This document discusses strategies for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) students in secondary classrooms. It begins by providing background on the growing population of ESL students in U.S. schools and outlines key principles for effective ESL instruction. These include recognizing the important role of students' first language, building on what students already know, understanding that language acquisition takes time, and promoting interaction and literacy development. The document also describes common ESL program models and the stages of linguistic and cultural development ESL students experience. Throughout, effective instructional activities are suggested to support students at different stages of English proficiency.

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1. Changing lives: Teaching English and literature to ESL students................................................................ 1
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Changing lives: Teaching English and literature to ESL students
Author: Ernst-Slavit, Gisela; Moore, Monica; Maloney, Carol
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Abstract: Ernst-Slavit et al provide teachers with selected background knowledge and strategies that enhance
the learning process for English as a Second Language (ESL) students in secondary classrooms. With the
changing U.S. demographic picture and its impact in schools as a backdrop, key principles in the field of ESL
and a brief description of various program models for second-language learning are presented. Also discussed
are the stages of language development and cultural adaptation that all second-language learners navigate
through. Important linguistic and cultural processes are outlined and effective activities are suggested for
students in various stages within those processes.
Full text: Headnote
To enhance learning for ESL students the authors provide selected background knowledge and strategies.
When I was taked Literature I start to read different books for the class, but I first think that I really don't need
read that kind book but I remember that when I finished the book, was really interesting so I start to read by
myself...
This changed a lot my life, because now I love read book of any subject, I don't care if the book is of History or
the kind of story or is a novel or a science fiction book I just read and enjoy the books, but I can't read scary
books, because I afraid to this kind of story.
Ana
Having students who are already familiar with the joy of reading and the importance of books is a paradise
awaited by many teachers. Yet, having a student like Ana for whom reading and books started out as a means
to an end, but ended up as a joy, is one of the things teachers appreciate most, for it means that the student
has learned the power and agency that the world of literature can bring (see Christensen, 2000). Joyous as
Ana's discovery is, the path there is not an easy one. Helping students like Ana who struggle with basic literacy
skills in their second language may at first appear to be a tremendous challenge for teachers who already face
a myriad of other responsibilities. How do we help Ana learn about such complexities as parallelism? How can
she begin to understand 16th-century English when she is confused by 21 st-century English? How can she see
the subtle differences and nuances between guilt and compassion during a discussion of Toni Morrison's (2000)
The Bluest Eye?
The purpose of this article is to provide teachers with selected background knowledge and strategies that
enhance the learning process for English as a Second Language (ESL) students in secondary classrooms. With
the changing U.S. demographic picture and its impact in schools as a backdrop, key principles in the field of
ESL and a brief description of various program models for second-language learning are presented. Also
discussed are the stages of language development and cultural adaptation that all second-language learners
navigate through. Important linguistic and cultural processes are outlined and effective activities are suggested
for students in various stages within those processes.
Who are our second-language learners?
According to a 1990 census, there were 42,791,000 students enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in
the U.S. During the 1991-1992 school year, approximately 6% of those students were language minority
students, that is, students who are in the process of learning English as a Second Language. Furthermore,
according to data from the 1993-1994 Schools and Staffing Survey, available on the National Center for
Education
Statistics website (http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/ display. asp?id=96), "forty-two percent of all public school
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4. teachers [had] at least one LEP student in their classes."
Finally, census 2000 data indicated that the total number of foreign-born children enrolled in elementary (not
including kindergarten) and secondary schools in the United States was 2.6 million. That number increases to
over 12 million when we include children who were born in the United States to foreign-born parents. Although
not all students from these figures would be ESL students, a significant portion of them are likely to be. These
figures also suggest the imminent reality that all teachers, at some point during their careers, will have in their
classrooms at least one student for whom English is a second language.
