BACKTHE English Language Arts program recommends that teachers emphasize the following features in their daily work with students:
1. COMMUNICATION-BASED INSTRUCTION
It is instruction based on the dynamic interaction and exchange of
feelings and ideas between students and teachers. Communication based
instruction results from the use of a teaching content which is pertinent
to the student, their interests and feelings. Using the content as a base,
teachers are able to provoke real and authentic communication of ideas
in the second language. In communication based instruction, therefore,
language learning as well as personal growth and development are achieved
simultaneously. This is due to the fact that the situations presented
are authentically human and linguistically challenging and motivating to
the students.
Since the emphasis is on communication
of the students ideas and feelings in a second language, mastery of individual
structures in not focused and frequent corrections by teachers are discouraged.
Student responses regardless of their form are of primary importance to
the teacher for they serve to confirm that the message has been received
and to what extend it has been processed. They also serve to signal
areas of weakness in need of reinforcement.
The classroom is viewed as representing
a real community where interchange about significant issues and ideas occurs
in the target language. Classroom business, procedures and instruction
should be conducted in the target language since it offers learners the
opportunity to develop their receptive skills (listening and reading) before
they are asked to speak or write.
2. READING INSTRUCTION
Since the seventies reading is viewed as a process where the reader
with his background of experiences, the text, and the context interact
to produce comprehension. In this process the reader uses these three elements
to construct meaning. Though input from the story text is common to all
readers, input from personal experience and context add depth and variety
to comprehension. This partially explains why different readers can
interpret the same text differently.
It is the variety of experiences, opinions, feelings and reactions
which provides a communicative context for language learning through reading.
The reading process involves several stages:
In the prereading stage students use whatever
resources are available to predict the topic and the content of the story.
At this stage students use information from the title, pictures, and opening
and closing sentences in paragraphs to predict or form hypotheses about
the content, the comflict and the outcome of the story. The student’s
prior experience is of special importance at this stage since it serves
to motivate sudents to want to read.
In the reading stage students have the opportunity
to test their hypotheses about how the story will unfold. Teachers check
for literal, inferential, and critical comprehension as the story is discussed.
In the last stage teachers usually try to plan
with students a follow up activity in which they have the opportunity to
apply communication skills.
3. LITERATURE BASED APPROACH
Educators are currently emphasizing the value
of using literature as a basis for language and reading instruction. The
Iit-erature-based approach places emphasis on connecting the stories read
to the learner's personal background and knowledge. The rationale for this
is that student involvement, interest and motiva-tion are more readily
aroused, when the topic or theme read is in some way related to the learner's
experience or interests.
The most common way of implementing literature-based
in-struction is the whole class reading of a core book. The book may be
presented by the teacher by reading aloud all or part of it. de-pending
on the students' response. Another book may he read in installments over
a period of time. Alter the teacher's oral reading. silent reading by the
students usually follows. Between reading ses-sions, students may write
reactions to the story in literature logs. Throughout the whole process
students should be encouraged to relate the reading content and the experiences
it presents, to their own experience.
4. WHOLE LANGUAGE
Whole language focuses on using meaningfully relevant
read-ing material to make learning to communicate interesting and enjoyable.
In whole language the reader's attention is focused on, understanding the
meaning of authentic speech and events which he can relate to. Contrary
to other approaches, the Whole Language Approach does not focus on the
language, the sounds or the grammar. Rather, it emphasizes the whole of
language essentially comprehension of meaning-which is one of the primary
objectives of reading. From the very first school experience reading material
must have all the characteristics of real functional lan-guage. In the
whole Language Approach there is no need for special graded texts to teach
reading or writing because its empha-sis is on students' interest experiences
and enjoyment. These fac-tors, by and large, help sustain students' motivation
even when confronted with difficult texts.
One of the most significant qualities of the
Whole Language Approach is its capacity to build upon whatever knowledge
and experience learners bring with them in the form of previous expe-rience.
