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Action Research Initial Meeting with the Teacher I held a meeting with my second grade teacher I was observing, Mrs. Pfeiffer, to discuss which students should be my focus for my Action Research Project. She asked if I had anything in mind and I shared with her my desire to help English Language Learners. This desire came from knowing the importance of empowering them to excel in school and also from personal experience of struggling to learn and comprehend another language. I have been to the Dominican Republic four times on a mission trip. I took a few Spanish classes in high school, but being completed submerged in another language was overwhelming and frustrating. I knew bits and pieces of what they were saying, but had a difficult time comprehending all they were saying. I often had to guess what people were saying by putting the few words I understood together and watching others. I believe some ELL students feel the same way in the classroom. She was grateful for my desire to work with ELL students because she confirmed that they were struggling with vocabulary, especially when trying to comprehend a written text or listening to classroom instruction. Mrs. Pfeiffer's class includes 4 students that learned English as a second language. 2 of those students are pulled from class to go to the ELL specialist. The other 2 recently tested out of ELL. Since the other students were already being pulled, and the other 2 students still needed assistance with vocabulary, Mrs. Pfeiffer chose Student A and Student B for me to work with. She wanted their vocabulary to be increased so that she could spend less time clarifying her instructions and questions they had about text they were reading, and more time of them learning and processing new information.

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Students Chosen Student A: Student A was initially very shy and timid. She didn't talk much in class. The only time she would talk was to the other ELL girls in the class and it was in Spanish. Her parents are originally from Mexico and she only speaks Spanish in her household. She is an only child and talks in a sweet, quiet voice. She has been doing decently in class but has some trouble keeping up with what Mrs. Pfeiffer talks about. I often hear her ask the other ELL students what to do. When addressing a complicated text, she will not ask questions. She often just waits quietly until me or Mrs. Pfeiffer comes around to help. Student B: Student B is much more outspoken and talkative. Her English was very proficient and well spoken. She opened up more about her family than Student A did. She told me that her parents are originally from El Salvador and came to America looking for a better future but neither of them could get into a college here. They both work for a family, the father works in the garden and the mother cleans the house. Student B's mother often tells her of how she wants a better future for her. Her mom is very much on board with helping Student B in any way possible. Student B actually helps translates parent teacher conferences between Mrs. Pfeiffer and the ELL's parents. So she is strong in her spoken English, but written is more difficult for her.

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Essential Question After meeting with Mrs. Pfeiffer and seeing the needs of Student A and Student B, I determined what essential question needed to be answered: How can I improve ELL students' vocabulary in order to make it easier for them to comprehend texts and instruction? By researching different strategies that best work for ELL students and implementing them with Student A and Student B, I hope to increase their vocabulary knowledge. I will have to focus on vocabulary terms often used in classroom instruction and develop their comprehension of written text. Baseline & Initial Data The initial assessment required students to comprehend a sentence and determine the meaning of the key word and also to know the definition of classroom instructional terms. -Student A Student A scored a 5/10 on the initial assessment. I had to read the sentence and the answers out loud, multiple times in order for her to put an answer down. She was really hesitant in everything she was doing and had little to no confidence. -Student B: Student B answered 7/10 questions on the initial assessment correctly. She had much more confidence than Student A, but still needed me to read it out loud to comprehend it well.

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Student A

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Student B

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Timeline for Implementation

Each meeting was only about 15- 20 minutes long. Mrs. Pfeiffer had a strict schedule and did not want them to miss too much of the lessons in the classroom so they would not fall behind. Data Collection based on Timeline 1. The initial assessment is included above. It included questions that involved comprehension of texts to determine a words meaning and also knowing vocabulary terms often used in the classroom for instruction. The interest survey included random things they may be interested, how they feel about school, and how they feel about reading. Student A did not initially enjoy reading and Student B enjoyed it, but often found it difficult to understand. I was hoping that increasing their vocabulary knowledge would make reading more enjoyable for them.

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I also asked student about their family history. This is where I found out that Student As parents are from Mexico and Student Bs parents are from El Salvador. 2. We started off our second session with discussion on the countries Mexico and El Salvador. We looked them up on a map and discussed some of their traditions and culture. This showed that I was genuinely interested in them and their ethnicity. They also did not know much about where their parents are from, so they were excited to learn about their history. We also reviewed our initial assessments. After we reviewed and discussed some of the difficulties they had with the assessment, we began to make notecard of the words on the assessment. We put the Spanish word for the term on one side and the English on the other. I also had them color a picture on them to help them connect a picture with the definition, giving them another visual. 3. Last meeting we ran out of time to finish our notecards, so we started this day off with finishing those. While they were finishing their notecards I discussed with them the importance of reading comprehension. I taught them to read the sentences completely and if they did not know what something meant, to use either context clues or picture clues to discover its meaning. I made sure they did not have any questions then proceeded to give them another assessment. This assessment was around Thanksgiving so I decided to make it about pumpkins. We read a text about pumpkins together and then they had to answer questions about the text. They were able to look back at the reading if they were stuck on a question.