The recorded numbers of ESL students at the secondary level can be quite misleading. In a report entitled
"Characteristics of SecondarySchool-Age Language Minority and Limited English Proficient Youth" (Strang,
Winglee, &Stunkard, 1993), the data reflects a phenomenon known as the Basic Interpersonal Communication
Skills/Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency Skills threshold (Cummins, 1989). The basic point to this
theory is that second-language learners are capable of obtaining the everyday language used in conversation
within a relatively quick period of time-around two years. However, the acquisition of the academic language
and literacy needed for high school coursework takes anywhere from 5 to 11 years depending upon which
research you base your numbers. The large span in years that it takes to develop academic language primarily
reflects the varying degrees of academic preparation and literacy skills students bring with them to secondary
school in their new country.
Ironically, qualifying for many states' ESL programs means that students score at the 35th percentile or below
on language proficiency scales, roughly equivalent to the two-year level of everyday English. Thus, once
students are situated to begin acquiring academic English, they are often no longer eligible for language support
programs. This occurs even when students themselves report that their English is not up to par. According to
Strang et al. (1993), when teachers' opinions of students' language proficiency were the only consideration, the
number of 10th-grade ESL students was determined to be 97,000. Alternatively, when students' opinions of
their own language proficiency were the only consideration, the number of 10th-grade ESL students was
256,000. These numbers point out an interesting difference in the perception of language proficiency between
teachers and students. Could it be that the students are trying to tell us something?
ESL students may be very different from other learners in their background, skills, and past experiences. Some
may come to the U.S. having attended school regularly, and they will bring with them literacy skills and content
knowledge, although in another language. It is likely that these students will have an easier transition into an
academic setting than students who may come from a war-torn country or from a natural disaster area where
schooling was not always available or accessible. Many will belong to low-income families even though some of
their parents may have been highly educated in their own country and may have once held professional
positions. The resources and the needs individual students bring are therefore likely to be very different. It is
imperative that we find out who our students are and where they come from before we can begin to appreciate
the resources they bring and to understand their needs.
In spite of the differences among ESL students, they all have similar needs. In addition to building their oral
English skills, they also need to acquire reading and writing skills in English, while continuing their learning in
the content areas. Some ESL students will have other needs that make the task of learning much more difficult.
For example, students whose first language is Persian, Chinese, or Arabic are not always familiar with the Latin
alphabet. Their writing system may be completely different (e.g., ideographic, pictographic, logographic); the
language may be written from right to left and top to bottom; letters may be written to extend both above and
below the line; or letters may not be joined and punctuation not always precise. For many of these ESL
students, the transition to the Latin alphabet is an additional source of confusion.
Principles that make for good practice
This section outlines selected theoretical principles that address some of the complexities of second-language
learning and the needs of second-language learners. These principles are based on the work of educators and
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5. researchers in the areas of language and literacy learning, second language acquisition, and the anthropology
of education (see, for example, Au &Jordan, 1981; Cazden, 1986; Ernst, 1994b; Ernst, Castle, &Frostad, 1992;
Freire, 2000; Goodman, 1982; Heath, 1983; Philips, 1983; Wells, 1986). These principles represent a
constellation of theoretical and pedagogical perspectives that guide the practice of caring, knowledgeable,
effective educators working in successful programs for ESL students. They should be helpful to educators
interested in understanding the trajectory ESL students follow in their efforts to learn English.
The student's first language plays an essential role in the acquisition of a second language. Evidence of the
influence of native-language development on academic achievement in a second language derives from
program evaluation studies of the 1980s and early 1990s. These studies have demonstrated that the more the
native language is academically supported, in combination with balanced second-language development, the
more ESL students are able to academically achieve in the second language (Ernst-Slavit, 1998; Krashen
&Biber, 1988; Ramirez, Yuen, &Ramey, 1991).
Educational programs need to include what students bring with them. Educators need to focus on what students
have rather than on what they lack. Teaching and learning can be extended and enhanced when participants'
own experiences (vis-a-vis their language and culture) are mixed with those generalizations and
conceptualizations offered in schools. Such acknowledgment often stimulates learning and helps students
construct meanings by connecting what they already know and what the new environment offers them (Ernst,
1993).