Since all learners have experiences of different kinds, all learners can
he reached and motivated through reading material which has meaning to
them. As learners read familiar meaningful texts they draw on concepts
and experiences they have already had, to understand and get new meaning.
In this process readers pre-dict, select, confirm and correct their ideas
or hypotheses about what will occur in the text. Learners check or monitor
their own reading to see whether they guessed right or need to correct
them -seIves to keep making sense out of what they are reading. In this
process learners understand that they can extract meaning from a page even
when they do not understand the meaning of every word. It is a constructive
process where the reader uses what he knows to predict or form a hypotheses
about what he does not know. Pre-dictability of the content is the real
measure of how hard a text is for a particular reader. The more predictable,
the easier.
Another important aspect of the Whole Language
Approach is that there is no set hierarchy of` skills and sub-skills and
no necessary universal sequence of skills. Emphasis is placed on creating
the need to understand and communicate. Learners focus on the communication
of meaning and teachers focus on the develop-ment of all the strategies
necessary to help students understand. Therefore, in whole language, there
is no need to chop language into bits and pieces to be practiced in isolation
from a real, inter-esting and relevant situation. Skills are taught as
the communica-tive functions or the situation require to transmit meaning.
A last highlight in the Whole Language Approach
is the important role of risk taking as a means of encouraging students
to com-municate in English. Students need to understand that they may he
wrong, but what is important, as a lifelong learning tool, is the thinking
process that leads to the formulation, correction or con-firmation of hypotheses.
Consequently, being correct is not as im-portant as having ideas and being
willing to test them. In addition, this out look has another advantage;
it increases self confidence and self esteem. As pupils take risks, they
have the opportunity to discover their potential in an environment which
gives them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
5. ORAL LANGUAGE SKILLS
With all respect to the uniquely rich language
and culture which our students bring with them on entering school, the
reality in our
economic and commercial community is that English is used to communicate
orally and in written Form. Therefore, students need to learn their native
language perfectly and develop proficiency in speaking, reading and writing
English in order to fully develop their potential in all areas.
Oral learning activities of English language
arts can be both formal and informal. for example informal class discussions
help students learn to listen attentively to what others are saying, to
evaluate and respond, and to incorporate what they hear into their own
thinking and responses. Discussion between partners or in small groups
help students learn to state opinions honestly, precisely and tactfully
to discover many points of view on issues and to negotiate to find common
ground. Informal classroom role-playing encour-ages students to think quickly
and critically about literary charac-ters, important social issues or real
problems facing people today or yesterday. More formal speeches allow students
to experience the value of preparation, through interviews or reading;
of prac-tice and timing; persuasion; effective use of delivery, eye contact,
diction, and voice control. An important side effect of al¡ these
activities is that they provide leadership and decision making mod-els
for comparable roles later in their adult lives.
MORE specifically, learners can acquire language by:
Research reports that curiosity about writing
begins way before children learn to write, Consequently, all teachers need
to develop strategies which build upon the innate desire to put on paper
feel-ings, emotions, expectations, reactions and ideas. However, per-haps
the greatest dissuader to writing for many learners has probably been teacher's
emphasis on correctness and de-emphasis on the importance of ideas and
content. In response to this, one of the most important insights from research
in the writing area is that: students in all grade levels learn to write
by writing. Therefore, effective English language arts programs integrate
writing activi-ties with listening, speaking and reading activities. They
offer stu-dents frequent practice in writing about a wide range of subjects
from their own experience, from literature, and for a variety of purposes.
Students who learn to write memorandums, to record history, to keep a diary,
or to write a review of a film discover how to manipulate language to suit
their meaning and purpose.
In their earliest encounters with writing instruction,
students need to go through several stages in the writing process. Prewriting
activities involve students in gathering ideas and materials for writ-ing,
in reflecting on experiences and reading, and in discussions before they
actually begin to write. Writing first drafts, knowing that these are just
the initial stages, encourages students to experi-ment with new words and
new ways of expressing ideas. Activities that allow students to respond
to their own and to others writing develop their capacity to revise, re-see,
clarify, and to rearrange. At the same time they increase their capacity
to explore their reader's response, and their own new insights, as they
work toward a more finished product.