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Student A: Student A seemed distracted and did not look back at the text to help her with the questions. She only answered 2 out of 5 questions correctly. After acting different than usual, I asked her if everything was okay and she answered that she did not get much sleep the night before and was very tired. Therefore, I do not believe this assessment correctly showed where Student A was in her learning progress.

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Student B: Student B did use the texts to assist her in answering the questions and answered 4 out of the 5 questions correctly (she forgot to write down her last answer but verbalized it correctly to me). She seemed more confident in her reading comprehension.

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After this assessment, I gave their brains a break and they played an interactive vocabulary game on my computer for the last few minutes. They had to determine what the word was meant in order to water the flower and make it grow. I explained to them we are watering their learning so their knowledge could grow. 4. We started by adding new terms to our vocabulary notecards from the assessment from the last session. We reviewed those along with the previous notecards. Students showed improvement in word knowledge. The second half of the meeting we played a fun, interactive vocabulary game on my computer. Anytime I used my computer they became very excited, they both did not have internet connection at home. They game was matching and they had to choose the Spanish word and connect it to the English. We also played a matching one where they connected the English word to the English definition. This helped their thought process because when they see or hear a word they connect the English to Spanish translation and then determine its definition. 5. Today was all about word maps. We took the words they were having the most difficulty with and map words maps for them. This really helped them truly comprehend their meaning. Instead of drawing out a picture for the word (that they have already done for their notecard) we acted out the words. It was a fun way to get up and moving and uses our bodies to help us understand a words meaning. 6. The final assessment was given on our last meeting. It was the same assessment as the initial assessment. They read the sentences and marked their answer on notebook paper.

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Student A: Student A answered all of the questions correctly!

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Student B: Student B answered 9 out of 10 questions correctly!

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Progress Shown from Initial Assessment

Student A: Student A made a significant amount of improvement. She doubled the amount of questions she answered correctly. The initial assessment she answered 5 out of 10 correct and the final assessment she answered 10 out of 10 correctly. Student B: Student B also showed improvement from her initial assessment. The initial assessment she answered 7 out of 10 correctly and the final assessment she answered 9 out of 10 questions correctly (missing the hardest question on the test).

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Student Progress Monitoring Chart

For my students progress monitoring chart I used a thermometer. I explained to them that we are trying to get to the very top and reach our goal. Our goal was to feel comfortable with comprehending texts and knowing the vocabulary words we practiced. Each day it was exciting to see them fill up the thermometer more and more. They used a different color after each meeting so that I could easily observe how helpful each lesson was. By the end of our meetings, both students had the thermometer filled to the very topthey felt as if they had reached their goal. This was a very rewarding to see. Student A and Student B both lit up when they saw they had reached the top. I let them keep their own personal progress chart so that they can be reminded of the success they experienced through Action Research and have confidence to know that they can do it.

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Strategies used throughout Action Research Strategy What it is How I used it Effectiveness (1-5) Visual Support Adding a visual to the word to help their brain process what it is Activate Prior Knowledge Requiring students to think back to things they already know to answer a question Demonstrations Showing what something means besides simply explaining it Hands-On Activities Having the students physically participate in engaging activity Use of Native Language Using the ELL first language Speaking Spanish with 5 the student- We were both trying to better understand each others language Repetition Continuing to review a lesson or concept over and over again Continuing to go over notecards constantly 5 TechnologyVocabulary game 4 Acting out the vocabulary word for word maps 3 Discussion questions that required previous knowledge 3 Notecards with picture 4

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Reflection The process in which I prepared my Action Research was extensive and time consuming, yet well worth it. My teacher gave me the freedom to choose whichever students I wanted to work with. I decided to work with ELL students because I could relate to the struggle of learning a new language and trying to comprehend it. Mrs. Pfeiffer wanted me to work on vocabulary that will help them with comprehending texts and understanding classroom instruction. This would help them make better connections in the classroom without Mrs. Pfeiffer continuously stopping instruction to make sure the ELL students are following the lesson. The students I worked with are two second grade girls that recently tested out of going to the ELL specialist. Mrs. Pfeiffer assured me that just because they are no longer getting pulled, does not mean that they do not need extra attention. The next step in my Action Research was to look for and study what research says about vocabulary instruction for ELL students. The main subject areas I found when researching this topic was why vocabulary instruction is important, roadblocks that usually occur in instruction, and strategies shown to improve vocabulary for ELL students. I collected data and used multiple strategies to enhance their learning while monitoring the students progress. The initial assessment I gave my two students was a worksheet with 10 multiple choice questions on them. The first 5 had vocabulary words that were given in a sentence and then they were required to comprehend it to choose the meaning of the word. The last 5 words were words commonly used in classroom instruction. They students were simply given the word and asked to choose the definition. Student A answered 5 out of the 10

