Systems Approach to ELL Achievement: Hillsboro, Oregon

Path to Success: Improving equitable access and academic rigor for long-term English learners Paul R. Hanson, Science Teacher and Department Coordinator, Liberty High School, Hillsboro, Oregon PDF “A school with high academic optimism is a collectivity in which the faculty believes it can make a difference, that students can learn, and that high academic performance can be achieved.” – Hoy, Tarter, & Hoy, 2006 Long-term English learners at Liberty High School have experienced tremendous academic growth over the past four years. It hasn’t been easy, but thanks to a few pivotal changes, our school has turned a corner in the achievement – and confidence level – of English learners. In 2010-11, Liberty’s long-term English learners (LTELs) were doing the bare minimum amount of coursework they needed to graduate. Very few risked taking advanced social studies or language arts, and most took the minimum number of science and math classes. There was a glaring difference between the demographics of our advanced classes and of our school as a whole. The vast majority of Liberty’s LTELs are Hispanic. Four years ago, these students were falling into a huge opportunity gap: Hispanic enrollment was less than 20% of total course enrollment in advanced courses across the curriculum. Liberty’s staff wanted to close that gap and change the trajectory for LTELs. Our target was to increase Hispanic enrollment in advanced courses to 40%, to be reflective of our school demographics. Since 2011, we’ve made significant changes that are leading to impressive growth in access and achievement for LTELs. The graphs above tell the story: we’re seeing a trend of steady growth in Hispanic enrollment in all advanced courses, from science to language arts. For instance, in 2014-15, these students’ enrollment in AP European History is forecasted to be 47.22% – a big step up from 10.52% four years ago. Enrollment in our Portland State University Senior Inquiry program, a series of interdisciplinary college-level courses, is projected to be almost 50% Hispanic next year. The improvements for LTELs correspond with increasing numbers of students choosing to do the advanced/honors work in foundational courses. In 2010-11, only 17 students enrolled in AP Biology; that number jumped to 60 in 2011-12 and then to 120 in 2013-14. We’ve also had a substantial decrease in failure rates: the freshman failure rate dropped from 15% in 2009-10 to 6.2% the next year, and to less than 5% two years later. We’ve also seen a significant increase in students electing to take science courses beyond those required for graduation. Rather than avoid science as they did before, many students are now taking two science classes in one year. Three key factors have made these improvements possible: 1. Liberty High School staff believes that we have the ability to improve student achievement. We’ve created a culture of academic optimism – a shift in how teachers view students and how students view themselves as able to be successful with appropriate scaffolding. The school’s leadership is instilled with a value of success for all students, and the entire staff shares the belief that we want to engage and challenge all of our learners. 2. Our staff wants equity for all students. We don’t want AP classrooms and at-level classrooms to look like two entirely different schools. Previously, we had a traditional tracking system, particularly in the sciences, which resulted in at-level courses turning into remedial courses. We eliminated many of the prerequisites and the tracking, and opened up access to the advanced curriculum. We embedded honors activities within mixed-ability classes so students could opt in to the advanced options. This has created a climate where LTELs feel supported and safe to take the risk to do honors level work. 3. Liberty prioritizes targeted professional development for our staff. We had the vision and the will, but we needed time and training to develop the skills necessary to implement our vision. Our school adopted new approaches to teaching, including E.L. Achieve’s Constructing Meaning, to help us close our achievement gaps. In 2011, Liberty’s core freshman teachers were trained in Constructing Meaning (CM) to build their ability to make content comprehensible for all learners, especially English language learners. CM has been very much a part of creating success for our LTELs. We now have the resources to accelerate our instruction. While we were already providing students with differentiation and opportunities for higher levels of thinking, we needed additional support to know how to include the language instruction that was necessary for them to express the complexity of their thinking. Supporting the development of expressive language has opened many doors for students to engage and achieve. Our staff’s ongoing professional development includes weekly academic seminars to collaborate in developing our academic skills and making content more accessible to more students, as well as peer observations to share feedback and problem-solving strategies. We focus on engagement strategies to capitalize and build upon students’ background knowledge in order to support rigorous and culturally relevant teaching. Thanks to academic optimism, a belief in equity, and targeted professional development, Liberty’s failure rates have dropped while AP numbers have soared and now reflect the cultural and linguistic demographics of our school. But beyond changing the data, we’ve also experienced a paradigm shift in the academic climate, and students have responded phenomenally. Our LTELs have more opportunities for success because they feel safe to take on a challenge. It is exciting to see LTELs who used to say, “I don’t know if I can do it,” now flocking to advanced classes. They are no longer quiet, passive kids sitting on the side, not turning in assignments. They see themselves as being successful and capable. And, there is a greater sense of buy-in and inclusion throughout our whole school community.

