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.

References

"Being Bilingual" Student Essay Contest from the National Association of Bilingual Education (Click on link)

http://www.nabe.org/Resources/Documents/Forms/NABE2015_StudentOfYearApplication.pdf

What’s Your “Elevator Speech” About Your Expertise with the Common Core for ELLs?

Diane Staehr Fenner / May 22, 2014

What’s your elevator speech?

Throughout my conversations with educators this spring, I’ve focused on helping ESL teachers further develop their leadership skills as they solidify their role within the Common Core framework.  One strategy is for ESL teachers to get some practice at explaining these new roles and the ways they support ELLs through an “elevator speech.”  In this post, I’ll offer some tips for creating your own elevator speech and share examples of colleagues who’ve provided brief videos of their speeches online – where you are invited to add your own video clip!

Why is an Elevator Speech Important?

Given all the changes with the CCSS and new English Language Development/Proficiency standards in many states, teachers’ roles can’t possibly remain static. Since the role of the ESL teacher is evolving and changing, I’ve been working with ESL as well as content teachers to examine what they do and think about how their roles will be reframed with the CCSS so that ELLs can be better positioned to succeed within the new standards.

One aspect of this change is to make sure that all colleagues that ESL teachers collaborate with – including content teachers and administrators – are aware of the expertise ESL teachers bring to instructing and assessing ELLs and how that expertise relates to the new standards. Since there is such a wide variance within schools and districts in terms of diversity of ELLs, the types of language support programs for ELLs, and the timeline and approach for Common Core implementation, content teachers and administrators might not be aware of what exactly it is that ESL teachers do and how their roles can strengthen the district’s CCSS implementation.

Developing an Elevator Speech

One way for ESL teachers to reframe their role and effectively explain it is to develop an “elevator speech” (sometimes called an “elevator pitch”), which is a concise summary of a topic – so concise that it can be delivered during a short elevator ride! While the elevator speech may be used when interviewing for a job, current ESL teachers can also use it as a tool to clearly define the expertise they bring in implementing the CCSS for ELLs in their school.

To get an overview of how to write an elevator speech, take a look at this quick summary.  I’ve adapted a few steps of the process so that teachers can write their own elevator speech about their expertise in supporting ELLs in the CCSS:

1. Consider the ways in which you collaborate, serve as a leader, and support ELL instruction in your school.  How can that work be tied to the goal of helping ELLs meet the Common Core?  What are you already doing that relates to that goal?  Write your ideas down – it can be a stream of consciousness!  Some ideas might include teaching academic language, differentiating instruction, helping colleagues identify language objectives, or representing ELL perspectives on a school or district committee.
2. Turn your stream of consciousness into a few talking points that highlight the expertise you bring to educating ELLs. These talking points are more succinct statements designed to persuade or inform others.
3. Take your talking points and hone them into a 30-second elevator speech. This elevator speech should outline how you see your role shifting and the skills you leverage in supporting ELLs’ access to the CCSS.
4. Practice your elevator speech with a trusted colleague to get feedback on how it sounds. Rehearse it for when it may come in handy, such as during an informal conversation with an administrator or in planning instruction with a colleague.
5. Reflect upon your elevator speech and revise it as necessary.  You may wish to think about which points are likely to resonate with different audiences and tailor the speech when needed.

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your elevator speech! Try out Flipgrid, an easy-to-use online video response system, torecord your elevator speech here using your computer or tablet!  Tell everyone how you’re reframing your role in supporting ELLs as they work with the Common Core in your setting. Before getting started, you can look at the examples already posted online from ELL experts around the country (including one blogger you may recognize).

(If you’re interested in setting up your own Flipgrid question, the platform has a free trial period, and then you can subscribe for a fee.)

Note: A special thanks to AFT ELL Cadre member and ELL advocate Kristina Robertson, author of Colorín Colorado’s Bright Ideas feature, for introducing me to Flipgrid!

India: World's second largest English-speaking country

India's estimate of 350 million includes two categories — "English Speakers" and "English Users."

The distinction between the Speakers and Users is that Users only know how to read English words while Speakers know how to read English, understand spoken English as well as form their own sentences to converse in English.

Over 100 million English speakers in India

1. The total population of India is over 1.1 billion. By age demographics, 54 percent of India's population is under the age of 25 - that’s a whopping 550 million young people.

2. In India, population's  percent of English speakers varies with age — English speaker  percent is higher among younger Indians than the older Indians. In most middle class families, the parents may not be English speakers but the children are English speakers.

3. While the Indian census has not actually counted the numbers, English speakers in India are estimated to be in the range 9 percent of her total population (100 million) to 33 percent of her population (350 million speakers). The most conservative estimate is 9 percent or well over 100 million speakers.

4. Today, it can be reasonably estimated that India has over 350 million English users and about 100 million English speakers.

