Effective Writing Instruction for ESL Writers
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Transcript of Effective Writing Instruction for ESL Writers
Effective Writing Instruction for ESL Writers
Effective Writing Instruction for ESL Writers
Targeting ESL Students Towards Success
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Welcome to an ESL Writers’ World
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Grade 4 TAAS Writing
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EnglishTAAS All
EnglishTAAS LEP
SpanishTAAS
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TAAS Writing, Grades 8 and 10 (Exit)
47384128LEP
91798566All
‘02‘94‘02‘94
Grade 10 Grade 8
Percent Passing TAAS, 1994 and 2002
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Comprehensive Instruction Takes into Account
Schooling Background
Reading Proficiency in English
Oral Language Proficiency in English
Writing Proficiency in English
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ESL Students and Their Schooling Backgrounds
No SchoolingNo Schooling
Formal SchoolingFormal Schooling
Limited-Formal SchoolingLimited-Formal Schooling
Long-Term SchoolingLong-Term Schooling
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Levels of Reading Proficiency in English
Beginner Intermediate Advanced
Reading Proficiency Tests in English (RPTE)
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Levels of Oral Language Proficiency (OLP) in English
NES LES FES
Non Limited Fluent
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Levels of Writing Proficiency in English
Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach
Beginner AdvancedIntermediate
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Writing Rubrics: CALLA vs.TAKS
CALLA
Organization
Vocabulary and Word Forms
Language Use
Mechanics
TAKS
Organization
Conventions
Focus and Coherence
Development of Ideas
Voice
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Building on Strengths in a Dynamic Context
BeginningBeginningBeginningBeginning
NESNES
IntermediateIntermediate
AdvancedAdvanced
LESLES
FESFES
IntermediateIntermediate
AdvancedAdvanced
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Transferable and Non-Transferable Skills
PhonologyPhonology
SemanticsSemanticsSyntaxSyntax
OrthographyOrthography
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Program Design
Newcomer’s CenterNewcomer’s Center
ESL with Sheltered Content SupportESL with Sheltered Content Support
ESL PulloutESL Pullout
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Taking Aim
Academic Achievement
FESFES
LESLES
NESNES
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Fluent-English Speaking Student
• Struggling ESL Writer
• Long-Term or Formally Schooled
• Intermediate or Advanced Reader
• Intermediate or Advanced Writer
• Struggling ESL Writer
• Long-Term or Formally Schooled
• Intermediate or Advanced Reader
• Intermediate or Advanced Writer
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Examining the Layers
TargetLanguage
TargetLanguage
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Targeting Students for Success
HabibJuliaTroung
LupeMarkNatasha
MustafaBjornJosé
TargetLanguage
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Habib
Formally Schooled
Non-English Speaking
Beginning Reader
Advanced Writer in Native Language
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Building on Strengths
Name OLP Strengths Areas of Need
Plan of Action
Habib
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Julia and Troung
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Building on Strengths
Name OLP Strengths Areas of Need
Plan of Action
Habib
Julia
Troung
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Beginning Writers Need
Oral Language
Orthography Conventions
Sentence and Paragraph Construction
Instruction to develop
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Integrated Language Instruction
ThinkingThinking
SpeakingSpeaking
WritingWritingListeningListening
ReadingReading
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Instructional Strategies for Beginning Writers
• Language Experience Approach
• Graphic Organizers• Learning Logs• Concept of
Definition Maps• Sentence Synthesis• Word Walls
• Sentence and Word Expansion
• Capsule Vocabulary• Cloze Procedure• One-Sentence
Summary• Visual-Verbal Word
Association Cards• Window Paning
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Additional Instructional Strategies
• Oral Discussion• Partner Stories
Using Pictures and Wordless Books
• Concept Books: Creating a Teaching Library
• Riddle Books for Older Students
• Pattern Poems• Improvisational Sign
Language• Life Murals• Clustering• Freewriting• Semantic Mapping
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Accelerating Beginners
Appropriate and ongoing assessment of student progress
is critical when helping them make the greatest gains in
academic achievement.
Appropriate and ongoing assessment of student progress
is critical when helping them make the greatest gains in
academic achievement.