Learning a second language is a long and difficult process. It's a big task for anyone. After all, learning a first
language is a process that involves much of a young child's day, and ESL students must work even harder to
acquire a second language. It can be emotionally difficult for children and adults to take the step into a new
language and culture. Adolescents, perhaps even more than adults, can be shy and embarrassed around
others when trying out beginning language skills.
Fluency in the hallway does not necessarily mean proficiency in the classroom. Often we hear our ESL students
conversing easily in English in the hallway with other students. This, however, does not mean that students are
fluent in English. It is important to mention that good conversational skills do not necessarily mean equivalent
literacy skills. The work of Collier and Thomas (1989), Cummins (1989), and others, has clearly demonstrated
the different levels of language proficiency needed depending on the context. In essence, this body of work
suggests that proficiency in everyday language can be achieved in one to two years; however, proficiency in the
language needed to succeed in content-area classes (e.g., literature, mathematics, chemistry) can take five to
seven years or more, especially when academic reading and writing is included in the consideration of
proficiency.
Learners acquire a second language in different ways. There are many similarities in how a second language is
learned, but there are also differences based on individual student characteristics and language background.
For example, outgoing students may begin to imitate phrases and expressions very early and try them without
worrying about making mistakes. Conversely, other learners may not use their new language for some time.
Instead, they observe quietly until they are sure of what they should say. It may be difficult for teachers to
remember that the outgoing student may be less proficient than he or she appears, and the quiet student may
actually be much more proficient than he or she seems. Both will eventually learn to speak fluently.
Errors can indicate progress. As with firstlanguage acquisition, errors can actually have a positive outcome.
Many language errors are developmental and will eventually be replaced by appropriate forms without teacher
intervention. For students in the early stages of language acquisition, errors that impede communication may be
corrected in a sensitive and natural way, especially those involving vocabulary. Direct correction of errors, on
the other hand, can hinder students' efforts and discourage further attempts to use the newly acquired
language. Rather than direct correction, a better strategy that does not hinder communication is to model the
correct form.
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6. Language develops best in a variety of settings that promote talk and interaction. Talk and interaction not only
help students understand new concepts but also provide a scaffold for learning through the other language
modes of reading and writing. Through talking and listening to one another (not only to the teacher) and working
on activities involving reading and writing (not only their own), learners are able both to develop increasing
facility in all language modes and increasing control over social interaction, thinking, and learning (Ernst,
1994a).
Literacy is part of language; thus, reading and writing develop alongside speaking and listening.
According to Goodman (1982), the two most important resources that language learners have are their
competence in oral language and their undiminished ability to learn language as it is needed for new functions.
The role of literacy instruction in school is to teach learners to use these resources. Research indicates that
ESL students benefit from working in classrooms where speaking and listening are regarded as integral to the
process of negotiating knowledge, exchanging personal experiences and thoughts, and the development of
language and literacy abilities.
Schools should demonstrate appreciation and respect for cultural diversity. Providing equal opportunities for all
students depends on the degree to which classroom teachers are able to institute classroom practices and
develop curriculum that responds to the diversity represented in their classrooms. Implementation of these
practices is dependent upon supportive school staff and programs, district guidelines, and state language
policies that recognize diversity as an asset and not a handicap.
Program models for secondlanguage education in the United States
Often ESL students are placed in some kind of bilingual or ESL program-if available in the school or districtbefore being assigned to mainstream classrooms. Although there are a myriad of programs and approaches
designed for ESL students, most of these programs fall into two major categories: bilingual and ESL. Bilingual
programs are those where instruction is provided in two languages (e.g., Chinese and English); ESL programs
offer instruction in English only but are tailored to the needs and abilities of ESL students. Table 1 presents an
overview of the major variations in program types for limited-English proficient students in the United States.
Stages of language development and cultural adaptation
Students acquiring a second language are involved in a predictable pattern of both linguistic and cultural
processes. The ability to determine the stage the student is passing through and what strategies are effective in
a given stage can provide both teacher and student with a means of communicating effectively at any point in
the language-acquisition process. It is important to underscore that the duration of each stage will vary
according to the student's age, language background, proficiency in the first language, individual personality,
and motivational factors, among other considerations. This means that some students might be able to go
through all four stages within one year, while others might need as much as two years before reaching the third
stage.