5. India is certainly the world's second largest English speaking country after the USA (300 million - near 100 percent of US population).

English prowess of Indians

1. Unlike the other non-native English speakers in Asian countries, many Indians in India have excellent English skills. Thanks to early start of English education for generations, many Indians have near native verbal and written English skills.

2. Over 75,000 Indian students go to US Universities every year. The USA-bound Indian university students do not have much difficulty in TOEFL or after they join a USA university.

3. The predominant role of English language in Indian society is making new generation of Indians to have near-native English skills — while the young ones are still in the elementary schools. A cursory visit to any of India's KG or nursery schools in the metro cities illustrates this fact.

Role of English in India's social fabric

1. Not every person in India can speak English. In urban areas, a higher percentage of people speak English while in the rural agrarian areas very few people speak English.

2. 54 percent of India's population is less than 25 years of age — that’s a whopping 550 million young Indians. Among young Indians, the  percent of English literacy is much higher. English skills are a must to get an entry into corporate India.

3. In India, English skills are part of the social hierarchy. Practically every person in the higher and upper middle class section of the Indian society is fluent in English. In fact, English fluency is kind of a pre-requisite for the upward mobility in the class ladder. An upwardly mobile successful Indian entrepreneur with inadequate English skills is not considered blue-blooded enough and is persona non-grata at the turf clubs or country clubs of India. A classic example is the detente between the power-flexing non-English speaking Indian politicians and the English-speaking movers and shakers from Indian bureaucracy and the industrial clans.

English usage in India

1. India, often called the land of diversity, is similar to the entire European continent. Each state of India, almost the size of a European country, has its own culture and its own language. Each Indian language is distinctly different from another. Most Indian languages have their own script — the scripts are distinctly different as well. As a matter of fact, out of total of 25 scripts invented on this planet by the mankind, 10 are from India. For an Indian person traveling to another state in India, it is like going to a foreign country — the local language is not yours.

2. De facto, English is the "common" language among most educated Indians today. When two Indians from different states meet, they invariably communicate with each other in English.

3. English is the language of all businesses, government and education.

4. The entire university education in India is in English — very similar to what you find in the USA.

5. Every computer user in India uses Microsoft Windows — English-edition. Microsoft has provided support for Indian languages only from Windows Vista released in 2006 and not even 1 percent of all computer users in India use Indian languages for computers. All emailing within India is in English.

English in media

1. In every major city of India, the cable TV has at least 25 English channels. There are many Indian English channels and others are the American/Western channels.

2. The Times of India, an English language daily newspaper in India, is officially the world's largest selling English language daily newspaper.

3. Besides the outsourcing to India of their business processes, now some Bollywood (India's Hollywood in Mumbai) enterprises are doing outsourced work for their Hollywood counterparts.

Success with Latino families and students

Latino students’ expectations for education 

It is common for Latino students to prefer a model of schooling that considers respectful

caring relationships with teachers to be the foundation for learning.

Strategies:

• Spend time talking
• Share your life experiences
• Smile, demonstrate open body language
• Welcome people, anticipate and plan for the need to build a relationship
• Inquire about students lives
• Fair is what is needed, not "the same" for all
• Work to develop trust and connection
• Send clear messages
• Demonstrate that value for the language and experience students bring

Many teachers see  Latino students/families as not sufficiently caring about school, while many

Latino students see teachers as not sufficiently caring for them.

Latino parents’ expectations for education 

The importance of a good education is universally recognized by American and Latino

parents alike.  While this  mutual desire for a good education is possessed by both Latino and

American parents, the requirements for a quality education are varied in each culture.

It is critical that as a teacher you understand that the definition of a good education, or una

buena educación, held by Latino parents is far more comprehensive than the dominant

American definition of a good education. For Latino parents, the term una buena

educación is a term used to refer to the broad education of a child rather than the solely the

schooling of a child. In fact, the term in Spanish meaning “well-educated” is synonymous

with the term ser gente decente, or “to be a good person” (Respectful, responsible etc.)

In addition to the American definition of a good education, which refers to a standard of

knowledge, critical thinking skills, and level of literacy, Latino educational expectations are far more

comprehensive. Latino parents view teachers as highly honored and expect a level of

professionalism, and maturity in supporting their child's growth, as parents often put a lot of weight

on what a teacher communicates as a highly esteemed partner in raising the child.

Strategies:

• Learn about and maximize the diversity of each family's world view
• Spend time talking
• Smile, demonstrate open body language
• Welcome people, anticipate and plan for the need to build a relationship
• Inquire about parents desires for their children
• Fair is what is needed, not "the same" for all
• Work to develop trust and connection
• Send clear messages

Contact the Bilingual Department with any support you might need, X1009.

Adapted from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill: