Differentiated instruction and assessment

Limited research has been accomplished within the past few years regarding issues and concerns of assessment for English Language Learners (ELL) with Learning Disabilities (LD). The increasing number of this unique population throughout schools has raised many concerns for professionals in education. English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities is a major topic that brings many issues and concerns of assessment for this particular population. How and by whom the students are being assessed is an immense concentration in the concerns of the topic. Assessment reliability and test fairness implies the issues educators have. Teacher readiness and student instructional history are two fundamental matters impacting special education outcomes of English Language Learners with LD.

This chapter discusses why testing policies and practices cannot produce valid measures of student achievement if English language learners (ELLs) are not properly characterized. It also discusses what an ELL is from the perspective of bilingualism as both an individual and a population—a distinction not clearly reflected in current approaches to ELL testing. The chapter examines how, in order to ensure valid and fair testing for ELLs, appropriate samples of these students should be included in the entire process of test development. It also examines a common practice in ELL testing—adapting tests originally developed for a mainstream population. The chapter shows that the validity of measures of ELL academic achievement is linked to the capacity of assessment systems to address randomness and develop testing models consistent with basic principles about language and the nature of linguistic groups. It concludes with a short summary and a reflection on the future use of critical, probabilistic, systemic perspective in large-scale testing for ELLs.

Standards have long been touted as an engine for educational reform. Few standards initiatives, however, have addressed the needs of English language learners (ELLs). To address this lack, TESOL has developed standards documents to define targets for learning and to support teachers in improving classroom instruction and assessment for ELLs. Referenced to grade‐level content standards, these standards define the academic language ELLs must learn to participate effectively in the school curriculum. The standards can also help teachers set expectations for performance and differentiate instruction for ELLs at varying levels of language proficiency.

This book is for secondary subject matter teachers and administrators who work with English language learners (ELLs) in subject matter classes. It is also for college professors who prepare pre-service teachers to work with those students. The book brings together insights from linguistic, socio-cultural, educational, cognitive, developmental perspectives of what it means for ELLs to learn both English and subject matter knowledge in English as a second language. It delineates unique challenges that ELLs experience, offers ELLs’ learning stories, and suggests concrete strategies with classroom teaching examples across academic disciplines.The 2nd edition broadens the scope of the 1st edition in several aspects. Specifically, it includes two chapters about secondary ELLs’ previous educational experiences in their home countries, a chapter on subject matter lesson planning with ELLs in mind with teacher collaborative strategies, and more principle-based and field-tested effective instructional and assessment strategies for working with ELLs.

As a personal research note, this paper presents the summary and review of the course material "Assessment of English Language Learners" from the author's participation in the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) program offered by the U.S. Department of State as the Online Professional English Network (OPEN). This article is suitable for practical tests for ESL/EFL teachers in classes where students learn English as a second language. It aims to fill the lack of literature on assessing English Language Learners, especially regarding meaningful and purposeful assessment studies in L2 language classes. This paper serves the information as a contribution to 1) determine a meaningful assessment; 2) collect and use data to use the right assessment; 3) select the types of alternative assessment; 4) foster students' motivation and engagement through assessment; and 5) making assessment fun. This paper's contributions will supplement teachers in determining the most appropriate assessment in line with their students' needs. In addition, assessment should act as an evaluation tool and be turned into something fun in the classroom so that students can get many benefits at once, namely learning experiences and learning outcomes. This article is recommended for practical assessments for EFL teachers in English second language learning classes.

The emphasis in classroom-based assessment on assessment for learning means that the classroom teacher now bears greater responsibility for assessment (Malone, 2008). The success of any assessment process depends on the skill the teacher brings to classroom assessment and their ability to make decisions which are appropriate for their specific learners in their particular contexts (Hill, 2017). This paper focuses on three teachers who conducted an inquiry into an aspect of assessment practice in their teaching context. These inquiries are examined through two theoretical frameworks. The first uses Hill’s (2017) Teacher assessment literacy framework to illustrate how teachers’ reflections on the three dimensions of oning of assessment practices. The second uses the Assessment Use Argument which outlines the steps which need to be taken to justify or challenge the use of a given assessment. The paper documents the problems that these three teachers identified at different stages of this argument sequence. Through conducting these inquiries the teachers realized that specific assessments used in the mainstream classroom were not valid when used with English language learners (ELLs). They drew conclusions and proposed adaptations, thus demonstrating that teachers can make appropriate assessment decisions to ensure fairer outcomes for these learners in their local contexts.

