Bridging the Gap: Understanding Student and Teacher Perspectives on English Language Learning

In the dynamic landscape of modern education, fostering effective communication and comprehension is paramount. This is particularly true for English learners (ELs) who navigate the complexities of academic content while simultaneously developing their English language proficiency. This article delves into the crucial role of language objectives in content-area instruction, exploring how teachers can create and implement them to support ELs. Furthermore, it examines how student feedback, gathered through surveys, can illuminate their learning needs and inform pedagogical approaches, ultimately leading to improved academic outcomes.

The Challenge of Teaching Content to English Learners

Many educators, like Mrs. Shell, an experienced eighth-grade math teacher, possess deep content area knowledge and a strong desire to connect mathematical concepts to their students' lives. However, this year, Mrs. Shell found herself facing a new challenge: a more diverse student population, including a significant number of English learners. Despite her best efforts, she felt a growing frustration at her perceived inability to reach all her students due to their varied linguistic needs. This common scenario highlights a critical issue in education: while general education and ESL/bilingual teachers are vital in supporting ELs, the majority of instruction for these students comes from content area teachers who may not have extensive experience in explicit academic language development.

Academic English, defined as "the language of schooling and the language that helps students acquire and use the content area knowledge taught in schools" (Anstrom, DiCerbo, Butler, Katz, Millet, & Rivera, 2010), is crucial for school success. Research indicates that English learners best acquire English when language forms are explicitly taught and when they have ample opportunities to use the language in meaningful contexts (Goldenberg, 2008). The challenge, therefore, lies in equipping general education teachers with the tools and strategies to support the academic English development of language learners in both face-to-face and virtual environments, especially within diverse classrooms.

The Solution: Implementing Language Objectives

A powerful and immediate strategy for teachers of English learners is the creation and posting of language objectives for their lessons. While teachers are generally familiar with content objectives-which outline what students will learn and be able to do in terms of content-they are often less inclined to include language objectives that specifically support students' linguistic development.

Implementing language objectives is a crucial first step in ensuring that English learners have equitable access to the curriculum, even if they are not yet fully proficient in the language. This practice is rooted in the understanding that the second language acquisition process necessitates opportunities for learners to be exposed to, practice, and be assessed on their language skills (Echevarria, Short, & Vogt, 2008).

Language objectives articulate for learners the specific academic language functions and skills they need to master to fully participate in the lesson and meet grade-level content standards (Echevarria, Short, & Vogt, 2008). Importantly, these objectives benefit not only language learners but all students in a class, as the clarity derived from a teacher outlining the requisite academic language for learning and mastery enhances comprehension for everyone.

What is a Language Objective?

Language objectives are lesson objectives that explicitly outline the type of language students will need to learn and use to achieve the lesson's goals. These quality objectives complement content knowledge and skills identified in content area standards and address the aspects of academic language that will be developed or reinforced during the teaching of grade-level content concepts (Echevarria & Short, 2010).

Beyond simply focusing on the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing), language objectives can encompass:

Language functions related to the lesson's topic (e.g., justify, hypothesize).
Vocabulary essential for students to fully participate (e.g., axis, locate, graph).
Language learning strategies to aid comprehension (e.g., questioning, making predictions).

Examples of Language Objectives Across Grade Levels and Subjects

To illustrate the practical application of language objectives, consider the following examples, which are derived from various state standards and the Common Core State Standards:

3rd Grade Science: States of Matter

Content Area Standard: Students know that matter has three forms: solid, liquid, and gas.
Content Objective: Students will be able to distinguish between liquids, solids, and gases and provide an example of each.
Language Objective: Students will be able to orally describe characteristics of liquids, solids, and gases to a partner.

4th Grade Math: Two-Dimensional Figures

Content Area Standard: Draw and identify lines and angles, and classify shapes by properties of their lines and angles.
Content Objective: Students will be able to classify triangles based on their angles.
Language Objective: Students will be able to read descriptions of triangles and their angles.

7th Grade Social Studies: Colonial Communities

Content Area Standard: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live.
Content Objective: Students will be able to show how geographic features have affected colonial life by creating a map.
Language Objective: Students will be able to summarize in writing how geography impacted colonial life.

