Galina Doty

Dr. Z

ENG 487

February 17, 2016

Homework Assignment #1

Part 1

The Foundational Literacy Skills for English learners introduces how difficult it

can be for students who are coming into school learning English as a second language.

One of the difficulties that students face is that they are going into the classroom with

having to learn not only how to oral speak English but how to read and write as well.

Every student differs in their knowledge of their first language. Some students are able

to speak fluently in their first language but cannot read and write in it. While other

students can speak fluently and can read and/or write in their language. Each different

situation that a student is in has its own advantages and disadvantages when coming

into the classroom and learning English. To truly succeed in learning and reading

English a student must be able to, develop proficiency in listening and speaking skills in

English depth and breadth of vocabulary, as well as grammatical structuresat the

same time that they are developing foundational skills in reading and writing English.

Some students have a greater advantage already knowing how to read and write when

their native language alphabet is similar to English. However it may be harder when

their native language is vastly different since they would have to try and set aside what

they know in order to gain a new set of skills. It explains how there are different

situations that a student may be in. Each lesson should be accommodated to every
students different academic level of English and their native language and how closely

their language is similar or not similar to English.

Part 1 con.

Alignment charts are introduced and although they do not give every

characteristic that a students may have in a situation they, outline general guidance on

providing instruction to ELs on foundational literacy skills aligned to the RF Standards.

The given alignment chart on 4th grade first give the different standards that should be

applied to the different situations an English learner can be in. For example a student

that has a low or non existent level of spoken English will have to practice English

sounds out loud and the components that make up a word such as its vowel,

consonants and phonemes. A student that has a high level of oral English will need to

learn how to apply their knowledge of vocal English into their grammar and literacy. This

will require to review the same skills used by an English learner who does not have a

high level of oral English. Moving on to print skills, a student that cannot read or write in

their own native language will need to be freshly taught the basics on writing and then

reading. A student that does have the ability to read and write in their own language, but

their language does not use the Latin alphabet already has an idea of print, however will

have to be taught on an almost clean slate learning the English alphabet. A student that

is able to read and write in a language that has a Latin alphabet similar to English need

to have guidance applying the literacy that they already know to learning English

literacy, and find the difference and similarities between the two languages. For both

students that have developed print skills, whether it be in a Latin language or not, are
guided to develop, Print Concepts, Phonics and Word Recognition, and Fluency in

reading.

Part 2

In Appendix B the use of the California English Language Development Standards are

introduced and compared very closely to the Common Core standards. In the text they give 8

things that the ELD standards will help students achieve. The first thing is that the standards will

help students not only read text but be able to go more in depth and allow them to develop their

CALP skills along with their BICS skills. In the text it explains through lessons students are

going to gain a TextLevel Understanding. In the document it explains how these standards will

help Els develop an understanding to how text types are formatted and structured. With this

knowledge they are able to understand the text better and can deeply analyze it and create their

own writings. The second thing noted is that students will be able to learn the complexity of a

language and the social dynamics it possesses for making meaning. An example of this is

through Nominalization. According to the document, One of the prominent features of academic

texts is that they are densely packed with meaning. Nominalization is one linguistic resource

that helps to achieve this density, as well as to make texts more cohesive. Through

Nominalization can help students make connections and meanings of words making it easier to

develop proficient academic English. The third thing a student will develop is the restrictions and

formality of the language depending on where they are and who they are talking to. For earlier

in the document it explains in Table 2 the Differences between Everyday and Academic

Registers. It displays two different types of sentences. On one side it has everyday English

sentence and on the other it has academic English sentences. It breaks both of the sentences

down and compares the vocabulary, grammar and the formality between them. The fourth thing

they will learn is that there is not one form of English. It varies depending on where they are and

who they're talking to. The document explains that academic English is different from informal
English and also English vocabulary has a variety and differs depending on the area that they

are in. Through these standards students will be able to identify these variations. The fifth thing

that they will learn is the ability to reference back to their own language and culture and use it to

their advantage when applying their knowledge to learning English. The sixth thing that they will

attain from these standards is the ability to participate in class by asking questions and giving

educated responses and feedback. When a student is able to ask questions they broad their

mind and their understanding of the topic and allow for new information to be absorbed.

Students can also succeed and benefit more by being able to participate and give their opinions

on a subject. The seventh thing they will gain is the ability to show their knowledge of the

content orally through talking to people and presentations. They will also show that they what

they know through writing as well. The eighth and last benefit mentioned is the ability to

proficiency shift registers based on context. In the text examples are given of these shifts. For

example a student would have to analyze informational texts and narrative texts and recognize

the differences between them with no struggle. The text explains that many components are

required to achieve this shifting. A student must comprehend vocabulary and grammatical

structures and when to use them to be able to develop a greater understanding of the subject

matter and topic. They also must know how to organize the information given to them and be

able to decide how to communicate it to the audience. Through these standards, Els will be able

to gain these skills and strive to get to the highest level of Academic English literacy.