In the final stage of the writing process students
should he en-couraged to do editing. Its the stage in which they learn
to attend to the conventions of language-grammar, usage, spelling, punctua-tion,
diction, syntax, and style needed to clarify for readers what may already
be clear to the writer.
Writing should he part of any curriculum that aims to he1p stu-dents
develop critical thinking skills, values and attitudes. It’s a process
which makes students think through the ideas stored in their minds and
relate these to what they are reading about. There-fore the writing process
must he viewed as a very personal act that depends on previous experience
as well as on new knowledge ac-quired through reading. This view of the
writing process requires teachers to encourage pupils to express themselves
constantly through writing. Teaching writing should not he viewed as teach-ing
grammatical rules or types of paragraphs. Writing should be viewed simply,
as a form of communication. Teachers need to re-member that writing in
a second language will only improve by reading and writing in English.
Finally, students should learn that the act of
meaningful writ-ing goes and has value beyond the grade assigned by the
teacher. They must understand that the art and skill attempted in one writ-ten
assignment have a connection to all the other written pieces produced subsequently.
Each writing assignment is important in the process of developing effective
writing ability.
7. EARLY SPELLING
Spelling is not Considered an obstacle to writing for learners are encouraged to write down their ideas using invented spellings, pictures, or the Spanish word when Unable to write the English word. Young children who use, these strategies will then read their story to the teacher or another student. Older pupils are also en-couraged to spell phonetically or in any other way they can, on the first draft of the composition. The importance of this approach is that the Iearner is developing confidence in his ability to think and put his ideas into writing for someone else to read. Learning the alphabet, learning correct spelling, punctuation and organization can come later, gradually, but only if the learner feels he has the capacity and interest in Iearning. An emphasis on expressing ideas and opinions and a de-emphasis on correctness empowers learn-ers to express their minds freely and to develop their innate Potential.
8. THE TEACHING CONTENT
The content of the English language arts curriculum
should be challenging by employing teaching strategies which provoke stu-dents'
curiosity questions and comments. This implies that teach-ing content should
be related in some way to the students' experience, by being related to
the reality of their fives. Therefore, when selecting the content, emphasis
should be placed on interest and meaning rather then on a precise readability
level.
Speaking and listening activities must seek to
involve students actively as they narrate, describe and react, and interactively
as they communicate their understanding and insights to others. There-fore
content-based instruction is based on a theme of which stu-dents have some
knowledge, and above all, interest and motivation in pursuing.
Teaching material will contain a balance of fiction
and nonfic-tion selections that engage students in:
9. TEACHER QUAUFICATIONS
The teacher’s role is to serve as a model, guide
and motivator if experimentation and risk are to take place in language
learning. The teacher’s ability to detect students interest and select
teaching content that exploits and builds upon these interests is perhaps
one of the most crucial decisions a teacher will be making. In cases
where the teaching content selected does not fit students interest there
is wisdom in not pursuing it if it does not motivate students to respond.
Corrections are important only when errors interfere with the students
getting their point across clearly. Otherwise, errors should be overlooked.
However, the desire to help students improve, grow and learn through experimentation
and revision must be built into the teacher’s philosophy, methodology and
every day assessment activities. Teacher flexibility, humor warmth,
accessibility to students and most of all the teacher’s interest in student
learning and development are very important teacher attributes to
achieve the department’s mission and goals with each student. It
is also important that teachers go across the message that learning English
will not detract from the learner’s ethnicity. On the contrary, learning
a second or third language tend to increase students admiration and respect
for their first language and culture.
Teachers and students have different responsibilities
in the teaching and learning processes. The teacher motivates, arranges
the environment, monitors development, provides appropriate material and
invites learners to participate in and plan learning and assessment experiences.
Ultimately, however, it is the learner who must desire to learn. It is
the learner’s responsibility to use the environment created by the teacher,
to build knowledge, to develop and use strategies, to inquire, to practice
and to seek ways of retaining new insights in memory.
10. VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
The ability to communicate orally or in written form depends largely on the individual’s ability to use the word or words which best express the idea in mind. This makes vocabulary development a priority in the English language arts program since it is communication based. To achieve vocabulary development in all grades emphasis should be placed on:
Each of the language arts should be developed within a context that learners understand, find interesting and can relate to. Beginning with familiar and known experiences readies the student to add new knowledge, because the associations established with the previously known help make new knowledge comprehensible. Therefore, the English language arts program emphasizes:
Most class time should he spent in an authentic exchange of ideas in the target language. Therefore, classroom business and procedures should be conducted in the second language. In this way students realize that the classroom is representative of a real community where interchanges about important issues and ideas occur in the target language. Mistakes are a legitimate outcome of experimentation and are a natural part of language acquisition. Therefore, constant corrections on the teacher's part are not encouraged. Emphasis should he placed on communication of ideas and on encouraging students to use the language. This is accomplished most effectively in a non-threatening, supportive environment which does not emphasize correction.
13. STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
The greatest challenge of teaching lies in reaching each individual in a class where needs, personalities, interests, talents and backgrounds are diverse. Meeting the needs of the academically disadvantaged, the gifted and the special education student require content modifications as well as special teaching strategies. Most importantly, it requires careful planning, teacher sensitivity to detect students interests and adequate assessment of the resuits of instruction. This guide will consider the special needs of the academically disadvantaged and the gifted. However, since there is a separate curriculum for special education, teaching strategies for this group will not be considered in this guide.
Academically Disadvantaged Student
Students who struggle to learn to speak, read
and write, but do not succeed need additional help to learn. These student
do not enjoy learning because they generally suffer from fear, frustration
and embarrassment. They need support and encouragement from their
teachers and their peers.
Teachers can help by developing student's self
esteem and confidence through readings, and discussions. As teachers work
with students, emphasis must be given to the fact that all students have
the capacity to learn and every person should, develop their potential
to the maximum. Students also need to understand that the development of
one's capacities and potential is a lifelong project which requires effort
and dedication on our part.
Teachers and peers can help establish a positive
climate for learning by (1) involving academically disadvantaged students
in activities; (2) showing respect for different language and dialects;
(3) appreciating different ideas and opinions; (4) using strategies such
as peer teaching, small group discussions, and committee work. These strategies
give the academically disadvantaged learner the
opportunity to discover their potential for learning in an environment
which free them of the pressures and tensions of trying to Iearn in the
larger group.
Students who are low achievers or underachievers
generally need more direct coaching and modeling about such skills as how
to think trough a problem before beginning to write, bow to apply familiar
strategies to new tasks, how to differentiate a main idea from a detail,
and how to see new ideas in a realistic context. Therefore, a teacher who
can provide a model for how to find a main idea helps students work through
details until a main idea emerges. Providing background information and
asking questions related to their own experiences also make a text easier
and more pertinent to students lives. Likewise, critical reading can develop
more easily when learn-er are asked to separate the important from the
trivial in a reading.
Gifted Students
Gifted students who are ready for more challenging
work re-quire special attention to fully develop their talents. Their active
minds need constant stimulation to avoid disinterest and boredom. Therefore,
adaptations of content and teaching strategies must he offered in working
with all the language arts.
Teachers need to remember, that though gifted
students may be highly verbal and naturally excited about ideas, they may
require discipline and focus in discussions and in writing. Therefore,
frequent, small-group discussions and writing assignments that call
for persuasion, comparison and contrasts and critiques, among many others,
may force them to refine their thinking. Peer response
groups' critiques, among many others, may help them to refine their
thinking. Peer response groups also enable gifted students to sharpen their
language and human relations skills. Through peer
interaction, gifted students learn to listen tolerantly to others
and to stretch their thinking beyond ego-centered opinions. They also benefit
From individually assigned projects which require them to
present their findings to a group or a class as creatively as possible.
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