ELL Achievement: Not just what you do, but also what you believe. Academic Optimism.

English Learner Achievement: It's not just what you do, but also what you believe By Elizabeth Macías, Director of Secondary Services, and Raquel Núñez, Director of Elementary Services There is little disagreement about some of the challenges English learners face in meeting the content and language demands of grade-level standards. To achieve academic success, students must be able to extract meaning and information from texts, evaluate evidence and relate it to other ideas and facts, and make informed, skillful language choices to express themselves. We know this works, but is there more? • Explicit attention to the grammatical features and vocabulary of English for authentic functional purposes coupled with well-structured, focused, and engaging opportunities for practice (Saunders and O’Brien, 2006; Ellis, 2005; Norris and Ortega, 2006; Keck et al., 2006) • Effective lesson design that includes a gradual release of responsibility (Fisher et al., 2007) • Ample opportunities to develop fluency by “trying out” newly acquired language through structured, engaging, and authentic oral and written practice (Lightbown and Spada, 2006; Norris and Ortega, 2006; Keck et al., 2006): The focus of E.L. Achieve’s work is on building teachers’ skills for delivering explicit language instruction using strong instructional pedagogy. However, the research is clear that achievement for English learners will not improve if teachers and administrators do not also have “academic optimism.” This has led us to highlight three elements that are instrumental for English learners’ success: • Strong instructional pedagogy • Explicit language instruction • “Academic optimism” for English learners These components do not live in isolation. Instead, they work in conjunction to promote academic success. Academic optimism has been conceptualized as a “triadic set of interactions” (Hoy et al., 2007) where collective efficacy supports trust in students and families, which in turn nurtures academic achievement (Kirby, 2009). Academic optimism is a construct that arose out of quantitative studies identifying three related school characteristics that had strong associations with academic achievement. Collective teacher efficacy, academic emphasis, and trust have each been linked to academic achievement, and in each instance the association was so strong that it overcame the effects of socioeconomic status (McGuigan, 2005). In addition to the importance of creating a culture of academic optimism, research has shown that English learners and students of color are more likely to succeed academically when they have strong relationships with teachers and counselors who value their knowledge and experiences – their funds of knowledge. These adults help students navigate the system and make connections between education and students’ individual lives. While one might believe that these relationships are a given, the dropout rates for English learners and students of color in many high schools continue to show that students feel disconnected and struggle to see a place for education in their lives. Students must not only have positive interpersonal connections with adults on campus, but they must also be challenged to reach the highest levels of academic achievement. Often we make assumptions about which students will or will not succeed in school, limiting our expectations of what they can achieve. Unfortunately, students’ smartness is often judged by their behaviors and not by what they actually know (Hatt, 2012). Research indicates that teachers use different instructional approaches based on their perceptions of students’ English proficiency, but their expectations are not always aligned with students’ actual capabilities (Hatt, 2012). Therefore when we examine the construct of academic optimism for English learners, we need to include the ideas of collective and individual teacher efficacy, academic emphasis, and trust. Additionally, it is imperative for English learners that their rich background and knowledge be recognized and incorporated into academic experiences. We must hold the belief that all children can learn and that it’s our responsibility to help them realize success. We also must be committed to gaining knowledge and skills to continuously improve our instructional pedagogy and delivery of explicit language instruction. References Ellis, R. (2005). Principles of instructed language learning. System 33 (2) (pp. 209-224). Fisher, D., Rothenberg, C., & Frey, N. (2007). Language learners in the English classroom. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English. Hatt, B. (2011, 2012). Smartness as a cultural practice in schools. American Educational Research Journal 49(3) (pp. 438-460). American Educational Research Association and Sage Publications. Retrieved from: http://aer.sagepub.com/content/49/3/438 Hoy, W. K., Tarter, C. J., & Hoy, A. (2007). Academic optimism of schools: A force for student achievement. In W. K. Hoy & M. F. DiPaola (Eds.). Essential ideas for the reform of American schools. Charlotte, NC: Information Age. Keck, C. M., Iberri-Shea, G., Tracy-Ventura, N., & Wa-Mbaleka, S. (2006). Investigating the empirical link between task-based interaction and acquisition: A meta-analysis. In J. Norris & L. Ortega (Eds.), Synthesizing research on language learning and teaching (pp. 91–131). Amsterdam: Benjamins. Kirby, M. M. (2009). Academic optimism and community engagement in urban elementary schools. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis. College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA. Lightbown, P., & Spada, N. (2006). How languages are learned. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. McGuigan, L. B. A. (2005). The role of enabling bureaucracy and academic optimism in academic achievement growth. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L. (Eds.) (2006). Synthesizing research on language learning and teaching. Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Saunders, W., & O’Brien, G. (2006). Oral language. Educating English language learners: A synthesis of research. New York: Cambridge University Press. Comments (0)