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7. Stage I-Preproduction
Linguistic considerations. In the first stage of learning a second language, students listen and watch others
carefully and often communicate with gestures, actions, and some verbal formulas (e.g., "no, thank you"). As
depicted in Table 2, effective activities include face-to-face conversations; lessons that focus on building
receptive vocabulary and recycled vocabulary (i.e., key words in a lesson or unit that are visited more than
once); activities that focus on listening comprehension (e.g., using a tape player to hear a target piece of
literature, lectures where a target piece of literature is broken down into short passages, guided yes or no
answer activities following a brief lecture); as well as the use of visuals and manipulative or real objects.
Manipulatives and visuals might include, for example, using pictures from Never Say Macbeth (Front, 1990) to
contrast London's Globe Theatre with modern versions, or showing clips from films about Shakespeare such as
Shakespeare in Love (Zwick, Madden, Norman, &Stoppard, 1998).
Likewise, using Dorothea Lange's photos of the 1930s while the class is reading The Grapes of Wrath
(Steinbeck, 1939) can help students understand and intuit what life might have been like in the U.S. during the
Great Depression. Teacherdirected questioning techniques that are understandable for students are also
presented in Table 2. The visual techniques listed previously can make a subject matter accessible to students
who may not yet understand the original texts.
Cultural considerations. The stages of cultural adaptation, like those of language acquisition, follow predictable
patterns. However, individual factors (e.g., personality, motivation, reasons for leaving the homeland,
socioeconomic status, language, and cultural backgrounds) can greatly influence a student's response to the
stages.
While often misinterpreted by teachers as an unwillingness to participate, the silent period (Krashen, 1992)
plays a crucial role in language acquisition and cultural adaptation. During this silent time, a tremendous amount
of cognitive activity is taking place within the student. The second-language learner is beginning to build the
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8. parameters of how their new school system works. What are the acceptable behaviors exhibited by the native
English speaking students? How do they sit, stand, and talk to the teacher or one another? Questions such as
these draw tremendous amounts of attention away from the task at hand, which often happens to be the
ongoing lesson. During the silent period, students' participation in class is limited because most of their energy
is spent absorbing the information they see and hear. Typically, student behavior at this point includes minimal
oral or written production, distractibility, and confusion.
Providing a stress-free environment with continued support and encouragement, where students are able to
pass and not respond, is a requirement at this stage. For ESL students, it is very comforting to trust that the
teacher will not single them out by turning the spotlight on them and requiring a response when they are not
able to give one. By reducing student anxiety in the classroom, teachers can lead students to the next stage of
language development and cultural adaptation.
Stage II-Early production
Linguistic considerations. During the early production stage, students are in the process of assimilating basic
vocabulary and intuitively understanding that English, like any other language, is a system derived of rules,
patterns, and sound-symbol relationships. Students will begin to speak using one or two words. In some cases,
short utterances as well as chunks of social language are also produced. One of us had a student who often
responded to inquiries with a hearty "no problem!" The truth was that he really did not understand the task at
hand; what he did know, however, was how to produce a socially accepted response that would stop the
teacher from asking more questions. While taking risks with a new language, it is important for teachers to
monitor their students' error correction with great sensitivity.
Modeling the correct response without calling attention to the error allows students to hear the information again
while they formulate a correct response of their own.
Because the degree of proficiency in the students' native language, especially in terms of literacy and academic
competency, greatly determines how well and when students will decode the second-language system, it
behooves teachers to find out about students' literacy levels and education in their first language. There are
many ways to do this. Perhaps the best place to begin is with your building or district ESL professional. Often
the determination of English language proficiency also gives some clues about the student's academic
achievement. Even though these clues are rough estimates, they are better than nothing. Data about students
English proficiency should be a part of their ESL, if not general, school file. Students who arrive with little or no
formal schooling or low literacy levels have very little upon which to build this new system of language; those
with strong academic backgrounds will be better equipped to make the connections needed to move ahead
academically.
