Best Practices & Research

The following chart demonstrates what best practice would look like in a classroom and school.

Best Practices for English Language Learning
Best Practices
Not Best Practice
  • High expectations
  • Academically challenging curriculum
  • Looking at data to drive instruction, placement and student achievement.
  • Academic content instruction in English at each grade level is consistent across the district
  • Using first language strategically to develop complex thinking skills
  • Having different and/or lower expectations for ELL students

 

 

  • Strong parent involvement
  • Strong communication between educational services personnel and building administrators
  • Strong communication between general education teachers and ELL teachers
  • Strong on-going professional development for all staff
  • Isolating the ELL community – parents, students, and teachers from the mainstream
  • Interacting Teaching
  • Cooperative Grouping
  • Collaborative Learning
  • Quality materials
  • Co-teaching
  • Ongoing Assessment
  • Differentiated Instruction
  • Explicit Instruction
  • Connecting Prior Knowledge
  • Teaching and Assessing the Illinois Learning Standards in conjunction with the English Language Proficiency Standards
  • “One size fits all” instruction

Research Foundation

  The U-46 English Language Learning Program is built on research.  This research has been used in the development of the ELL Programs.

  1. School success depends on student's developing cognitive, academic, and language proficiency. (Collier, V. 1995)

  2. Much of the research that exists suggests that ELLs learn in much the same way as native English speakers. (Goldenberg)
     
  3. Many studies have found that cognitive development and academic development in the first language have an extremely important and positive effect on second-language schooling (e.g., Bialystaok & Hakuta, 1994; Collier & Thomas, 1989, 1995; Garcia, 1994).
     
  4. Bilingual education must be as flexible as possible, with the overall aim being the achievement of the best social and cognitive fit possible between each bilingual student and her or his daily learning environment. (Haritos, C & Nelson, K. 2001)
     
  5. The best way to help students learn both English and school subjects is to teach language through content that is organized thematically. (Freeman and Freeman, 1998)
     
  6. The time it takes to develop English language proficiency may vary from student to student but the right to access cannot be denied or delayed until proficiency is achieved. (Spangenberg-Urbschat & Pritchard, 1994)

  7. When schools are sensitive and responsive to students' cultural diversity, their language opportunities are improved. (Ladson-Billings, 1994; and Au & Kawakami, 1994)