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questions correctly while Student B answered 7 out of 10 correctly. I knew that some work had to be done so with research in mind, I determined the best strategies to use for my students throughout the 6 weeks I worked with them. I used visual support, activated prior knowledge, used demonstrations, provided hands-on activities, and used their native language. I used visual support by creating notecards for my two students. I used the words from the initial assessment and words throughout the week that we went over and put the Spanish word and one side and the English translation on the other. I also had them draw a picture on the notecard that would help them remember what the word meant. We reviewed these in our time together and also asked them to review them at home. I activated their prior knowledge by getting to know their background and asking questions that required them to remember things they have seen or done in the past and relate them back to the vocab word. Word maps were used to help break down and further explain a vocabulary word. I used demonstrations in word maps because instead of drawing (which we already did on our notecards), we would act out what the word meant. This got them up out of their seats and active and helped provide movement to a word to help them recall the word in the future. The hands-on activity I had them do also tied in with technology. I used an ESL matching game where they had to connect a word to its correct meaning. I let them click on what they thought the answer was and it would cheer them on if they were correct and made a noise if it was wrong. They laughed and loved participating in this strategy. Whenever we were back in the classroom they would always ask me if we could go play our vocabulary game. My favorite strategy I used was using their native language. I made it clear to my girls that I would help them with their English if they would help me with my Spanish. They would laugh as I would try to use my broken Spanish with them but it

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showed them that I wasn't perfect at their language, but I was still trying hard to learn how to use it correctly just like they were trying to improve their English. This made it a team effort. The key to enhancing student learning was me learning the research about vocabulary instruction for ELL students and applying it in every meeting I had with my students. There was not one strategy recommended that I did that I did not see as effective. The two strategies I saw as most effective was repetition and use of their native language. Repetition of the words and the strategies to help them remember the words really made the words stick. You could see the thought process of the student go from reading the word, to connecting it to something weve continuously worked on, to knowing the definition. Also, my favorite strategy and an effective one was to use their native language, in this case it was Spanish. I know a little Spanish from classes in high school and being emerged in it on my trips to Dominican Republic and their face would light up every time they heard me speak it. It was something they were comfortable and familiar with. We made it a learning process for the both of us to understand a new language, not just about them. Through my Action Research project I learned about the student learning of ELL students on vocabulary instruction. It is possible to enhance their ability to comprehend text and increase understanding of classroom instruction through increasing their vocabulary knowledge. Through knowing your students needs, identifying the problem, researching the topic, and collecting data on the students, student learning will be at an all-time high.

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Action Research: ELL Vocabulary Instruction for Comprehension Emily Kelley Samford University Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education

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Abstract In order for an English Language Learner to excel in the classroom, vocabulary instruction is essential. The focus of the vocabulary terms should be words that will enhance students ability to comprehend texts and to understand classroom instruction. This can be done by knowing the importance of developing word meaning, recognizing strategies researchers suggest for ELL students, and being aware of common mistake made by teachers that hinder their vocabulary performance.

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ELL Vocabulary Instruction for Comprehension Jim Cummins once said, ""Culturally diverse students are empowered or disabled as a direct result of their interactions with educators in schools. (Cummins 2000)" This quote is a perfect example to why assisting English Language Learners in their learning is of high importance. Teachers have the ability to either empower or disable them. Teachers need to seek out the main issue their ELL students are struggling with and address it by exploring what strategies seem to work best. One main issue that seems to be common for most ELL students is vocabulary. If vocabulary is ignored, teachers are disabling them to succeed in their classroom and classrooms to come. But when vocabulary instruction is given to ELL students through methods presented by researchers, the teacher is empowering their student to excel in reading comprehension and better understanding of spoken classroom instruction. It is obvious that vocabulary instruction is imperative to an ELL students learning, but there is a much higher goal to be attained than to simply learn the definition of a word. The goal of vocabulary instruction is to develop an understanding of the words meaning to the point where students feel like they can use these and related words in their communication and also as a basis for further learning (Gerstan 2007). Teaching vocabulary should not stop at a word and definition, it is much more than that. The word choice for vocabulary should be ones that enhance student learning to challenge them to make a real life connection to the word and be able to understand all of the component that come with it (Gerstan 2007). Certain words provide a basis for learning, but in order for ELL students to completely comprehend what they are reading and understanding discussions in the classroom, they must have a type of

