Language Forms and Functions

In order to help students become successful English speakers in the academic area we must provide direct language instruction.  According to Claude Goldenber in Teaching English Language Learners, " Effective language instruction provides a combination of explicit teaching that helps students directly and effectively learn features of the second language such as syntax, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and norms of social usage and ample opportunities to use the second language in meaningful and motivating situations" (Goldenberg, 13). We must help students learn to communicate their needs, thoughts, and opinions. In order to help them in their communication skills our language instruction must include instruction in the correct usage of forms and functions.

Language Forms and Functions PDF Document: 

www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/standards/elp/files/langfunc.pdf

These are some examples of how I have used language forms and functions in my classroom.

Literacy Resources

A way to support English language learners in their literacy comprehension is to include texts that are culturally relevant. It is also important to recognize that student's first language is a resource that they can can use to help them in their development of their second language. Many schools have literacy instruction for English language learners in their first language. Their literacy skills are strengthen in their first language and then they are able to take these skills and transfer them to their second language literacy. In order to encourage first language as a resource we can include bilingual texts in our classrooms.


A website that provides multiple literacy resources for teachers, parents, and administrators is Colorin Colorado.

Colorin Colorado:

http://www.colorincolorado.org/

Other literacy webistes include:

http://www.starfall.com/

http://www.readinga-z.com/

http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/customer_login.asp?accessdenied=%2Flibrary%2Fasp%2Fbook%5Fdetails%2Easp%3FCategory%3DPictureBooks%26offset%3D60

Welcome

Welcome to educational resources for English language learners! Within our schools there is a growing number of students who have been identified as English language learners. These students are expected to learn the content and language skills that will help them to be active citizens in our society. Our goal as language teachers is to help students be proficient in their second language in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and grade level content. In this blog I will be including a variety of resources that I use frequently in my classroom and resources that provide more information on strategies to use in an ESOL classroom.