The assessment for accurate identification and appropriate instruction of English language learners (ELLs) with learning-related disabilities has remained a chronic source of concern. One source of concern that has gone relatively unchallenged is the use of general outcomes measurement (GOMs). The authors examine the problems and challenges of using outcome measures within the response to intervention (RTI) model in the identification and assessment of ELLs who struggle in schools and are suspected of having learning disabilities. They argue here that, despite its importance as a viable form of assessment, GOMs and, concomitantly, RTI may exhibit risks for these learners. In particular, the unique characteristics of ELLs with and without disabilities are often inadequately addressed in current research and practice. The authors review recent educational research on GOMs with respect to ELLs and present current trends in this body of work, along with discussing suggestions and recommendations.

Gamification in English language learning comprises of game mechanics which involve points, badges, leader boards and rewards. It is one of the approaches that has been used by the educators to change the pace of lesson in learning English. This approach has been used in the class because of the benefits that it can offer in English language learning. This paper focuses on the use of gamification in English language teaching (ELT) and learning by looking at the advantages it has brought to language skills. Gamification can be used in the teaching of the different skills in English and in terms of its benefits to English language learning, gamification makes learning more effective by making grammar learning more pleasurable, vocabulary memorisation more successful, communication and cooperation easier to be practiced and others. It is hoped that this paper will add to the literature on the applications of gamification in ELT and lead to the betterment of ELT in second language setting particularly in Malaysia.

Qatar is a Gulf state undergoing a sweeping educational reform where educational development is linked to ICT and the English language. ICT is promoted to upskill the future generation or the “digital natives”. English is seen as a key to a myriad of doors and a passport to a world class education. In all public schools, English is a compulsory subject taught from grade one where learners are exposed to English for more than 500 teaching hours every year. It is also the medium of instruction for maths and science. The purpose of my year-long study was to investigate the effectiveness of ICT in supporting the learning and teaching of English language in the Qatari context. It was guided by the critical paradigm and employed action research as the investigative methodology. The initial data collection process was carried out through a survey instrument. More than 200 students answered questions about their attitudes, perceived values, current uses and issues with ICT. The findings of the study have identified a number of challenges. One of which is the minimal support that ICT is providing to the teaching of the listening skill. An intervention programme was later designed in a form of a webquest lesson based on CLIL (content and language integrated learning) and informed by the survey findings, student’ voices and previous research in the field. After that, the intervention programme was trialed with two classes (n=50) and evaluated by qualitative (classroom observations) and quantitative instruments (questionnaires). Evidence from the evaluation data showed that ICT has the potential to support the teaching and learning of English language through its positive impact on autonomy and motivation. The results also revealed that teachers have limited knowledge of the potential of ICT and they could play an indirect role in impeding its use. This study has shown how action research, as a self-reflective inquiry, could broaden our understanding of the role of ICT in language classes. The study concluded that ICT-supported teaching of English in Qatar should be accompanied by a positive ICT culture, reflective research, proper staff training, teacher networking and supportive educational leadership.

Linguistics as the scientific study of language has very crucial role in running language instruction. Changes in language teaching-learning method reflect the development of linguistic theories. This paper describes how the three broad views of linguistic theories, namely traditional grammar, generative grammar, and functional grammar work in relation to English language teaching and learning. Since both linguistics and language learning have the same subject to talk about, the knowledge of the language, then, is the core. Linguistic features analyzed are on the levels of Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics and Discourse as the basic components, supported by Psycholinguistics and Sociolinguistics. In relation to language teaching and learning, especially English, such knowledge on the English language gives learners the chance to apply in social communication and in any occasion. The use depends on the viewing of linguistic theories (English) in certain era, which reflects the need of learners in using English. It is assumed that the more linguistic competence someone has, the easier he/she can run his/her instructional activities. As the consequence, in the English language learning, the syllabus designer should notify the mentioned levels of linguistic components while constructing English instructional materials, methods, and evaluation based on the stage of learners to avoid misunderstanding in use. In this case, English instructors/teachers should also update their linguistic competence, especially on Psycholinguistic and Sociolinguistic points of view. Key words/phrases: linguistics, English, language instruction, linguistic competence