Explicit Language Instruction-Needed for ELLs to Construct and Communicate Meaning

Improving Learning for ELLs through Leadership

 

 

Get All Your Employees to Ask Questions: 5 Steps

 BY WILL YAKOWICZ  @WILLYAKOWICZ

INSEAD innovation professor Hal Gregersen describes how you can systemize question asking to encourage creativity and solve problems.

Is your company starting to stagnate? You may not be asking enough questions.

According to Hal Gregersen, a leadership and innovation professor at INSEAD and co-author of the book "The Innovator's DNA," asking questions is a practical tool to help you come up with new ideas, solve problems, and gain different perspectives.

To that end, Gregersen developed a questioning method, which he calls "Catalytic Questioning." In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, he describes how you can use Catalytic Questioning to nurture creative brainstorming, unearth new directions for your team or business, engage your employees, and determine innovative solutions. 

Here's how to implement this strategy:

1. Be Question-Centric

The method starts with gathering your team around a white board or flip chart, and encouraging everyone to ask questions about a particular problem in a rapid-fire style. Leave all assumptions at the door. The point is to bring "fresh eyes through fresh questions."

Click Here to Learn More

2. Engage Head and Heart

Pick a problem that your team cares about and wants to solve. Make sure the "opportunity," or problem (if you're not an optimist) truly does not already have a solution. 

3. Question Everything

Use this time to only ask questions. Gregerson calls this "pure question talk." Have one team member write down verbatim each question that's asked. No one should retort with answers. Just keep the questions coming. Your goal should be to collect 50 to 75 questions, and to make each one better than the last. Don't give up. Push through when your mind goes blank and ask even more provocative questions. You'll need patience and persistence to exhaust your group's questioning "capacity." The exercise should take 10 minutes to 20 minutes.

4. Find the Catalyst

Step back and pinpoint the most "catalytic" questions. These are the questions that the group cannot answer--the ones that will "disrupt the status quo" if you do answer them. You should then cut your list down to just three or four.

