ELL Endorsement Portfolio By: Sydney Freel

Evidence & Rationale for Competency 1.1

1.1 Candidates know, understand, and use the major concepts,
theories, and research from applied linguistics, second language
acquisition, and literacy development.
Document Components Overview:
Rationale
Evidence 1: Introduction to ESL: Midterm Competency
Relevance: Second Language Acquisition
Evidence 2: Introduction to Linguistics: Unit 4 Reading
Guide - Competency Relevance: Applied Linguistics
Evidence 3: Early Literacy: Concept Maps - Competency
Relevance: Literacy Development

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Rationale:
To meet competency 1.1, I must know, understand, and use
major concepts, theories, and research from applied linguistics, second
language acquisition, and literacy development. In other words my
evidence needs to show my knowledge and understanding of major
concepts, theories, and research in three areas of ELL education;
linguistics, second language acquisition, and literacy development. I
organized my evidence in a way that reflects each component in
competency 1.1. I provided a piece of evidence for each of these areas
of ELL to ensure I met each component of this competency. Each piece
of evidence demonstrates my knowledge, and understanding of major
concepts, theories, and research of that particular ELL content area.

Second Language Acquisition: Evidence 1. For this piece of

evidence I provided my midterm for Introduction to ESL. In this
document I demonstrate my knowledge, and understanding of major
concepts, theories, and research of second language acquisition
throughout the midterm, with my answers. This midterm shows that I
know and understand language diversity, different models of ELL
education and the pros and cons of each, theories such as BICS/CALP,
and the significant and definitions of ELL education terminology.
Linguistics: Evidence 2. For this evidence I provided my reading
guide from Unit 4 of Introduction to Linguistics. This reading guide
shoes my knowledge and understanding of major concepts, theories
and research of applied linguistics through my responses to the
questions. This reading guide shows my understanding of linguistics in
terms of ELL students, including phonetics and phonology, the
inconsistency of the English Language, and how these play a role in the
instruction of ELL students.
Literacy Development: Evidence 3. For this evidence I provided
my literacy development concept maps from my Early Literacy course.
These concept maps show my knowledge and understanding of major
concepts, theories, and research of literacy development. Each concept
map demonstrates a major concept or theory that is research-based.
Concept map one shows a timeline of changing theories of literacy
instruction and why. Concept map two outlines a research-based

theory of literacy development concerning young literacy experiences

and the influence it has on literacy development. Concept map three
compares two differing theories of spelling development, and concept
map four outlines strategies for accommodating parents that are
unable to help their child develop literacy skills at home because they
either dont know how to read, or dont know how to read English.
The evidence I provided for competency 1.1 shows how my
college education has allowed me to grow my understanding of
language diversity, the different models of ELL education and the pros
and cons of each, theories like BICS/CALP, linguistics in terms of ELL
students, including phonetics and phonology, the inconsistency of the
English Language, and the role that all of these components play in ELL
education. As I apply what Ive learned in these college courses to the
classroom, I will improve my understanding of major concepts,
theories, and research from applied linguistics, second language
acquisition, and literacy development by seeing how these things play
out in the actual field.

Evidence 1: Introduction to ESL: Midterm

Name: Sydney Freel
Date: 10/06/14
Midterm: T&L 333 - Intro to ESL
200 points
Part 1. Short Essay Responses (You should respond to all 7
questions in Part 1 in less than 1,000 words total, which is
approximately 3 pages. Respond to each question individually.) Your
answers should be extremely thorough but very concise so that you
can offer a complete response while staying within the word limit.