During the early production stage, several strategies have proven useful. Anticipation guides used before
reading the target literature allow students to identify and think through their positions in relation to complex
abstract concepts such as truth, war, honor, love, or responsibility (for an excellent description of anticipation
guides, see Vacca &Vacca, 1999, pp. 372-377). Providing learners with a list of key terms for pre. viewing and
ample opportunities to use the new vocabulary more than once will increase students participation. Audiotaped
recordings of the assigned readings for previewing and of the lecture or class activity for review are also useful.
As always, clusters, semantic webs, Venn diagrams, T-graphs, and graphic organizers are good tools for all
students but especially for second-language learners (see Collie &Slater, 1987; Johnson &Louis, 1987; Sasser,
1992; Scarcella, 1990). In the early production stage, students are able to grasp and offer responses to yes/no
and either/or questions and make short responses to general questions about key vocabulary.
Cultural considerations. At this point students' frustrations with the language and culture come to a peak. After
observation during the silent period, students begin to try out new behaviors and make their first tentative steps
communicating with the new language. This is where they find difficulty trying to be a part of their surroundings.
This frustration is known as adaptation fatigue.
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10. As defined by Khols (1984), adaptation fatigue is the general unwillingness to interact due to the constant
emotional and cognitive drain of interpreting both linguistic and cultural signals and then responding
accordingly. In the public school environment, ESL students spend an average of six hours a day absorbing a
massive amount of information to which they essentially have no way to respond. During this stage of early
production, they summon huge amounts of emotional energy to make their first forays into becoming a
participant in this new environment. Whether ESL students' risk taking results in a positive encounter or, sadly,
an embarrassing one, they are often exhausted from the effort. Observable behaviors in the classroom include
daydreaming, boredom, and an inability to cope with seemingly insignificant issues (see, for example,
Townsend &Fu, 2001, for a description of the potentially debilitating effects of this inability to cope). A good
strategy for teachers during this time is to suspend judgment and continue to provide ample and safe
opportunities to facilitate students' experimentation with the new language.
Stage III-Speech emergence
Linguistic considerations. In this stage, students' linguistic capabilities have increased in ways that allow for
successful participation in small-group activities. Students are also able to demonstrate comprehension and use
language purposefully (e.g., to clarify, request, refuse, interrupt, apologize). Lessons that focus on key concepts
rather than just key terms are accessible to students (e.g., discussing the concepts of ambition, betrayal, and
idealism while reading Shakespeare's [ 1980] Julius Caesar). Zigo (2001) argued that the narrative mode of
thinking is an excellent medium through which to introduce such otherwise abstract concepts. It stands to
reason, then, that literature is one of the best ways to establish a common experience amongst students from
which discussions involving abstract concepts can be built. Students can be encouraged to tell their own stories
that relate to the text being read. The students, through their own experiences and voice, make personal
connections to the concepts and find it easier to describe and talk about them.
Similarly, teachers can introduce expanded vocabulary and ask open-ended questions that stimulate language
production. Strategies that are especially helpful for assessment purposes include activities that provide for
frequent comprehension checks (e.g., as you discuss Cisneros's The House on Mango Street [ 1989], rather
than asking "Do you understand?" you might ask specific questions such as, "How did Esperanza Cordero feel
in her neighborhood?"). Effective questioning techniques at this stage include open-ended questions such as,
"How is it that _," "Tell me about ," "Talk about _," "Describe -," "and "How would you change this part ?"
Performancebased assessment can be particularly useful at the speech emergence stage.
Cultural considerations. From the ESL student's perspective there is a great sense of relief during this stage of
cultural adjustment. The orientation and subsequent interpretation of linguistic and subtle cultural clues has
been intense and learners now have a knowledge base from which to build. The feelings of isolation begin to
fade and students begin to recover from the frustration found in the earlier stages. While they are still under
great pressure, students have gained control over their lives and can participate in the school environment. At
this point, the dilemma faced by students regarding whether to assimilate (i.e., toss away their own cultural
identities and follow the examples of the native English-speaking students in order to be like them) or to
acculturate (i.e., meeting the new culture with a mix of their own, thereby retaining their identity but still being
able to participate in the mainstream) emerges. The difference between assimilation and acculturation is an
important one since it has been hypothesized that successful language learning is more likely when learners
acculturate (Ellis, 1986). In essence, then, when students are able to add a new language and culture rather
than replace the old with the new, the learning process is enhanced, both in terms of language and in terms of
content.