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vocabulary that will assist them in content rather than simply a definition. The key is successfully empowering student to excel in vocabulary comprehension is provide them with vocabulary that will aid them in content situations. In order to properly teach those constructive vocabulary words, it is necessary to refer to studies researches have done on the most effective strategies for ELL students. Dr. Monica Bomengen has suggestions for what she has seen to be effective teaching strategies. The one strategy she stresses the most is repetition. Even though it might seem exhaustive, when the students continues to list the words, determine its meaning, and transfer the definition in other contexts over and over again- they do not just recall the information, they absorb it (Bomengen 2006). Dr. Bomengen also strongly encourages the use of visuals in various forms. Flashcards, highlighting words, visual objects associated with the word, and hands-on activities all provide an extra connection to the word (Bomengen 2006). The colors and pictures inspire students to connect the definition of the word to more than just the word alone. Dr. Cummins also has multiple strategies he believes will further a childs ability to use vocabulary for comprehension. His studies have shown that activating prior knowledge, contacting the ELL students parents, and using the native language of the ELL student seems to work best with ELL students (Cummins 2000). By activating prior knowledge, the student is able to relate a foreign concept to something that they already know and understand. This makes the task of learning vocabulary seem possible. They already know of words, they just need to put the word to the meaning. Contacting the ELL students parents can also play a crucial part in understanding why the students vocabulary is where it is at. If a students parents only speak Spanish and that is all he is immersed in at home, it is extremely difficult for that student to get help at home. There

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have also been examples of parents who came to America in search of a better life, not only for them, but for their children. Those parents are going to be more willing to help their child get the help that they need in order to succeed. The last strategy recommended is to use the ELL students native language. If the teacher is able to, the students feel at ease and appreciate the fact the teacher took the time to learn their language and so they become more motivated to learn English vocabulary (Cummins 2000). Researchers provide many different strategies that have proven to be effective in vocabulary instruction for ELL students. While all of these strategies have been effective in some way, it is important to look at the individual student and their needs. While strategies are provided for teachers, not all teachers take advantage of the research, resulting in roadblocks for ELL students vocabulary growth. The first roadblock commonly seen in classrooms that include ELL students is when teachers incorrectly assume that an ELL student understands a concept, when in actuality they are having trouble comprehending what the teacher is saying (U.S. Department of Education 2007). Teachers cannot put their students that have always known English and their ELL students on the same page. The students who have learned English as their first language hear a word and can immediately connect it to a meaning. ELL students have the extra step of translating the English word into Spanish and then trying to determine its meaning (Bomengen 2006). The teachers that continue on in their lesson without addressing the ELL students needs leave that student confused and in a state of frustration. That is not a positive learning environment for ELL students and they will become discouraged. Then the other side of the spectrum you have teachers that may think it is unfair to test a child in a language that he or she does not

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completely understand (U.S. Department of Education 2007). A teacher that has this way of thinking often makes adjustments that simplify the material and do not challenge the student to continue in learning vocabulary. This is not fair to the ELL student or the other students in the classroom. Instead of simplifying the material for the ELL student, the teacher should address the strategies that will help make the connection of meanings of the words easier without hindering them from fully learning the material. There has to be a healthy balance of student awareness without neglecting that child of learning. Having the responsibility to either empower or disable culturally diverse students is a huge responsibility for educators to have. When educators are aware of the importance of vocabulary instruction and the ability to apply it to comprehension, it helps motivate them to take the time to address the needs of the ELL learners in their classroom. The teacher should also be aware of common roadblocks ELL students face in vocabulary growth and be sure their teaching is one that motivates students to excel instead of ignoring the issue or simply making assignments easier for them. The key to ELL students vocabulary growth for use of comprehension of texts and spoken instruction is using strategies recommended by researchers that meet the needs of the individual student. With these concepts and idea in mind, an ELL student will have tremendous success when it comes to vocabulary instruction.

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References Bomengen, Monica. ESL Teaching Strategies: Improving Vocabulary. Reading Horizons, 2006. Cummins, K. Language, Power, and Pedgogy: Billingual Children in the Crossfire. Multicultural Matters, 2000. Gersten, R. Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades. U.S. Department of Education, 2007. Haynes, Judy. Vocabulary Instruction for English Language Learners. Everything ESL, 2008.