute to the discussion.
- Present test questions orally, if reading skills are weak, so that students can focus on the content, not the process of accessing it (Garcia and Tyler, 117).
Whole Child Development
- Explicitly teach students study and social skills, and work habits so that they can help themselves through challenges they face in the classroom (Garcia and Tyler, 117).
- Explicitly teach students about language tools they can use independently to continue their growth and development, such as morphological awareness, cognates and sentence structure (Eppolito, Lasser and Klingner, 150).
- Create activities that relate to the home culture of the student and then build off of them. For example, autobiographies, story-telling, and personal narratives are great springboards for students to connect to and then put their own spin on. (Eppolito, Lasser and Klingner, 147)
Activity
Research other suggested teaching strategies for students with LD and choose three that interest you. Briefly describe them, and then suggest ways you could use it or modify it for use with an ELL.