1. Give an overview of language diversity and bilingualism in American

history.
When compared to the 1980s, numbers of immigration in recent
years seems very significant and outstanding. The nations
Hispanic population has nearly tripled since 1980, and the Asian
and Pacific Islander population has more than tripled (Pg. 4,
Crawford, 2007). It seems to be a common belief that
immigration is new to the United States, but it may only seem
that way because of what we have seen in our own lifetimes. In
American History, these levels of linguistic and ethnic diversity
are not unusual. Todays proportion of Americans, from nonEnglish backgrounds, is lower than these proportions from 1860
to 1930 (Pg. 8 Crawford, 2004).
2. Who are English language learners in the United States today?
English language learners are students who are learning a
second language, while also learning the academic skills and
knowledge specific to the curriculum of their grade level. Today,
although more than two-thirds of ELLs are native speakers of
Spanish, ELLs in the U.S. come from over 400 different language
backgrounds (Pg. 12, Crawford, 2007). The top five source
countries of immigration are Mexico, India, China, and the
Philippines, and Cuba. On average, most immigrants are young
and are more likely to have school-age children. A large percent
of these immigrant children face language barriers in school (Pg.
8 Crawford, 2004). ELL students in the U.S. are a very diverse
population, with varying social economic status, cultural
traditions, family literacy rates, prior schooling, English
proficiency, and other factors.
3. Compare and contrast the following 4 types of models of teaching: 1)
sink or swim models, 2) pull-out model, 3) content-based/sheltered
instruction models, 4) dual language/two-way models.

The sink or swim model provides ELL students with English-only

instruction. This can result in a watering down of curriculum,
denying students of the equal education they are legally entitled
to. This model has proven to be ineffective, and the program
design resembles the instruction that students with learning
disabilities receive (Pg. 38-39, Ovando). The pullout model is the
most expensive, most implemented, but the least effective. This
model causes frequent class absences for English instruction,
resulting in a loss of time that students have access to the full
curriculum (Pg. 36). Sheltered instruction models recognize that
students get behind in their schooling while they are learning
English. So instead, this model teaches academic language and
instruction together. Although this model is very effective, it
creates a social stigma for students (Pg. 37). Dual language
models are the most effective. In this model there is either a
90:10, 8:20, or 50:50 minority, majority language spoken ratio.
This model gradually leads to full bilingual proficiency for all
students in the classroom (39-42).

4. What are BICS and CALP, how are they acquired, and why are they
important concepts in the field of ELL?
BICS stands for Interpersonal Commutative Skills, or social
language, and CALP stands for Cognitive Academic Language
Proficiency, or academic language. Its important to recognize
that these concepts are not separated, unrelated aspects of
proficiency, and that teachers should incorporate social and
academic language development into every lesson. Social
language is more than the acquisition of listening and speaking;
it includes the development of literacy for daily social
encounters, like shopping, transportation, and health services.
Social language is acquired by being in a social setting that
encourages natural interaction and proficiency usually takes
about two to three years. Academic language is an extension of
social language that is more cognitively demanding. This type of
language is used to classify, explain, generalize, manipulate
ideas, and to gain and apply knowledge. Academic language is
acquired by actively participating in lessons through
contextualized language that stimulates cognitive and academic
growth. Research shows that proficiency in academic language
takes a minimum of five to ten years, and even longer without a
literacy base in social language (Pg. 128-130, Ovando).

5. Define the following terms and explain their role in language

acquisition: transfer, input, interaction, Universal Grammar, social
context, speakers of the language, and L1.
Speakers of the target language, social context and interaction
are all incorporated in the list of crucial components to the
language process. These components include motivated
language learners, speakers of the target language who know it
well enough to provide learners with access and help they need,
and a social setting that brings learners and target language
speakers into enough frequent contact to make language
learning possible. Input is communication that is understood,
natural, meaningful, and interesting, best provided by speakers
of the target language. Interactions are the gestures that
complement this input. Social context is a part of the
sociocultural processes, the heart of the prism model of
language acquisition in school. Social context includes,
surrounding cultural processes of everyday life in the past,
present, and future. These include factors of home, school,
community and broader society. Social patterns like prejudice
and discrimination influence the response to a new language. L 1
refers to first language; we orally acquire this language
subconsciously in the first five years of our lives. L 1 can have a
positive affect on L2 , the second language. Academic skills,
literacy development, cognitive formation, subject knowledge,
and learning strategies transfer from L1 to L2. This is known as the
common underlying proficiency (Pg. 124-145, Orvando).
6. What are commonly held myths about language acquisition and
language pedagogy that were debunked by the readings, in-class
activities, and the video Playing the Language Game: Acquiring the
Human Language.
One commonly held myth is that learners errors should be
corrected as soon as they are made in order to prevent the
formation of bad habits. Errors are a natural part of language
learning, and excessive feedback on error can have a negative
effect on motivation. Another myth is that teachers should use
materials that expose students only to language structures
theyve already been taught. This is taking the term
comprehensible input to extremes. Learners can comprehend
vocabulary and structures they have not mastered, if they are in
a meaningful context. Restricting students to step-by-step
language can extend their dependency (Class Activity, myths 12
& 13).

