Friday, June 24, 2016

English learner instruction research

Research on teaching English learners found that the most common types of instructon include: pullout/push-in tutoring, sheltered English instruction, and bilingual instruction.  English-learners in bilingual programs had language arts and math scores that grew as fast or faster than those of ELLs in sheltered English immersion, but students in developmental bilingual programs showed slower growth in math than those in other types of bilingual and sheltered-English instruction.Effective strategies for teaching academic content to ELs include:
  Teach a set of academic vocabulary words intensively, over several days and a variety of activities.
  Integrate instruction in spoken and written English into content-area teaching, such as using science laboratory reports to teach writing in English.
  Provide ongoing, structured chances to develop writing skills.
  Provide small-group interventions for students struggling with specific problems in literacy or language development.

Sparks, S. (2016). Teaching English-Learners: What Does the Research Tell Us? Education Week (May 11).

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