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Building on Strengths
Name OLP Strengths Areas of Need
Plan of Action
Habib
Julia
Troung
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Natasha
Limited-English Speaking
Limited-Formally Schooled
Intermediate Reader
Intermediate Writer in Native Language
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Building on Strengths
Name OLP Strengths Areas of Need
Plan of Action
Habib
Julia
Troung
Natasha
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Mark and Lupe
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Building on Strengths
Name OLP Strengths Areas of Need
Plan of Action
Habib
Julia
Troung
Natasha
Mark
Lupe
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What’s Difficult in Literature and Composition for ESL Students?
Culture and Concepts
Cultural Values
Shared Knowledge
Discourse Organization
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What’s Difficult in Literature and Composition for ESL Students?
Vocabulary
• Difficult to understand
• Difficult to find appropriate words to express intended meaning
“Finding the right word presents difficulties for all writers; for an ESL writer, finding a word is the major challenge.”
(Chamot and O’Malley, 1994, p. 290)
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What’s Difficult in Literature and Composition for ESL Students?
• Language functions and structures
• Comprehension and expression difficulties
“ESL students may avoid or make inaccurate use of complex sentences and grammatical structures that communicate subtleties and nuances in written English”
(Chamot and O’Malley, 1994, p. 291).
• Students may lack learning strategies –Comprehension –Writing
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Intermediate Writers Need
• Strategies to improve sentences– Quality– Length– Style– Variety
• Strategies to improve organization– Paragraphing– Logical ordering of ideas in English
• Support in the conventions of writing in English– Punctuation– Grammar– Usage
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Eradication Strategies
• Encourage appreciation and acceptance of others’ languages and dialects
• Preserve the voices of students
• Identify appropriate interventions to teach students about discourse patterns, audience, context, and tone
Don’t WorkDon’t Work
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The Writing Process
• Shifts emphasis from a product-driven approach to a process-driven approach
• Provides effective writing instruction
• Enforces the process all writers go through as they develop their compositions
• Helps develop positive attitudes towards writing
Stages in the Writing Process
PrewritingPrewriting
DraftingDrafting
RevisingRevisingEditingEditing
PublishingPublishing
ReflectiveReflective RecursiveRecursive
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Using the Writing Process with ESL Writers
• Focuses on meaning first and then moves to mechanics
• Includes goals for fluency, clarity, and correctness
• Allows students to be involved in writing regularly for meaningful purposes and real audiences
• Allows more advanced students to work together and support each others’ writing development
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Prewriting
Do not overlook prewriting activitiesDo not overlook prewriting activities
• Explore the possibilities in the writing task• Stimulate and enlarge the writer’s thoughts• Move writers from the stage of thinking
about a writing task to the act of writing• Develop a plan to help choose the topic,
purpose, audience, and form or structure
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Drafting
• As the first version of writing, the purpose of drafting is to put the thoughts onto paper
• Writing’s recursive nature means that drafting will be revisited again and again and again.
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Revising
Revising means “seeing again.”Revising means “seeing again.”
• Improves the composition so that the
product is more interesting and
understandable to the reader
• Clarifies meaning and expands ideas
• Helps writers learn the craft of writing
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Editing
Helps the writer
Understand that conventions convey
meaning
Understand that conventions convey
meaning
Make corrections to errors in the conventions of writing,
including spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation
Make corrections to errors in the conventions of writing,
including spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation
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Publishing
• Helps the writer focus on the communication of meaning to a real audience, thus giving a purpose for writing efforts
• Acknowledges that writing is genuine communication
• Is an effective strategy for motivating writing• Practices the highest level of revising and
editing skills
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Positive Signs of the Writing Process
“Intermediate writers still make frequent errors in punctuation, grammar, and usage. In fact, they may make more such errors than beginners because they are producing more writing—a positive sign of the writing process. Recurrent errors may serve as the basis of an individual or group mini-lesson, so that students may correct such errors during editing.”