5. Come Up With Answers

Now that you have a focused question for a particular problem, it's time to solve it. This step will be different for each company, depending on how you like to gather information. If you like to observe, go out in the field and "systematically observe" to get answers. Or you can get fresh ideas by networking; talk with diverse groups who don't think and act like you to get new perspectives. Then, start working on a few prototypes for "fast, cheap, virtual experiments," and get feedback on which one might be best. 

After these steps, regroup with the answers you've come up with and brainstorm. Gregersen says you should pull together "all your new input" to create a better solution. If needed, repeat.

 

 

WCKE for ELLs

All ELL students participate in the WKCE math (translation in Hmong/Spanish available), and some may qualify for a one year exemption on the language arts assessment, see below.

"Regulations describing a one-time English/Language Arts exemption for ELLs new in the US less than one calendar year can be found at (See 34 CFR § 200.6 (b) (4)). Specifically, any students who have arrived within the last 12 calendar months may be permitted to abstain one time from the English/Language Arts portions Smarter Balanced Assessment or the reading portion only of the ACT suites including the ACT plus writing and Aspire"

Please read this list of accommodations for English Learners if you are responsible for proctoring a WKCE assessment for a student.

LIst of ELL accommodations:

http://oea.dpi.wi.gov/files/oea/Accomell.pdf

ESL License Opportunity-ACT FAST!

CTELL Program Description

In the past ten years, the percentage of English Language Learners (ELLs) has doubled in the state of Wisconsin. Districts of every size and geography throughout the state have witnessed first-hand the unique challenges of this increasing and unique population. While urban and larger school districts in WI may have larger populations of ELLs in their individual schools, nearly half (46%) of all ELL students in the state are spread across 302 small and rural districts. As the population of ELLs continues to grow in our state, professional development opportunities and academic coursework about the unique challenges of this population take on an importance for almost every educator, no matter the size or placement of their school.

Until now, most professional development opportunities or academic courses on this critical subject have been targeted exclusively toward teachers in elementary grades or have grouped all grade levels together, K-12. That’s why Edgewood College’s CTELL Program is so unique.

Connecting Teachers to English Language Learners (CTELL) is designed to group educators in cohorts that teach similar grades and content areas, demonstrating how you can better serve this student population within the context of a particular subject area and grade level.

Funded through a 1.5 million dollar grant from the Federal Office of English Language Acquisition, public school teachers accepted into the CTELL program are eligible for six graduate credits supported by full-tuition scholarships. From around our state, more than 270 educators from 54 districts have benefited from this unique program. CTELL is open to any educator in the state of Wisconsin through regional partnerships with CESAs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 11.

Applications for the 2015 cohort will be accepted beginning May 1 and until November 1, 2014. All selected scholars will be notified by December 1, 2014.

Questions about any portion of the CTELL program, please contact John Kibler, OELA Grant Project Coordinator, at jkibler@edgewood.edu or 608-663-2287.

Too old to learn a language?

Why “younger” is not always “better” in foreign language learning

Posted on 8 October, 2014 by Bryony

This post was contributed by Professor Jean-Marc Dewaele of Birkbeck’s Department of Applied Linguistics and Communications.

Politicians can be forgiven for not having much time to read the fine print when asking advisers to translate research findings into workable policies. Or does it work the other way round? Do politicians decide on policies first and subsequently ask advisers for appropriate research findings to back up the policy?  This seems the case when considering the wide consensus across the world about the benefits of early introduction of foreign languages (FLs) in pupils’ school curriculum. The expression “younger is better” in education sounds perfectly plausible, is simple and convincing, and must be a vote winner.

In the UK, FLs used to be introduced in secondary education. Estelle Morris, then Secretary of State for Education, changed this policy in 2002, scrapping compulsory modern FLs for 14- to 16-year-olds, and introducing them in primary schools. She claimed in 2006 that: “Starting at a much younger age is the best way of making sure we get more pupils taking exams and, more importantly, more of them enjoying and feeling confident about speaking a language other than their own”.