9th Grade English Language Arts: Informative/Explanatory Texts

Content Area Standard: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
Content Objective: Students will be able to draft a conclusion paragraph for their expository essay.
Language Objective: Students will be able to use transitional phrases (e.g., as a result) in writing.

Creating Effective Language Objectives: A Step-by-Step Approach

Developing effective language objectives requires careful consideration of several factors. The process begins with identifying the lesson's topic from the appropriate content standards. Subsequently, teachers must consider the academic language necessary for English learners to successfully complete the tasks that support the content objectives. This identification of embedded academic language forms the foundation for the lesson's language objectives.

The following guidelines can assist teachers in creating appropriate language objectives:

Identify Key Vocabulary and Concept Words: Determine the crucial vocabulary, concept words, and other academic words students will need to understand and use to discuss the lesson's topic. This may include technical terms (e.g., ecosystem) or words with multiple meanings across disciplines (e.g., distribution). It's also important to highlight terms that language learners might know in one context but have a different academic application (e.g., "family" in science versus everyday use).
Consider Language Functions: Analyze the language functions relevant to the lesson's topic. Will students be expected to describe, explain, compare, or chart information? Consulting state English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards can provide examples of these functions across different content areas and proficiency levels.
Assess Necessary Language Skills: Evaluate the language skills students need to complete the lesson's activities. For instance, if students are reading a textbook passage to identify stages of mitosis, are they equipped with the reading skills to find specific information? If they are reporting observations from a scientific demonstration, do they possess the oral reporting skills? Acquiring these specific skills can be the focus of a language objective.
Identify Grammar and Language Structures: Recognize common grammatical structures and language patterns prevalent in the content area. Science textbooks, for example, often use the passive voice. Students may also need to employ comparative language to analyze concepts. Focusing on using the passive voice or comparative phrases could form a language objective.

Read also: Optimizing Online Learning
Examine Task-Embedded Language: Consider the language embedded within the tasks students will complete. If students are engaged in a collaborative scientific investigation, they might need to explain the procedural steps to one another. A language objective could then focus on the skill of explaining procedures aloud.
Explore Language Learning Strategies: Identify language learning strategies that align with the lesson's topic. If students are beginning a new textbook chapter, previewing the text might be an appropriate strategy to focus on in a language objective.

Aligning Language Objectives with Standards

Effective language objectives are inextricably linked to both content area standards and English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards. While content standards dictate the lesson's topic and the actions students should take (e.g., solving problems, creating models), ELP standards guide the identification of language skills and functions necessary for developing academic language fluency. These ELP standards can help pinpoint:

Communicative tasks (e.g., retelling, asking for clarification).
Language structures (e.g., sequential language, past-conditional tense).
Types of texts students need to comprehend (e.g., informational text versus literature).

In addition to ELP standards, a state's English Language Arts (ELA) standards or the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History, Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (CCSS) offer valuable resources. The ELA and Literacy CCSS are particularly beneficial for teachers of English learners due to their emphasis on literacy across all content areas. For states that are members of the WIDA consortium, consulting the Model Proficiency Indicators (MPIs) within their ELP standards is also highly recommended. MPIs describe what an English learner at a specific proficiency level can achieve in a language domain, considering language functions within a given topic and appropriate scaffolds. Classroom texts and other instructional materials also serve as excellent sources for identifying relevant language demands.

Getting Started with Language Objectives: Careful Planning and Collaboration

Successful implementation of language objectives hinges on careful lesson planning. It is crucial that the tasks assigned to learners directly support the established objectives. Well-written objectives promoting language acquisition are ineffective if the lesson lacks corresponding activities. For example, if a middle school social studies lesson has a language objective focused on orally retelling key historical event characteristics using sequential language, the teacher must first explicitly teach sequential language, perhaps by providing sentence frames, and then incorporate structured pair work to allow students practice.

Collaboration between content area teachers and ESL/bilingual specialists is also highly beneficial. This partnership allows each professional to leverage their expertise, leading to more integrated content and language instruction for ELs. Such collaboration can help content area teachers understand the second language acquisition process of their students and assist ESL/bilingual teachers in becoming more familiar with the grade-level content expectations encountered by their ELs.

