Final Field-Based Research Project James Holan National University May, 26, 2010

Abstract: In the field of Education there are many questions about what is the best way to teach English Language Learners in our classrooms. I decided to look at the programs offered by Mission Hills High School which were ESL/ELD and SDAIE strategies in general ed. One program I looked at that Mission Hills High School doesn't offer is the Two Way Immersion program. I found the programs that Mission Hills uses to be the most effective and widely incorporated into classroom culture. Two Way Immersion offered unique opportunities for students but would not be a good fit for everyone at the school.

Introduction: EL students at Mission Hills High School in the San Marcos Unified School District have a lot of support when it comes to academics. The student population at Mission Hills High School is very diverse. At Mission Hills High School they use two different programs to meet the needs of there ELL students. Students that need basic English skills, the school places them in an ESL/ELD (English Literacy/Language Development) program, which is a component of the ESL program. The second program they use is a SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic Instruction In English) for students that are proficient in English but are still considered EL learners. The EL students at Mission Hills have a lot of support and as a result they perform well in all academic areas, the school even boasts its own ELL coordinator to help monitor students progress and placement. (McEachern, 2010) ESL/ELD: ESL/ELD students are often unable to demonstrate their true competence in most subjects because they lack the necessary language skills to understand the lessons or produce written or oral work. They need to be given time to develop their skills in English before their achievements can be assessed according to the criteria used for all other students. The role of the school is to assist such students in acquiring the English skills they need to participate in learning activities on the same basis with their peers and meet the requirements of the San Marcos Unified School District. Some ESL students who enter the school have little or no previous knowledge of English but have received educational experiences in their native countries. Sometimes the students may come from countries where English isn't even spoken. A major difference between the ELD and ESL programs is that ELD students have not had opportunities to develop age-appropriate literacy skills in their first language.(McEachern, 2010) The rate at which an ESL/ELD student develops proficiency in English changes from kid to kid. Taking time to adjust to he new environment will depend on when a student integrates into the mainstream of the academic programs. It will all depend on factors like the age of the student on arrival, the length of time the student has lived in the United States, the students previous educational experiences, their first language literacy and their previous exposure to English. Also, personal traumas that may have been caused by a natural disaster, war, family disruption and political upheaval can also have an extreme effect on a student and stunt their growth as a student of the English language. (ESL Strategies for Success, 2006) Research has shown that students greatly benefit emotionally, academically, and socially when they are encouraged to develop and maintain proficiency in their first language while they are learning English. Language skills are conceptual, the knowledge can be transferred from one language to another. The first language of the student provides a foundation for developing proficiency in additional languages. Having that strong foundation in the first language will help students to develop mental flexibility, problem solving skills, help them understand cultural and family values, and help them continue to communicate with their family members. (ESL Strategies for Success, 2006) ESL/ELD students can come from very different backgrounds. Some may come from countries in chaos, some are from areas that possess very little technology, some are from large, industrialized urban centers. Even among students from similar cultures, there can be great differences in background and ability. Because of this it is impossible to generalize about ESL/ELD students from a particular country or predict which students will adjust most readily. It is acknowledged, however,

that all or most newcomers experience a period of cultural adjustment. The responsibility for students language development is shared by the classroom teacher, school staff, and, the ESL/ELD teachers. Volunteers and other students may also be helpful in supporting ESL/ELD students in the classroom. Many students will require varying lengths of time and levels of support in order to acquire the English-language skills necessary for joining the mainstream educational program. There are varying levels of ESL/ELD support including Integrated Classroom Programs, Tutorial Support, and Intensive support. An Integrated Classroom Program is where students are placed in a classroom at the age appropriate grade level and receive English- Language support in all subjects from their classroom teacher or an ESL/ELD teacher. Tutorial Support is good for students that are showing progress at their grade level but also need assistance to reinforce their cognitive language development. Some students that are in the early stages of language development for English and need to be pulled out of their regular classes to receive intensive literary support. (McEachern, 2010) A strong ESL/ELD program will help empower students, teaching them to communicate in English more effectively, both in written and oral forms, as well as improving comprehension and listening abilities. Improving a student's English will make him or her a much more powerful student, and will also help the student succeed in the United States of America, in which English skills are expected in many social situations and for most well paying jobs. SDAIE: Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English or SDAIE is a teaching approach where teachers teach various academic content like math, science, literature, and social studies using English with students that are still learning the English language. It requires the student to have a mastery of their native language and an intermediate fluency in English. Preparing a good lesson in SDAIE requires an awareness that the student('s) is not a native English speaker. SDAIE is an approach that seeks to teach both course content and English language content in a cognitively demanding environment. At Mission Hills High School teachers have taken great measures to ensure that they are using the SDAIE strategies in their day to day classroom activities. In general SDAIE combines the important components of quality teaching with approaches based on the second language acquisition theory. If properly implemented, SDAIE addresses all areas of instruction, including planning, lesson delivery, classroom management, and assessment. (Serdyukov & Hill, 2009, p.81) SDAIE methodologies force teachers to scrutinize every aspect of their lesson delivery methods. In turn the strategies help produce better teachers in the education field. Educators learn to frequently check students for understanding, monitor students progress, and how well the educators are meeting the needs of a variety of learners in a single classroom. It is important to remember that these students are language different, not learning disabled. Teachers have to find the right way to present lessons so they can be understood by students of all different academic abilities. It is also important that teachers do a good job of modeling their expectations to the students. Providing concrete examples of whats expected from students helps them complete assignments for effectively. (Elements of Effective SDAIE Instruction, 2010) The fact is that the world is, but not literally, shrinking. Because of this we are becoming less isolated as a culture and with a lack of isolation it means we must be prepared to accept and welcome people with different beliefs, backgrounds, and languages into our society. Welcoming new cultures into our

