Making Content Instruction Accessible for English Language Learners

Abstract

The everyday demands of classroom instruction increase in complexity from year to year—with respect to curricular demands, accountability, and the diversity of the student population. New state frameworks and instructional trends require grade-level curricular standards to continually change. The demands of accountability vis-a-vis state standards and student performance on standardized tests influence district policies regarding instructional practices and how to best address the needs of the burgeoning numbers of English language learners. In addition, the linguistic diversity of English language learners has important implications for the design of programs intended to address the range of levels of English language learners’ oral fluency, literacy skills, and cognitive growth. A variety of materials can be used to engage learners in English language content instruction; however, if these students are to attain grade-level standards in English language subject matter instruction, they must master communicative and cognitive skills as well as master strategies for reading and learning from expository text, the staple of content instruction and the dominant type of text included in materials employed to teach content. This formidable mix of demands requires an answer to these two questions: (1) How can teachers effectively manage the complexity of skill, content, and English language development instruction and also make this instruction accessible to English language learners? (2) What are the implications for determining appropriate instructional materials? This chapter will present ideas and strategies to help teachers optimize the education of English language learners in subject matter instruction. The