In other countries, FL teaching has even been introduced in nursery schools.  There seems to be a universal consensus among politicians that an early start in FLs will lead to a smoother, quasi-effortless learning process leading to high levels of proficiency in the FLs. Is this a myth?!

Counter-intuitively, research suggests that adolescents and adults progress more quickly than children when learning FLs in a school context (so-called “instructed FL learning”). Many researchers have serious doubts about age of onset being the most important variable in successful FL learning. Indeed, research shows quite clearly that starting age is only one of many independent variables in very complex question.

A crucial distinction exists between so-called naturalisticand instructed FL learning.  Research on naturalistic learners, typically immigrants, shows that younger children are indeed more likely to become undistinguishable from native speakers of the FL compared to their parents and older siblings. However, the picture is not so clear in research on instructed FL learning, a crucial distinction that is commonly overlooked.

A large-scale study in Barcelona has shown that no differences existed among 30 year-olds who had started learning English at school early (age 8) and those who started later (age 11). However, the amount of input in the FL played an important role: those who had studied English for longer, had used the language more frequently in and out of school outperformed those who had had less input.

Another study found no advantages of an early start among Swiss learners of English even after a five years of instruction. The writing skills of late starters caught up with those of the early starters within six months.  One possible explanation is that older learners have greater metalinguistic, metacognitive and strategic skills.

This does not mean that there are no age effects at all in learning and later use of the FLs.  Indeed, younger children seem to be more motivated in learning FLs. In my own research on language choice and self-perceived proficiency among more than 1500 adult bi- and multilinguals, I found that early starters in a FL felt more proficient in speaking,comprehending, reading and writing their FLs. They were also more likely to choose the FL for the expression of anger and feelings, for inner speech and mental calculation.  Interestingly, the effect of mode of instruction was even stronger than age of onset: participants who had acquired the FL naturalistically or in mixed mode (formal instruction combined with authentic use) outperformed participants who had learned the FL through classroom instruction only.

In their excellent overview of the literature on age and the teaching of FLs, Lambelet and Berthele (2014) point out that more research is needed on improving age-appropriate teaching techniques in order to boost motivation levels and metalinguistic awareness of FL learners of all ages. Moreover, extra thought needs to be given to the primary school teachers who are suddenly expected to teach a FL and who may lack in confidence and competence. In other words, those arguing for an early introduction of FLs at school need to take the nuanced research findings into account and avoid promising miracles.

At what age did you start learning a foreign language? How do you think this affected your fluency and confidence in the language? Please leave your comments below.

New English Learner? This is a REAL Psychological Phenomena

The Stages of Culture Shock

'Culture shock' is used to describe the emotional rollercoaster that someone experiences when living in a new country. Anyone that has worked and lived in a foreign country will experience culture shock of some sort.

Culture shock affects anyone from business personnel and their families, to EFL teachers to sports stars. Recognising culture shock is an important way of being able to deal with it. Dealing with it helps minimise the risk of becoming disillusioned with a new country and the possibility of deciding that a quick return 'home' is the only solution.

Experts agree that culture shock has stages and all agree that once people get beyond the initial and most difficult stages, life in a new country becomes a lot better.

Outlined below is an example of the stages people go through with culture shock:

Stage 1 - Excitement

The individual experiences a holiday or 'honeymoon' period with their new surroundings.

They:
. Feel very positive about the culture 
. Are overwhelmed with impressions
. Find the new culture exotic and are fascinated (joins activities, gets involved with hope and openness)
. Are passive, meaning they have little experience of the culture

Stage 2 - Withdrawal

The individual now has some more face to face experience of the culture and starts to find things different, strange and frustrating.

They:
. Find the behaviour of the people unusual and unpredictable
. Begin to dislike the culture and react negatively to the behaviour 
. Feel anxious
. Start to withdraw (attendance, truancy become coping mechanisms)
. Begin to criticize, mock or show animosity to the people 

Stage 3 - Adjustment

The individual now has a routine, feels more settled and is more confident in dealing with the new culture.

They:
. Understand and accept the behaviour of the people
. Feel less isolated 
. Regains their sense of humour
Attendance, engagement and other prosocial behaviors improve

Stage 4 - Enthusiasm

The individual now feels 'at home'.

They:
. Enjoy being in the culture
. Functions well in the culture
. Prefer certain cultural traits of the new culture rather than their own 
. Adopt certain behaviours from the new culture

Protect ELLs from Bullying

8 Tips to Protect ELLs from Bullying in Your Classroom and School

By: Language Lizard (2011)

ELLs can be an easy target for school bullies. Language Lizard offers these tips for addressing bullying problems (including cyberbullying) that may affect ELLs.

For related information, bilingual parents tips, and strategies from other educators about bullying, see the recommendedresources and comments at the end of the article — and feel free to share your experiences!

ELLs and Bullying

As schools open their doors each fall, students from all walks of life enter. Each has the opportunity to share with other students in the amazing experience of education. Wide-eyed and anxious, children slowly lower their guard and allow themselves to get comfortable with their teachers, fellow students and surroundings. The hope is that this experience will be filled with joy and comfort for each and every student.

For many English Language Learners (ELLs), school is a place of laughter, fun and expansion. Bit by bit language and cultural elements are learned, shared and savored. For other ELLs it is a place of fear, humiliation and intimidation.

As we know from reports and studies which have been coming out over the past few years, bullying has become a serious issue in schools around the country. What used to be limited to verbal attacks has turned into something more subtle and fierce — cyber-bullying being one clear example of how today's technology can be used to intimidate others in far-reaching ways.

Unfortunately, ELLs are often easy targets for bullies in the school setting. Foreign accents and different cultural mannerisms are often mimicked and made fun of in school, which can cause ELLs to question their most basic identity and heritage. Helping to prevent the bullying of ELLs can be a little more tricky than protecting again general bullying, primarily because attempts to be helpful can end up causing even more discomfort to ELLs.

Tips for Grown-Ups

Below are some tips for teachers and parents to utilize in the classroom and at home:

• Set ground rules: Make sure that all students (and their parents) are clear of what your rules are on bullying. These should be general rules that apply to every student in the classroom/school. Post these rules on the door of the classroom and school so that students can see them when they enter and leave. Ask each student to take a look at it each day/week so that they will be reminded of what is expected of them. Make sure that the general rules include things that may apply specifically to ELLs, such as making fun of the way someone talks, dresses or acts.

• Give clear examples: Share with students examples of what you consider bullying (without specifying anyone in particular or using actual events). Do not give examples that specifically include ELLs being bullied! This can make things even worse for ELLs! Some excellent examples would be from your own life experiences or examples of children from American moving abroad and the difficulties of learning the language and culture. The point is to shed light on what it feels like to be in new surroundings without a solid base of support.

• Set consequences: Make sure that students understand that bullying, on any level, will not be tolerated and that the consequences will apply across the board. These consequences should be agreed upon throughout the school and be clearly posted. An ELL who knows that there are clear consequences for bullying can feel a sense of relief that his teachers and school are supporting him by creating a healthy environment.

• Be informed: Make sure that you and the parents of your students know what the signs of bullying are. Keep an eye on changes in your ELLs' attitudes and personalities. Remember that subtle changes may or may not indicate big problems under the surface. It is important to not overreact to a given situation but instead to be cautious and to carefully flesh out possible issues.

• Take them seriously: Anything that your students share about their own experiences with bullying or what they have witnessed when others were bullied is to be taken seriously. An ELL who sees other ELLs being bullied can become just as frightened as if it happened to him or her personally. Anytime an ELL opens up to a teacher or parent about such episodes should be taken seriously and be given the support needed.