Students' acculturation can be facilitated greatly by the teacher and the classroom environment. Activities that
permit students to extrapolate from the complex ideas represented in literary masterpieces, for example, to their
own emerging bicultural selves validate students' identity-inmotion. This is of course true for all students in our
classrooms. The teacher's own awareness of this general adolescent need to invent and reinvent themselves
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11. can be expressed through a classroom environment that encourages students to explore their own identities
within the context of the greater social and psychological themes that are expressed in the world's great stories.
Stage IV-Intermediate fluency
Linguistic considerations. Intermediate fluency is characterized by students' abilities to engage in conversation
and produce connective narratives. Often students view reading and writing activities as a way to acquire and
process new information. This is an excellent place to add some direct instruction regarding basic study skills
such as notetaking techniques, skimming text for specific information, scanning text for main ideas, recognizing
specific attributes within a particular literary genre, and using those attributes to produce one's own
representation of that genre, to name a few.
In the classroom, understanding content is evidenced by student participation in activities that require higher
levels of language use (Maloney, 2001). The level of student response to teacher questions develops
considerably during this stage, as is demonstrated by their ability to answer the following types of questions:
"What would you recommend or suggest?'; "How do you think this story will end?'" "What is the story about?",
"What is your opinion on this matter?", "How are these the same or different?", and "Which do you prefer?" The
answers to these and similar questions could be organized with semantic maps or outlines that could, in turn,
form the basis for essay writing given the students' greater ability to produce written narratives and connected
discourse at this stage of language development.
Cultural considerations. The fourth stage finds the student functioning well in school, and as teachers we need
to celebrate our ESL students who have arrived at this point. It has been an arduous journey and we must not
lose sight of the efforts they have made. Having successfully learned a new language and navigated through an
ocean of cultural contexts and dues, they are now able to ask for assistance, share insights, and stage opinions.
More important, on a social level they have made friends and are able to critically examine information,
creatively suggest solutions, and consistently hypothesize possible avenues to follow.
Resources
Your school ESL specialist is a wonderful source of knowledge and information about what to do and what
materials to use with your ESL students. Your librarian can suggest appropriate literature in English and
perhaps in the native languages of your students. Other resources available to teachers and schools are
presented below. This selection, far from comprehensive, provides an array of information for educators working
with students from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
The National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE), in Washington, D.C. can provide information about
free or low-cost assistance with implementation, training, evaluation, and parental involvement in bilingual
education and ESL programs as well as legal requirements for bilingual education and ESL programs in various
communities. 1-800321-NCBE. http://www.ncbe.ewu.edu.
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) in Alexandria, VA. Individual and
institutional TESOL members may participate in the activities and receive the newsletter of the Bilingual
Education Interest Section. 1-703-836-0774. http://www.tesol.edu/.
The National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) in Washington, D.C. 1-202-898-1829.
http://www.nabe.org/.
The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), in Washington, D.C. Contact the OCR for their
latest policy statements on the legal responsibilities of educational agencies serving language minority students,
and call NCBE for the locations and phone numbers of the 10 Desegregation Assistance Centers (DACs).
The Office of English Language Acquisition (formerly called the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority
Languages Affairs, OBEMLA), Washington, D.C., has 16 federally funded resource centers (MRCs). Call NCBE
for appropriate names and phone numbers.
State education agencies. Call your state's Department of Education or NCBE for appropriate names and phone
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12. numbers.
ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics leads to sources on English as a second or foreign
language, bilingualism and bilingual education, and intercultural communication in publications, newsletters, and
digests. http://www.cal.org/ericcll.