(Peregoy and Boyle, 2001, p. 234)
Mini-Lessons in Writing
• Are of short duration (10–20 minutes)
• Demonstrate important aspects of the writing process with clear, powerful examples
• Focus on a specific writing principle or procedure
• Are interactive and meet students’ needs
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Mini-Lessons in Writing
Procedural MattersProcedural MattersProcedural MattersProcedural Matters
Literary ConceptsLiterary ConceptsLiterary ConceptsLiterary Concepts
Strategy and Skill LessonsStrategy and Skill LessonsStrategy and Skill LessonsStrategy and Skill Lessons
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Mini-Lessons in Writing
Students should apply and be held accountable for
skills and strategies taught in
mini-lessons.
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Sheltered Instruction andThe Writing Process
PreparationPreparation InteractionInteraction
Building Background
Building Background
Practice/Application
Practice/Application
Lesson DeliveryLesson DeliveryComprehensible
InputComprehensible
Input
StrategiesStrategiesReview/
AssessmentReview/
Assessment
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Instructional Strategies for Intermediate Writers
• Image Streaming• Paragraph
Structures• Learning Logs• Concept of
Definition Maps• Sentence and Word
Expansion
• Advanced Capsule Vocabulary
• Semantic Features Analysis Chart for Conventions
• RAFT• Graphic Organizers
for Text Structures
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Building on Strengths
Name OLP Strengths Areas of Need
Plan of Action
Habib
Julia
Troung
Natasha
Mark
Lupe
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Mustafa
Limited-English Speaking
Beginning Reader
Advanced Writer in Native Language
Formally Schooled
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Building on Strengths
Name OLP Strengths Areas of Need
Plan of Action
Habib
Julia
Troung
Natasha
Mark
Lupe
Mustafa
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Bjorn and José
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Building on Strengths
Name OLP Strengths Areas of Need
Plan of Action
Habib
Julia
Troung
Natasha
Mark
Lupe
Mustafa
Bjorn
José
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Advanced Writers Need
ConventionsConventionsDiscourse Patterns
Discourse Patterns
Depth of Thoughts
Depth of Thoughts
TransitionsTransitionsVoiceVoiceWord Choice
Word Choice
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The Process of Making Meaning
• I was masticating my gum.
• Don’t throw a cow!
• I’m thawing out.
• We need to get in sequence to come in from recess.
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Building on Strengths
Name OLP Strengths Areas of Need
Plan of Action
Habib
Julia
Troung
Natasha
Mark
Lupe
Mustafa
Bjorn
José
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On Your Own
• Working in groups of four• Each member should:
– Select writing samples to analyze
– Identify strengths and an area of need
– Develop a plan of action
• Be prepared to share your findings with your group members
Four Case StudiesFour Case Studies
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Hot Spot AreaHot Spot Slides
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HabibHabib moved to Texas with his family and enrolled in school two weeks ago. He is in the ninth grade and had been attending a school for boys in his native country. He was one of the top performing students in his class and was just beginning to learn English when his family relocated. When tested, he was found to be non-English speaking. He also was unable to produce any writing in English when asked to provide a writing sample. He wrote in his native language instead. Since it appeared that Habib did not have a minimal command of the English language, he was not tested in reading.
Habib’s English teacher has noted a few things about him since he first came to her class. He is very inquisitive and learns quickly. He clutches his Arabic/English dictionary everywhere he goes and uses it to make requests. His math skills are advanced as he has picked up many English words related to his math class. He also loves his science class. With the hands-on approach, he easily recognizes key concepts he has already learned in his native country.
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Julia
Julia is nine years old and has never been to school. Her family fled their war-torn country and moved to a small rural town in Texas. When tested in English, she was identified as limited-English speaking. However, she could not read or write in English. Since the town does not have a bilingual program, she was enrolled in ESL. Her ESL teacher has a bilingual aide who works with Julia daily, helping her to spell her name and write her ABC’s. Julia loves to listen to stories and wants to read.
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Troung
Troung moved to Texas after living in California for the past two years. When tested for oral language proficiency, she was found to be a fluent-English speaker. However, her writing skills were very minimal. She produced short sentences with many errors in spelling and conventions. It seemed as if she was saying the same things over and over again. When tested for reading, she scored at the intermediate level of the RPTE.
Prior to moving to California, Troung attended school for a short while. She moved around often with her family as they struggled to make ends meet. She had relatives in the states that sent money to them to assist their departure from their country. Later, the family moved to Texas in hopes of building a better life for themselves. Troung is in the seventh grade.