• Inform parents: Parents of ELLs need to be remindednot to tell their children that bullying is something to be expected when living in a new country, even though the parents may believe this. Not only can this make a child feel even more frightened and helpless, it can cause a child to feel resentment and bitterness toward the country and its citizens in general. ELLs need to feel that they belong here, not part of a subset that is tolerated. (SDW, THIS IS KEY!!!)
• Educate your colleagues: Help the adults in your workplace to learn about cultural and linguistic responsiveness is greater than tolerating students who are learning English.  Students want to be personally engaged, help your staff learn how to take the time to connect with students, build a language of belief in students as learners, and take active steps to demonstrate the value of multilingualism.

• Inform administrators: It is important that teachers remind school administrators of the additional risk that ELLs face from bullying. Give administrators clear examples of what ELLs experience from bullies: mimicking their accents, making fun of their racial differences, laughing at their mannerisms and cultural idiosyncrasies, and more. Help administrators understand what it would feel like if they were to enter a school in another country without being able to communicate well, and then having other students making fun of their every effort.

• Write down what you see: If you believe that a student in class is bullying an ELL but you aren’t sure, write down what you see or believe is happening. This way you will have a record of incidents which all together may form a picture when seen over the long term. You will also have some examples to talk about one-on-one with students when the opportunity arises, or during parent-teacher meetings.

As we know, bullying can happen in any environment. It is not specifically tied to ELLs. However, being that they are seen as different, ELLs become easy targets for a bully. The hope is that the more we stand together against bullying the more ELLs will feel comfortable coming forward and reporting their experiences.

In a recent article in the Boston Globe titled, Schools Seeing Shift on Bullying, it was reported that bullying in Massachusetts has seen a shift due to students taking a more direct role in reporting bullying incidents and showing a united support against bullying. There is only so much a teacher and parent can do to help prevent the kind of physical and emotional attacks caused by bullying. Supporting students in their own efforts to stand up against bullying may be just the solution needed to help ELLs find a more comfortable atmosphere in school.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever had to confront bullying in your classroom?
• What are your tips on helping English Language Learners deal with bullying?
• Where have you found the most support in helping to prevent bullying in your classroom?
• How might you manage adults attitudes or beliefs about students who are learning English?

5 Reasons Not to Use Round Robin Reading with ELLs

By: Michael F. Opitz and Lindsey Moses Guccione (2009)

In this excerpt from Comprehension and English Language Learners: 25 Oral Reading Strategies That Cross Proficiency Levels (Heinemann, 2009), Michael Opitz and Lindsey Moses Guccione discuss some of the reasons whyround robin reading can prove ineffective as a strategy for improving English language learners' reading comprehension.

For more information about recommended strategies, see Oral Language Development and ELLs: 5 Challenges and Solutions, written for Colorín Colorado by Dr. Moses Guccione.

Why Not Use Round Robin Reading (aka "Popcorn Reading")?

When I think of answering this question, I am reminded of a student's emphatic response, "It's s-o-o-o boring!" because it certainly is for more students than not. But beyond this initial response, there are other good reasons for ridding ourselves of this outmoded practice, sometimes disguised as "popcorn reading," which calls on students to pop up and read a non-rehearsed passage when signaled to do so.

Research base and origins

Did you know, for example, that round robin reading has no research base? Did you also know that no one is certain whereround robin reading originated? A graduate student of mine discovered the following quotation from Quintilian "Institutes of Oratory" (A.D. 95), from which hints at a possible starting point:

"For to me it seems easier, as well as far more advantageous, that the master, after calling for silence, should appoint some one pupil to read, (and it will be best that this duty should be imposed on them by turns,) that they may thus accustom themselves to clear pronunciation." (Bizzel and Herzberg 2001, 374)

With the current emphasis on research and the necessity of using evidence-based best practices to educate children, then, another reason for moving away from round robin reading is that it has no credibility. But there are still other reasons for moving away from round robin reading. Here are five.