Center for Applied Linguistics, a contract and grant firm, has as primary objective the improvement of the
teaching of English as a second or foreign language. http://www.cal.or .
The Internet TESL Journal is a monthly Internet magazine for teachers of English as a Second Language that
contains articles, research papers, lesson plans, classroom handouts, teaching ideas, and links.
http://www.aitech.ac.jp/-iteslj/.
National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education (NCLE) is the only national clearinghouse focusing on adult
and adolescent literacy education. It offers online access to articles, books, newsletters, and bibliographies on
literacy. http://www.cal.or nde.
The light at the end of the tunnel
Throughout this exploration of the field of ESL two points stand out. First, while ideally all our ESL students
would move through the four stages discussed above in a manner easily recognizable to their teachers, the
truth of the matter is that they do not. While indicators presented here do indeed identify behaviors and abilities
inherent in each stage, students carry individual personality factors that make their involvement with the process
uniquely their own. According to Richard-Amato (1988), students will pass through all of these stages at varying
rates. Additionally, there is no guarantee that each student will pass through each stage smoothly and move
onto the next. Regression to previous stages is not uncommon in cases where the student has tried to leap too
far ahead of their abilities. However, through simple observation, the teacher will be able to identify a student's
current level.
Second, back to Ands essay-after receiving feedback from her peers and teacher, this is what Ana wrote in the
last paragraph of her essay:
Now I know that this class has changed my life because I learned to read books and also learned more from
books. Before this happened I just read a book for reading. In some classes the teacher would tell me that I
need to read and I would read. Now I read and I try to understand everything.
Perhaps it will take a while before Ana can learn to use rhetorical and syntactic conventions or for her to
understand that Juliet's line "0 Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo?" means "Why are you a
Montague?" and not "Where are you Romeo?" Yet, the challenges she and her teachers will have to face
dwindle when we examine what Ana has to offer and what she has accomplished in such a short time.
References
REFERENCES
References
Au, K., &Jordan, C. (1981). Teaching reading to Hawaiian children: Finding a culturally appropriate solution. In
H. Trueba, G. Guthrie, &K. Au, (Eds.), Culture and the bilingual classroom (pp. 139-152). Rowley, MA: Newbury
House.
Cazden, C. (1986). Classroom discourse. In M. Wittrock, (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp.
432-463). New York: Macmillan.
Christensen, L. (2000). Reading writing, and rising up. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.
Cisneros, S. (1989). The house on Mango Street. New York: Vintage.
Collie, J., &Slater, S. (1987). Literature in the language classroom. Los Angeles: UCLA Center for Academic
Interinstitutional Programs.
References
Collier, V., &Thomas, W.P. (1989). How quickly can immigrants become proficient in school English? Journal of
Educational Issues of Language Minority Students, 5, 26-38.
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13. Cummins, J. (1989). Empowering minority students. Sacramento, CA: California Association for Bilingual
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AuthorAffiliation
Gisela Ernst-Slavit, Monica Moore, Carol Maloney
AuthorAffiliation
Ernst-Slavit teaches at Washington State University Vancouver (14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue, Vancouver,
WA 8686, USA). She may he contacted by e-mail at gepnst@wsu.edu. Moore is an ESL specialist with the
Pullman School district in Pullman, Washington. Maloney coordinates the Bilingual ESL Support Training
Project at Washington State University, Vancouver.
Subject: Educators; Literature; English as a second language; ESL; Language;
Publication title: Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
Volume: 46
Issue: 2
Pages: 116-128
Number of pages: 13
Publication year: 2002
Publication date: Oct 2002
Year: 2002
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Place of publication: Newark
Country of publication: United Kingdom
Publication subject: Linguistics, Education
ISSN: 10813004
Source type: Scholarly Journals
Language of publication: English
Document type: Feature
ProQuest document ID: 216915301
Document URL:
http://search.proquest.com.ezaccess.library.uitm.edu.my/docview/216915301?accountid=42518
Copyright: Copyright International Reading Association Oct 2002
Last updated: 2012-04-18
Database: ProQuest Education Journals,Arts & Humanities Full Text
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