Content & Language Development Principles
“Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things.” – Flora Lewis
Understanding the processes and challenges related to language development can help us strategically apply supports that help students draw on their strengths, their multiple languages, and their knowledge to be successful learners.
Who are “language learners”, “English learners”, “emergent bilinguals”?
There are many terms used to describe multilingual learners with emergent and developing English proficiency. English learner (EL) is commonly used institutionally in the United States, however, Emergent bilingual (EB) and Multilingual learners (MLL) are also becoming more widely used. We will use multilingual learner (MLL) throughout to highlight the assets of multilingualism among learners who are developing any language, whether it is the language of the community and school as an additional language or learning a world language. In some cases, we may use language learner or emergent bilingual to refer to multilingual learners who are identified as needing additional support in the language of instruction or who are learning world languages.
MLLs are highly variable, and approximately half of the MLLs developing English as an additional language in the US public schools were born and raised in the US. They speak a range of languages, have attended school in English for anywhere to all of their time in school to recent arrivals with or without consistent formal schooling in another school system. Also, regardless of their English proficiency, they have a wealth of background knowledge and linguistic knowledge from their lives outside of school.
What are the key elements of content-based language development?
Learners need to interact with and understand language and content and express ideas related to that content. In order to do that successfully, students need:
- Comprehensible Input:
- This includes content, texts, audio/ video information, teacher talk, discussions, instructions, gestures, and any information that students will have to access, process, and understand.
- Comprehensible input (e.g., Short, et al., 2018) also means that there is a clear purpose for students to engage with the content and that content is relevant and engaging for students. Also, connecting to students’ prior knowledge and experiences and building any background knowledge that is assumed in the text, helps to make input comprehensible (note: if a concept is explained within the text, it shouldn’t be taught as part of background building but instead explored and discussed when encountered in the text).
- Intentionally developing vocabulary (e.g., August & Shannahan, 2006: Carlo et al., 2004) as students encounter it in the input/ texts and providing scaffolding (Walqui, 2006; 2017) for understanding and engaging with input/ texts are additional ways to make input comprehensible.
- Support for Language Production:
- Prior to asking students to produce language, consider providing support in the form of targeted instruction and/ or scaffolds to support confidence and ability to engage and interact with content, classmates, and teacher.
- Supporting language production also requires providing sufficient wait time (Tsui, 1996) and providing learners with opportunities to engage in learning and express language and demonstrate content understanding through multiple modalities and multiple expressions of language.
- Translanguaging (Garcia, 2009) is also a powerful method to support MLLs to develop understanding and engage in discussions and learning while drawing on their complete linguistic repertoire.
- Opportunities for Feedback and Practice:
- Language learners need positive and instructional feedback to develop their language. Additionally, they need opportunities to process the feedback and apply it in additional practice and interaction in order to develop understanding and language. Feedback should be viewed as an opportunity for learning, not an end point; and thus, learning-focused.
- Learning-focused feedback should provide students with opportunities to receive specific and focused feedback and to apply that feedback to practice, revise, and revisit language and content without penalty. This should be an ongoing process with the focus on learning and growth rather than grades so that errors are seen as opportunities for learning rather than something that is penalized.
- Cultural & Linguistic Connections:
- Connecting to and integrating students’ additional languages and engaging students in relevant and authentic language use. This also includes integrating bilingual strategies and opportunities for translanguaging.
- Opportunities to engage with authentic input, which includes different varieties of English, and to produce language in authentic ways can help to make content relevant and engaging for MLLs.
Adapted from the book UDL for Language Learners. (Torres & Rao, 2019)
What else do we need to know about the social, cognitive, and affective aspects of language development?
Social
What does this mean?
Learning is a social activity. Language and knowledge are developed through interaction and collaboration with others. Learning can also be understood as a sociocultural act developed through language (Bandura, 2001), and through interaction and conversation, students can develop the “mental tools” needed to understand and process information (Vygotsky, 1978).
What can we do?
Provide opportunities for supported and meaningful interaction and collaboration to develop language and knowledge. This includes authentic opportunities for language use and meaningful opportunities for collaboration and problem-solving. This can be done through opportunities for cooperative learning and co-constructing knowledge as well as Instructional Conversations (CREDE, 2004) that can be used to help students build new knowledge by using their existing knowledge and schema. When students are given the opportunity to do this through a problem-solving approach, focusing on issues of importance to them, it further supports their engagement and success.
