Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations For Teaching English Langu ✓ Solved

Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Langu

Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Using Wright (2015), answer the following: What does the research tell us about the relationships between ELLs’ oral language development, literacy development, and educational achievement? How can understanding ELLs’ listening and speaking strengths and needs inform a teacher’s choices of instructional approaches, methods, and strategies? How can the Common Core State Standards and the WIDA English language proficiency standards guide listening and speaking instruction for ELLs? How can teachers promote oral language use in the classroom as a foundation for ELLs’ literacy development and academic achievement in English, and promote the development of higher levels of oral language proficiency? Refer to relevant research and include examples of effective classroom strategies, assessment approaches, and appropriate ways to correct errors.

Paper For Above Instructions

Introduction

Research summarized by Wright (2015) and by major literacy reviews indicates a close, reciprocal relationship between English language learners’ (ELLs’) oral language development, literacy acquisition, and overall academic achievement. Oral language supplies the vocabulary, syntactic knowledge, discourse skills, and sociocultural competence that underpin reading comprehension and written expression; conversely, literacy tasks expand vocabulary and metalinguistic awareness that feed back into oral proficiency (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998; August & Shanahan, 2006).

Relationships among Oral Language, Literacy, and Achievement

Empirical studies show that strong oral language predicts later reading comprehension and content-area learning (Nation, 2001; August & Shanahan, 2006). ELLs often have everyday conversational fluency before they possess the academic vocabulary and syntactic complexity required for grade-level texts. Wright (2015) emphasizes tiers of vocabulary (Tier 1–3) and estimates of vocabulary breadth needed for different tasks (e.g., ~2,000 words for conversation, ~5,000 for authentic texts) as critical thresholds. When classrooms neglect oral language development and focus narrowly on decoding, students may learn to decode words without comprehending complex texts, limiting academic progress (Goldenberg, 2008).

Using Knowledge of Listening and Speaking Strengths to Inform Instruction

Teachers who assess ELLs’ listening and speaking strengths can choose methods that meet students where they are. For example, students in a silent period or with limited productive ability benefit from comprehensible input strategies (TPR, gestures, visuals) and wait time rather than forced production (Wright, 2015; Gibbons, 2002). Intermediate speakers benefit from scaffolded interaction structures (think-pair-share, role plays, barrier games) that promote risk-taking and collaborative meaning construction (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2008). Assessment of fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and comprehension (e.g., SOLOM-style rubrics, oral retell tasks, teacher observations) guides whether to prioritize receptive support, targeted vocabulary, or syntactic instruction (Wright, 2015).

Standards Guidance: CCSS and WIDA

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) foreground oral language in speaking and listening strands (CCSS, 2010), asking students to present information, evaluate others’ arguments, and integrate multiple sources. WIDA’s English language proficiency standards provide proficiency-level descriptors and performance expectations that align with content standards and give concrete scaffolding steps (WIDA, 2012). Together, CCSS establishes grade-level communicative demands, and WIDA describes how ELLs can be supported to meet those demands. Teachers can use WIDA performance descriptors to sequence listening/speaking objectives (e.g., from “tell about” with supports to “recount and reflect” independently) while tying tasks to CCSS speaking/listening goals (WIDA Consortium, 2012; CCSS, 2010).

Classroom Strategies to Promote Oral Language and Literacy

Effective strategies integrate oral practice with reading and writing. Examples include:

  • Comprehensible input activities: Total Physical Response (TPR), visuals, and simplified speech for beginners (Asher model referenced in Wright, 2015).
  • Structured peer interaction: Think-pair-share, role plays, barrier games, and cooperative learning with defined roles to scaffold discourse and give practice in academic talk (Echevarria et al., 2008).
  • Productive tasks linked to texts: Oral retellings, dramatic enactments of reading, show-and-tell, and oral presentations that require use of recently learned vocabulary and syntax (Wright, 2015).
  • Vocabulary instruction across tiers: Explicit instruction for Tier 2 and Tier 3 academic words, repeated encounters, and opportunities to use words orally before and after reading (Nation, 2001; August & Shanahan, 2006).
  • Listening centers and technology: Recorded read-alouds, podcasts, and student-created audio/video to provide models and rehearsal opportunities in low-stress environments (Wright, 2015).

Assessment of Oral Language

Assessment must be ongoing and performance-based. Teachers should use formal tasks (describe a picture, retell a story, oral presentations), rubrics focusing on comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar, and informal observations during less-structured times (recess, transitions) to sample authentic language use (Wright, 2015). Standards-aligned benchmarks (WIDA) and CCSS speaking/listening expectations help interpret results and set objectives.

Correcting Errors and Promoting Higher Proficiency

Correction should be strategic: prioritize error correction when students are developmentally ready, when errors impede communication, or when aligned to explicit language objectives (Wright, 2015). Techniques include implicit recasts (modeling correct form in context), revoicing and repeating to emphasize form and content, gentle prompts to self-correct, and explicit correction when taught in a low-risk manner. To promote higher-level oral proficiency, teachers must provide sustained opportunities for academic discourse, scaffolded feedback, and tasks that require reasoning, synthesis, and reflection—mirroring CCSS demands for higher-order speaking and listening (CCSS, 2010; WIDA, 2012).

Practical Example Lesson Sequence

Begin with a listening input (recorded interview) and pre-teach Tier 2 vocabulary with visuals. Use a guided oral retelling in pairs (scaffold frames), followed by a small-group discussion using sentence stems, and conclude with a brief individual oral reflection or presentation assessed with a rubric aligned to WIDA levels and CCSS speaking/listening standards. Provide corrective feedback via recasts during pair work and explicit review of persistent grammar targets during a follow-up mini-lesson (Wright, 2015; Gibbons, 2002).

Conclusion

Oral language is foundational for literacy and academic achievement in ELLs. Research supports integrated instruction that links listening and speaking practice to reading and writing, guided by standards (CCSS) and proficiency frameworks (WIDA). Teachers who assess oral strengths and needs, apply scaffolded interaction structures, attend to vocabulary tiers, and use principled correction build pathways for ELLs to reach higher levels of academic English proficiency (Cummins, 2000; Wright, 2015).

References

  • August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2006). Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org
  • Cummins, J. (2000). Language, Power and Pedagogy: Bilingual Children in the Crossfire. Multilingual Matters.
  • Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. (2008). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model (3rd ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
  • Gibbons, P. (2002). Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning: Teaching Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. Heinemann.
  • Goldenberg, C. (2008). Teaching English Language Learners: What the Research Does — and Does Not — Say. American Educator, 32(2), 8–23.
  • Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge University Press.
  • Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (1998). Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. National Academies Press.
  • WIDA Consortium. (2012). English Language Development Standards. WIDA Consortium.
  • Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice (2nd ed.). Caslon Publishing.

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