American culture means that we need to provide a means within our educational system for students to acquire English so that the students can continue their education. English is a tool students will need to be successful in business and to participate in the communities they live in. SDAIE provides some of the most viable and effective ways for students to learn academics and English. SDAIE strategies and programs can vary from school to school. While the programs may have a few differences they do share several common attributes. Teachers must make sure that instructions are appropriate for different students language proficiency levels. All teachers that use SDAIE make sure to use all of the modalities of learning, relying heavily on visuals. A common strategy that is used is including instructions and lessons that are linked to students personal experiences and home life. It is also very common for the teacher to frequently check for understanding and confirm responses. Two Way Immersion: An ELL strategy that Mission Hills High School does not use is Two Way Immersion. I thought this was a very interesting strategy and decided to take a closer look at it. Two way immersion is a unique form of dual language education. Two Way Immersion is when native English speakers and native speakers of a foreign language are integrated into one classroom. The academic instruction is done in both English and the partner language in the classroom. While structure of these programs can vary from school to school, they all integrate the two groups of students for nearly all of the instruction and provide at least half of instruction in the partner language at all grade levels. (Center for Applied Linguistics, 2010) Two way immersion programs strive to promote bilingualism and bi-literacy, grade-level academic achievement, and positive cross-cultural attitudes and behaviors in all students. (Center for Applied Linguistics, 2010) One of the positives of the Two Way Immersion program is that it promotes academic excellence in a bi-lingual environment. Kids can strive for academic achievement while they are striving for proficiency in a second language. It is also an interesting program because it allows two groups to gain proficiency in a secondary language where as ESL/ELD and SDAIE focus only on teaching the English language to ELL students. A negative of the program would be that not all students would be able to participate in such course work. Students that are poor in their primary language would struggle in a class where the course work is in two languages. This would be a good program for AP students and gifted learners. (Harvard Education Review, 1997) Conclusion: It is my belief that Mission Hills High School is using an effective blend of the ELS/ELD and SDAIE programs and strategies to meet the needs of the ELL students at the school. Since Mission Hills High School is such a diverse school, many of the teachers have adopted SDAIE strategies into their everyday teaching habits. (Hoadley, 2010) Mission Hills High School does an exceptional job of identifying the EL students at the school and figuring out where they need to be placed to have scholastic success. Students who enter the school that have little or no previous knowledge of English, but have received educational experiences in their native countries, are generally placed into ESL/ELD classes or receive support from the ESL/ELD department. With these services they will receive more one on one instruction to

help them learn English more fluently. They will also be able to study in a classroom that is extremely sensitive to their cultural background. The lessons they are taught are also specifically designed for students with their level of knowledge of the English language. Not having at least an intermediate knowledge of the English language only sets the students up for failure in the primarily English speaking, American cultured classroom. When a student has gained an intermediate level of fluency in English and has a mastery of their native language and culture from ESL/ELD support they are mainstreamed into the general education population and curriculum. At Mission Hills High School SDAIE strategies are prevalent in the classroom culture. Both of the classes that I observed were extremely diverse and involved kids that had been in the ESL/ELD program. SDAIE instructional strategies were incorporated into the lessons with little effort, the instructors had a very good grasp of the appropriate strategies to use for the lessons they were teaching that day. (Dwyer, 2010) (Hoadley, 2010) Since Mission Hills High School has such a diverse group of students it seems that some of them may benefit from a Two Way Immersion program. While the program would not be suitable for kids that were involved in Resource programs or SDC, the program could benefit kids that are or are close to AP level students. The Two Way Immersion program offers unique opportunities that just don't exist in a normal classroom, even one that is using SDAIE strategies. (The Modern Language Journal, 1996)

References: Serdyukov, Peter, and Robyn Hill. Methodology: For Second Language Development. Rev. ed. New Jersey: Pearson, 2009. Print. Hoadley, Nick. (May, 10, 2010). Mission Hills High School, Personal Communication Dwyer, Nick. (May, 14, 2010). Mission Hills High School, Personal Communication McEachern, Margot. (May, 26, 2010). Mission Hills High School, Personal Communication Center for Applied Linguistics (2010, January 1).Cal Two Way Immersion. Retrieved from http://www.cal.org/twi/ Harvard Education Review, . (1997, Fall). Dual-language immersion programs: a cautionary note concerning the education of language-minority students. Retrieved from http://www.hepg.org/her/abstract/213 The Modern Language Journal, (1996, Spring). Two way immersion education: students learning through two languages. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/pss/329058 Elements of Effective SDAIE Instruction. (2010). Elements of Effective SDAIE Instruction. Retrieved from http://classes.csumb.edu/ED/ED615-03/world/Elements_SDAIE.html ESL Strategies for Success, . (2006, March 26). ESL Strategies for Success. Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu/world/Fichter%20ESL%20Strategies%20for%20Success.pdf