Student and teacher difficulties

1. It provides ELLs with an inaccurate view of reading English.

From the onset of instruction, perhaps the greatest learning that teachers need to help ELLs understand is that comprehension, rather than word calling, is what drives reading. Using purposeful oral reading strategies can help lead students to this important understanding whereas round robin reading leads them away from it.

Readers most often use silent reading in everyday reading. They only use oral reading to accomplish a specific purpose such as when they want to share information or perform. At other times, readers rely on oral reading as a coping strategy. In other words, they may recognize that comprehension has broken down and may decide to read aloud to themselves with the hope that doing so will bring about some understanding.

In all of these situations, oral reading is used in authentic ways to accomplish a specific purpose. In contrast, when using round robin reading, students experience oral reading in an artificial way. That is, rarely, if ever, are readers called upon to read an unrehearsed passage in turn while others follow along. And rarely do others correct readers when a stated word does not match the text.

Emphasizing unrehearsed reading and correcting misspelled words, which most often occurs when using round robin reading, risks leaving students with an understanding that reading is more about accurate word calling than it is about comprehension, a serious misconception of what constitutes effective reading of English.

2. It can potentially cause faulty reading habits instead of effective reading strategies.

Readers tend to read at different rates and this variation is natural (Flurkey, 2006). Expecting students to follow along while another reads an unrehearsed passage inevitably slows those readers who read at faster rates than the person who is reading aloud. On other occasions, the oral reader reads too quickly leaving students, many ELLs in particular, little or no time to decipher the meaning of unknown words. Instead, they are forced to forge ahead rather than stop and think.

In both cases, readers are disenfranchised because they are unable to process information in a manner best suited to them.All students need to learn that self-monitoring is important when reading as is paying attention to meaning, recognizing when it breaks down, and what to do about it. The ability to do so is one hallmark of proficient readers as I define them.

3. It can cause inattentive behaviors, leading to discipline problems.

Those of you who are familiar with round robin reading know the drill. While one student is reading aloud, the others in the group are supposed to follow along — but they rarely do. Instead, they are reading ahead, either because they are interested and want to keep reading, bored and therefore try to do something to alleviate their feelings of boredom, or, as in the case of many ELLs, they are self-conscious of their accent and decide to give themselves some practice time so that when called on they will sound more acceptable to others.

Reasons for reading ahead dismissed, what often happens is that students are reprimanded for not following along as told, leaving them with a less-than-favorable view of what it means to come together to share a text. Aside from making students appear unruly, the main problem is that little attention is given to discussing the text at hand. Between the time it takes to read aloud and to reprimand, there is none left for discussing, an important part of the reading experience that enables all to thrive.

4. It can be a source of anxiety and embarrassment for all students, ELLs in particular.

I have worked with countless teachers who seek to understand best ways to use oral reading that will help students to advance as readers. As a part of this work, I more often than not have them experience round robin readingfirsthand. These teachers admit that they were not following along as told but rather trying to figure out my pattern of calling on people so that they would know what to practice so that they would sound good when called upon. All comments focus on saving face, not embarrassing themselves.

After going through the experience, they better understand how students must feel when called on and what they do to save face when reading in front of others. And this is the major point of the exercise: to show more than tell them howround robin reading causes anxiety and embarrassment to appear and that when using it, comprehension is virtually nonexistent.

5. It consumes valuable classroom time that could be spent on other meaningful activities.

With round robin reading, much time is spent trying to keep all on track and on reading with accuracy. Little if any time is devoted to comprehension. Yet there are many ways to use oral reading in purposeful and meaningful ways. Regardless, comprehension is always the goal. Oral reading is merely used as a vehicle for helping to facilitate this comprehension. The objective, then, is not to rid us of oral reading but instead to use it to students' best advantage.

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