Teaching Content Through a Second Language

1
Teaching Content Through a Second Language

• Brian Sheehan, Jennifer Wolfe,
• Jennifer OConnor, and
• Darcy McLaughlin

2
Main Idea

• There is no reason to postpone the teaching of
  content until students are academically
  proficient in English - based on lessons learned
  in immersion classrooms.

3
Main Idea

• Every lesson in content is a lesson in
  language and every lesson in language is a lesson
  in content.

4
Dimensions

• Planning for instruction
• Adjusting classroom activities
• Assessing student progress

5
Planning

• Sequencing content objectives
• Planning content lessons that contain language
  objectives (e.g., content-obligatory,
  content-compatible)
• Planning instructional activities - related to
  Cummins contextual support and cognitive
  involvement (Cummins, 2000, p. 68)
• Planning instructional materials
• Integrating culture
• Planning for assessment

6
McGraw Hills Elementary Science Study (ESS)
Program

• Application of the natural approach to elementary
  science study (Leyba, 1994, pp. 93-94)
• Preproduction
• Early Production
• Emergence of Speech
• Natural Language Approach

7
In the Classroom

• Negotiation of meaning
• Making language and content accessible
• Helping students communicate
• Expanding and refining students language
• Teacher as monitor
• Instructional decision making
• Teacher as model
• Structuring the environment

8
Assessing Student Progress

• Assessing concept mastery (e.g., acting out
  knowledge)
• Assessing language proficiency
• Integration between the two

9
Conclusion

• Grade level ( i.e., content) teachers need
  responsibility for language development
• Second-language teachers need to be defined as
  teachers of academic content
• Teachers need to support one another, working
  side-by-side

10
Discussion Points

• Mets suggestions are based on the success of
  immersion programs. Do her suggestions need to
  be modified based on the reality of our
  classrooms?
• Which of Mets suggestions would be the most
  likely to work?
• Which are you skeptical about?