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Natasha
Natasha enrolled in a Texas school last year after living in New York for three years. At the end of the seventh grade, it was found that she was limited-English speaking and an intermediate reader according to the RPTE. There have been some concerns with her progress, as it appears that she has been at the intermediate level for the past four years. As an eighth grader, Natasha seems withdrawn and guarded.
When reviewing Natasha’s past, it was found that she came to New York, fleeing her native Croatia with her mother and her older sister. Her father was last seen fighting with the Serbians. All of her school, medical, and personal records were destroyed in the war. Natasha reported that she missed a year and a half of school while in Croatia. When she was in school, she was learning English as a second language since kindergarten and excelled in her own native language.
Natasha’s writing samples indicate that she has trouble with verb tenses, plural forms, sequencing of events, and conventions. Although these problems can be distracting to a native reader of English, it is fairly easy to decipher what she wishes to share and express through her writing. It’s obvious that she has mixed feelings about her father.
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Mark
Mark came to Texas as a fifth grader right before the administration of the RPTE. Although he scored as a non-English speaker on his oral language proficiency test, his teacher suggested to the LPAC that he take the RPTE due to his performance in the classroom. The results of the RPTE indicated that Mark was an intermediate reader. Now as a sixth grader, Mark is also an intermediate writer.
Mark attended school regularly in Mexico and had taken classes in English. His writing samples consist of elaborate and flowery language. His teacher describes his papers as “full of extraneous information.”
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Lupe
Lupe, Mark’s older sister, is in the eleventh grade. She has been in the states since she was in the third grade. She is a fluent-English speaker and an advanced reader. In past years, she hasn’t been able to pass the statewide assessment in order to exit the ESL program. Now she needs to pass it in order to graduate.
Prior to her arrival in Texas, Lupe had not been schooled. She participated in a bilingual program in the third grade and then moved into ESL in the fourth grade due to a move. By the end of the ninth grade, Lupe had moved another six times, in and out of the country and in and out of a variety of schools and ESL programs.
Lupe’s writing samples indicate difficulties with word choice, verb tense, spelling, and conventions. Furthermore, she has trouble developing a variety of sentences with more complex structures. Her sentences are short and terse. She also has a tendency to overuse adjectives and is in need of expanding her vocabulary.
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Mustafa
Mustafa came to Texas from his native country of Liberia where he had attended school and earned high marks. He spent much of his summer hanging around his neighborhood and shooting hoops. At the start of the new school year, he was tested and was found to be limited-English speaking and a beginning reader. Mustafa’s writing, however, was at the advanced level of the CALLA rubric.
Like Habib, Mustafa is very resourceful and has many transferable skills from his native background. Much of the population in Liberia speaks English, and Mustafa had been exposed to short grammar lessons early on in his education there. Mustafa is in the fifth grade and is in a classroom in the United States for the first time.
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Bjorn
Bjorn is a tenth grade foreign exchange student from Sweden. He attended school in his home country and was considered an overachiever with a burning desire to master the English language. So when the opportunity to come to the United States was upon him, he jumped at the chance to immerse himself in American culture.
When Bjorn filled out his home language survey, he reported that he spoke Swedish and English. The district chose to screen him for LEP status. It was found that he was a fluent English speaker, but he scored below the 40th percentile on his academic achievement test in English in reading. When he provided a writing sample, it was described as advanced according to the CALLA rubric.
The LPAC chose to place Bjorn in a regular sophomore English class. His teacher noted that Bjorn’s writing appeared to need continued support in the development of ideas, word choice, and voice.
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José
José is an eleventh grade Mexican student who was born and schooled in Texas. Over the years, José has lived with different family members. Early in his childhood, he lived with his grandmother who only spoke Spanish. Later, he moved to a house near his grandmother’s to live with his father who spoke Tex-Mex. After the death of his father, he moved in with his uncle who spoke both Spanish and English fluently. As a result of these moves, José moved in and out of a variety of programs for English language learners.
José reached the advanced level of the RPTE two years ago and recently scored as an advanced writer according to the CALLA rubric. José loves rap music and writes his own selections. Word choice and discourse organization appear to be areas in which José needs continued support.