7. Outline and explain the significance of the major laws that revert to
English language learners/ELL education.
Lau v. Nichols protects ELL students. The Supreme Court ruled
that giving ELLs, equal education, is not equal, if the students
do not understand English. To provide these students with equal
opportunity, schools must offer them a different education
program. Castaneda v. Pickard explains how ELL students must
be protected. This ruling established the three-prong test to
prove that districts are complying with the law. The three
components include, educational theory base ELL programs,
adequate staffing, and program evaluations. Pyler v. Doe
declares that public schools may not discriminate on the basis of
immigration status. This law protects undocumented students.

Evidence 2: Introduction to Linguistics: Unit 4

Reading Guide
Unit 4 Reading Guide
Phonetics, Phonology, Pronunciation, and Spelling
Instructions: Read or watch the Unit Background and read the West chapter. Answer
these questions about phonetics and phonology in your own words. Cite where you found
the answers.
1. What is the relationship between phonetics and phonology? Why should teachers
know about both of these?
The relationship between phonetics and phonology is that phonetics is a
subcategory of phonology. Phonology is the broad study of sounds and languages.
It includes phonetics and phonemics. Phonetics is the subcategory that is
concerned with what we actually do with these perceptions, how we physically
produce the sounds that we have internalized as natives of a spoken language
(West, pg. 88).
2. Why is English spelling so inconsistent?
Over time people have began to neglect certain phonemes. For example witch and
which are pronounced the same by younger people, but by some older people
which is still pronounced with the /hw/ phoneme. The spelling of these two words
reflects different meaning, and used to sound like two different words. Now, when

spoken, these words sound the same and meaning is derived from the context that
it was said instead of how it sounds. These factors have made English spelling
inconsistent (West, pg. 92-93).
3. Answer the question that West asks on p. 108 in Exercise 15.
The first time we begin to hear is in the womb. We are able to hear the sounds of
the language that our mother, father, and others are speaking near us. This
continues throughout our childhoods. We dont begin to read or write until we
have spent a lot of time absorbing and internalizing sounds. When we learn to talk
we are using our memory of different sounds we heard, and what they mean. By
studding phonemes we are becoming aware of sounds that we dont think twice
about anymore now that we are seasoned speakers of our language. For any child
learning a language, these sounds are all they have. They learn to speak based off
of what they hear. Then, they are taught to read through instruction on which
sounds are represented by which letters. Phonemes are how they hear a sound,
and like we have learned, words and letters dont always look how they sound.
By understanding and studying phonemes we are able to break things down to the
perspective of a childs interpretation, to help them make that transition to
phonemic awareness.
4. Briefly explain your answer to Wests questions in Exercise 19.
To create the R consonant you must use your voice, raise the tip of your tongue,
and curl it back without touching the roof of your mouth, and let the voiced air
out in this way (West, pg. 121).
To create the TH consonant you must not use your voice, place the tip of your
tongue between your teeth with more pressure toward the upper teeth, and release
air (West, pg. 122).
Now read the practical readings and answer the questions below.
5. The chapters and articles offer a variety of ways to teach spelling and
pronunciation. Based on all of the readings, complete the chart below for your
own use. Include at least 5 items in each column. Dont forget to cite the readings
to support your response.

Dont:
1. Emphasis on segmentals (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Otlowski Pronunciation.html)
2. Correct every error with red pen
(http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/41846/)

3. Drill (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Otlowski-Pronunciation.html)
4. Limited communication (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Otlowski-Pronunciation.html)
5. High stress environment (http://iteslj.org/Articles/OtlowskiPronunciation.html)
Dos:
1. Analyze errors (http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/41846/)
2. Multiple choice spelling tests (http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/41846/)
3. Meaningful task-based practices (http://iteslj.org/Articles/OtlowskiPronunciation.html)
4. Peer correction (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Otlowski-Pronunciation.html)
5. Group interaction (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Otlowski-

Evidence 3: Early Literacy: Literacy Development

Concept Maps
Concept Map 1:

Concept Map
2:

Concept Map 3

Concept Map 4