This chapter addresses equity and the need for research on formative assessment in the multilingual classroom. Since formative assessment has been investigated primarily with mainstream students, the extent to which findings can be generalized to culturally and linguistically diverse populations is uncertain. We focus on English language learners (ELLs)—students who are developing English as a second language while they are still developing their first language in a predominantly English-speaking school system. We present a conceptual framework on formative assessment in the multilingual classroom. According to the framework, social interaction through language underlies the four activities that compose a formative assessment event—clarifying learning goals/expectations, collecting information, analyzing and the information collected and acting upon the information collected. In order for ELLs to benefit from formative assessment in the same way as their non-ELL counterparts do, their teachers need to address, for each of these four activities, four language and engagement dimensions: participation, cognitive demands, academic language and semiotic modalities. A 4 × 4 matrix, defined by the four formative assessment activities and the four language and engagement dimensions, specifies the domain of formative assessment skills in the multilingual classroom. Based on this domain specification, we are able to evaluate the extent to which teachers’ formative assessment practices address the needs of their ELL students.

Psychometric Issues in the Assessment of English Language Learners

Differentiated instruction and assessment (DIA) is a method that recognizes and addresses the diverse abilities of English language learners (ELLs) within the ESL (English as a second language) classroom at the tertiary level. It includes tailoring instruction to meet the individual learning abilities, styles, language proficiency levels, and cultural backgrounds of each student. It is a flexible and responsive teaching approach that prioritizes the individual growth and needs of each English language learner. It acknowledges that students enter the classroom with varying levels of language proficiency and background knowledge, and it aims to establish a conducive academic setting where all learners can thrive. DIA method motivates the student to set his/her goals in acquiring skills in English language. In this regard, the teacher has to provide authentic materials and conduct organized assessments to manage both slow and fast learners in an ESL classroom. In this regard, the study examines how well students do after using the DIA method to teach English and provides evidence that the approach is both practical and effective in fostering critical thinking abilities and communicative competencies among the undergraduate students studying at the engineering colleges.

The continuous claim about the unsatisfactory performance of Malaysian graduates during interviews and at workplace in relation to their communication skills in English is alarming. This raises questions about the extent to which future workforce is prepared for this globalised world which requires them to interact and collaborate with individuals not only from their own country but also from other countries. At higher learning institutions, many English language educators face challenges in creating language learning environment that supports intercultural communication. In preparing future workforce for international communication, English language teaching and learning needs to go beyond the four walls of a classroom, over to other regions. An alternative to provide such language learning environment is by designing e-collaborative learning that provides opportunities for language learners to learn the language with students from other countries in a meaningful way. This paper showcases the impacts of e-collaborative English language learning conducted between engineering students of one technical university in Malaysia and one higher learning institution in Bordeaux, France for about one semester. At the end of the semester, the students from both countries wrote a reflection of their experience. The data from the reflective writing were analysed using thematic analysis to highlight the impacts of the e-collaborative learning on students' intercultural communicative competence. This study highlights key considerations to structure e-collaborative language teaching and learning among students of different regions.

This article investigates the effects of ethnic acceptance and prejudice on English language learning among immigrant nonnative speakers. During 2004 and 2005, the author conducted participatory dialogues among six Vietnamese and Mexican adult immigrant English language learners. The researcher sought to answer five questions: (1) What are some nonnative English speakers’ experience regarding the way native speakers treat them? (2) How have nonnative English speakers’ experiences of ethnic acceptance or ethnic prejudice affected their learning of English? (3) What do nonnative English speakers think they need in order to lower their anxiety as they learn a new language? (4) What can native English speakers do to lower nonnative speakers’ anxiety? (5) What can nonnative English speakers do to lower their anxiety with native English speakers? Even though many of the adult immigrant participants experienced ethnic prejudice, they developed strategies to overcome anxiety, frustration, and fear. The dialogues generated themes of acceptance, prejudice, power, motivation, belonging, and perseverance, all factors essential to consider when developing English language learning programs for adult immigrants.