This article compresses English Language (EL) instruction into 5 principles for

effective teaching of diverse groups of English Language Learners (ELL). Because of

CCSS, every teacher must be a teacher of language and literacies. All students must
be able to participate in all academic activities in the classroom. Once English as a
Second Language (ESL) teachers have helped ELLs develop an intermediate level of
proficiency in English, continued development is the responsibility of every teacher.
In principle 1, teachers utilize strategies that aid ELLs ability to acquire increasingly
advanced knowledge by tapping into their prior knowledge and experience.
Learners, in general, understand and build meaning in social and cultural settings.
Also, they build on previous knowledge and develop deeper learning skills to adjust
further learning. By keeping this in mind, the teacher will draw on the students
learning strengths. An example of this is when considering the language
requirements for understanding arcane language found in older texts. Teachers may
substitute these texts with similar texts that use modern language.
Principle 2 states that language and cognition develop at the same time and
are ongoing. For teachers of EL instruction particular attention must be placed on
developing language necessary to encode concepts across domains in order for the
concept to remain. Students will retain understanding of concepts if teachers
employ strategies that help link academic subjects to real life examples, especially
those that are relevant to students experiences and prior knowledge. Meaningful
experiences combined with scaffolding by teacher and peers will prove effective in
helping students grasp concepts while further developing language skills.
Instruction should clearly identify academic language and build on current student
understanding or in some way make an appropriate connection to background
knowledge.
Principle 3 describes the learners goal as one that should be generalized and
produce autonomy. This goal is specifically reached through collective practice and
participation in a community setting. This environment is a framework designed by
the teacher with just the right amount of scaffolding for students to develop new
skills and take ownership in their learning. The structure of this community will
foster student innovation as they rely on one another to complete projects. The
teacher provides ample opportunities for students to interact in language rich
dialogs, provides resources such as graphic organizers to help develop and deepen
understanding of academic language and concepts.
Principle 4 addresses appropriateness of language across different contexts.
Students will understand the use of pragmatics. In the real world, effective
communication requires different registers. One is for the classroom or on the
playground, another is used to communicate to family members, and yet another is
used in public or at work. Something important for Ell teachers to keep in mind is
the case of when certain registers should be used instead of you cant. Teachers are
building on the EL students background knowledge, not replacing it. This approach
bridges students competence with new registers. In context specific instruction,
teachers emphasize their understanding of the purpose of communications,
recognition of genres, and on how to organize ideas. Only after these are
understood by students should the teacher address issues of language accuracy.

The final key of effective ELL instruction, principle 5, is the integration of

appropriate assessment. In the case of ELLs this is crucial for student learning.
Assessment allows teachers to continually monitor progress of students and
effectiveness of the lessons. Through the incremental process, teachers will know
how to pace lessons, when more scaffolding is required or when lessons need to be
adapted to meet the needs of specific language learners such as emergent level
learners. Three questions can guide teaching and learning through assessment:
Where am I going? Where am I now? Where to next? The first one addresses the
specific short-term language goals. These goals must include progressions of
linguistic skills and knowledge connected to disciplines in listening, speaking,
reading and writing. The second use of assessment will gather the students current
learning. The third question helps the teacher establish the learning goal and what
should be the next instructional steps for attaining it.

In class we talked about the progression of laws that empowered families to

receive appropriate English language instruction. The 1974 Lau decision, rendered
by the U.S. Supreme Court, caused education experts to rethink the needs of
second language learners in the nations public school system. This sparked a
process of education reform that spanned more than thirty years. Today we have
the ELA/ELD framework which requires full integration of standards and inclusion of
ELLs. To accommodate the needs of 21st century learners, several modifications
have been made to teaching practices. Walqui provides a succinct version of the
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) found in the ELA/ELD framework.
Experts have identified literacy as the main predictor of academic success.
States have therefore woven literacy standards into all content areas. As a means of
extending effective literacy instruction to ELs, sheltered instruction, a researchedbased instructional approach, is utilized for the linguistic demands of mainstream
education. The SIOP Model provides an illustration of extra supports provided for ELs
in the course of mainstream instruction as well as the supports that are shared with
effective instruction. Some that are shared within Walquis principles are those
involving student engagement, meaningful activities, links to past learning,
assessments that gauge pacing of lessons. The most important and maybe
foundational connection between the Walquis article and sheltered instruction is
where we begin as teachers, with the students existing knowledge. ELs are not
blank slates, they come with a wealth of knowledge and experiences which are
valuable to the environment. With their prior knowledge, students have something
to offer everyone, including the teacher.
Culture is also another valuable resource a student already possesses.
Teachers should see this as an asset rather than something to suppress during
instructional periods. Designing lessons to include students cultures is a great way
to elicit interest in learning. This can bring class discussions to life and help
generalize learning.