Leveraging Student Voice: The Power of Surveys

While language objectives provide a structured approach to supporting ELs, understanding their specific needs and perspectives is equally vital. A student survey offers a direct avenue for students to voice their concerns, needs, and desires, providing invaluable feedback on how teachers can adapt their instruction for improved performance.

Christopher Pagan, a physics teacher at Trinidad Garza Early College High School, observed that his students were not meeting their potential. Recognizing a need to enhance their classroom performance, he decided to ask his students directly. Knowing that his students struggled with content comprehension, Pagan sought to understand what would make them more successful, how they learned best, and what in-class activities would be most beneficial. He also incorporated questions related to common issues like late homework submissions and not retaking underperformed tests. The survey, designed to take only five to ten minutes, proved to be a transformative tool. "He got the information back, changed how he taught, and changed how he tutored," notes Dr. Janice Lombardi, Trinidad Garza's principal. "It changed and informed his instruction. As a result, last year, his students' physics scores phenomenally increased. We decided this might be one of our best practices.”

Implementing Student Surveys: A Schoolwide Approach

Adopting student surveys as a pedagogical tool involves a structured, phased approach:

Step 1: Build a Small Group of Advocates: Start with a core group of enthusiastic teachers willing to pilot student surveys. Tracking their data and impact over a year demonstrates the effectiveness of this practice and builds a base of advocates. Principal Lombardi's sharing of Pagan's success at Trinidad Garza was instrumental in gaining broader teacher buy-in.

Step 2: Gain Schoolwide Teacher Buy-In: Introduce student surveys gradually to the faculty. Lombardi familiarized her staff through multiple meetings and a trial run. She also conducted mandatory presentations during staff development, making subsequent meetings optional. Previewing survey questions with teachers is crucial to address concerns about receiving feedback from students. Teachers like Cynthia Hess initially worried about "putting my professional hands in the opinions of a 17-year-old." However, understanding the purpose behind each question-to inform instruction rather than serve as an outlet for student frustration-alleviated these concerns. Sharing research, benefits, and examples of successful implementation, along with reinforcing the purpose and process, helps build teacher confidence and encourages risk-taking.

Step 3: Create Your Schoolwide Survey: Teachers can adapt existing surveys or create their own, focusing on their instructional practices. Pagan emphasizes that the survey should elicit feedback on "what changes I can make and what practices I can implement to help them perform better in class. It has nothing to do with content." Keeping the survey simple, focusing on specific problem areas (like homework or quizzes), and including open-ended questions to uncover unforeseen issues are effective strategies. Pagan's survey included questions such as, "What can I do to help you?" and "Do you turn your homework assignments in on time? And if so, or if not, why?"

Step 4: Foster Student Comfort and Honesty: Students may initially be apprehensive about providing feedback. It is essential to emphasize that their names are not required on the surveys to ensure anonymity. School counselors can administer surveys, allowing teachers to leave the classroom. Administering surveys twice a year, about six to eight weeks into each semester, gives students time to experience the classroom dynamics before providing feedback. Counselors should stress the importance of honest responses and the power of their voice, reinforcing that their feedback leads to tangible changes.

Step 5: Review Survey Results Collaboratively: Survey feedback should be shared with teachers in a non-evaluative, one-on-one session, typically led by a principal or assistant principal. This review involves analyzing both quantitative data from close-ended questions and qualitative feedback from open-ended responses. This approach highlights teacher strengths and areas for growth in a supportive atmosphere, encouraging professional development and risk-taking. Outliers and surveys from disgruntled students should be carefully filtered out, and common themes should be identified.

Step 6: Take Action on Survey Feedback: Acting on student feedback is critical. Pagan learned from his survey that students struggled with homework when they got stuck on problems, leading to incomplete submissions. He addressed this by starting each class with a review of selected homework questions. He also identified that some students needed more support with quizzes, prompting him to implement pre-quiz reviews at the start of quiz days.

The Impact of Student Surveys on Learning and Agency

Student surveys empower students to reflect, become more self-aware, and develop agency and ownership over their learning. As Pagan states, "By giving my students surveys, they realize that I care about how they're doing." This realization can lead to significant behavioral changes, such as improved homework submission rates and increased engagement. Ultimately, student surveys facilitate a dialogue between students and teachers, fostering a collaborative environment where educators are informed by student experiences and can provide targeted support to help all learners achieve their goals.

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