Cognitive
What does this mean?
Learners need to develop declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge (application of knowledge), and automaticity. In addition to developing knowledge about language, learners need opportunities to apply that knowledge in real world situations. They also need to develop automaticity with the language. Language processes that are not automatic (i.e., sounding out words to read) use working memory, which is then not available for other tasks like comprehension, organization, etc. Also, language development builds on existing language ability and literacy
What can we do
Language learners need opportunities to use language/ apply what they are learning in authentic situations, and they need multiple opportunities to practice to develop automaticity with the language. Additionally, opportunities for language learners to use and make connections to other languages that they know and speak is a powerful support for development of additional languages.
Affective
What does this mean?
Language learning related self-confidence, anxiety, and motivation are all situational and impact students’ ability to develop language.
Providing students scaffolded opportunities to engage with and talk about issues that are important to them can help them build their voice and agency, which can increase motivation for learning (Hammond, 2015).
What can we do?
Language learners need to feel confident that they can be successful in activities, feel safe and supported to make mistakes, and feel that what they are learning is relevant and engaging for optimal language development. This means that we should create classroom environments where students feel safe – classrooms that welcome and embrace diversity, encourage mistakes as learning opportunities, support students to express their voice and choice and that are culturally sustaining. This is also facilitated by providing input and models of authentic language that are accessible for students in terms of level and content (i.e., language level as well as cultural relevance and interest). In addition, we can create short-term achievable goals collaboratively with students to help them reach longer-term academic and language development goals.
Additional Resources
Research & References
August, D., & Shanahan, T. (2006). Developing literacy in second-language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth.
Calderón, M., Slavin, R., & Sánchez, M. (2011). Effective instruction for English learners. The future of children, 103-127.
Carlo, M.S., August, D., McLaughlin, B., Snow, C.E., Dressler, C., Lipman, D.N., Lively, T.J., & White, C.E. (2004). Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English-language learners in bilingual and multilingual and mainstream classrooms. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(2), 188-215
Chamot, A.U., O’Malley, J.M. (1994) The CALLA handbook: Implementing the cognitive academic language learning approach. Addison Wesley Longman.
Crabbe, D. (2003). The quality of language learning opportunities. TESOL Quarterly, 37(1), 9-34.
Center for Research on Education, Diversity, & Excellence (CREDE). (2004). Observing the five standards in practice: Development and application of the standards performance continuum. University of California.
Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence (CREDE) Hawai’i Project. (2015). Retrieved from http://manoa.hawaii.edu/coe/crede/
de Jong, E. (2011). Foundations for multilingualism in education: From principles to practice. Caslon.
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. (2004). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model. Allyn and Bacon.
Ellis, R. (2017). Oral corrective feedback in L2 classrooms: What we know so far. In Corrective feedback in second language teaching and learning (pp. 3-18). Routledge.
Escamilla, K., Olsen, L., & Slavick, J. (2022). Toward Comprehensive Effective Literacy Policy and Instruction for English Learner/Emergent Bilingual Students.
Farrely, R. (2022, August). If we must label language learners: EL vs. ML. TESOL Connections. http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolc/downloads/features/2022/2022-08_EL%20vs%20MLL_Farrelly.pdf
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2009). Feed up, back, forward. Educational Leadership, 67(3), 20–25.
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Short, D.J., Becker, H., Cloud, N., Hellman, A. B., & New Levine, L. (2018). The 6 principles for exemplary teaching of English learners: Grades K-12. TESOL Press.
Torres, C. & Rao, K. (2019). UDL for Language Learners. CAST Professional Publishing.
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Walqui, A. (2006). Scaffolding instruction for English language learners: A conceptual framework. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9(2), 159–180.
Walqui, A. (2017, March). Quality teaching for English learners. Presented at the annual TESOL International Convention and Language Expo, Seattle, WA.
Williams, M., Mercer, S., & Ryan, S. (2015). Exploring psychology in language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press
Wright, W. E. (2019). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Caslon.