A simple routine for English Language Learners
I keep coming across whitepapers and reports on FLN and the need to address ELLs but I have not come across one sharing how to actually go about it. I thought this article might help all those teachers all over India and similar places (none of the ideas in here are specific to India). I will also link some research that helps. A lot of this was tried and tested in parts while I was teaching and leading academics at a school in the village of Purkal, outside Dehradun.
Demographic:
Imagine students who have had multiple years of sub-standard education. Their ABC’s are done but that is largely about it. They can introduce themselves in simple sentences — My name is Anand. I am 10 years. I like History. They have very little exposure to the world and hence, their general knowledge is very low (If they are north Indians, they might say something like — Chennai is a state/country, England is in London, etc.).
Assumption:
An educated and qualified English teacher who can speak in an unaccented manner is available.
Implementation:
A simple 5-day routine is presented here along with variations. Please note that employing animations, audio/video etc. is welcome and likely to enhance the experience and stickiness of the content. I won’t be talking about it, though.
Day 1: Begin with tapping into the students experience. But this is not an open ended “Tell us whatever you want” invitation. The teacher might pick a topic or theme. This can get get narrower (more specific) with age. The teacher picks the theme strategically with cognizance of the material being studied under other subject headings. Different games can be played. The intent is to allow the student to speak and flow freely. The teacher might correct word pronunciation and intonations in a generic manner. She notes words and phrases on the board for students to see and register. She might insert rules like “Present your thoughts without using this word” and so on. The intent is to tap into the student’s experience store and create a space for free flow speech. Today we focus on the spoken word. This method builds on the Language Experience Approach (LEA). There are multiple ways to tap the learner experience. One could watch a short movie and explore what each student felt, liked, disliked or was reminded of. The same could be done with a bunch of pictures or a silent listening of a musical piece.
Day 2: Is all about vocabulary. Without doubt, vocabulary is a key predictor of reading comprehension. We go into the words & phrases noted the previous day. The range of tenses for each, alternate words for the phrases students used (e.g. “I saw a bird with lots of colours” => introduce the word “multicoloured”). The words introduced feel naturally relevant (because they come from the experiences shared) and are also strategically relevant (because of the topic carefully chosen by the teacher). E.g. if the teacher wanted to introduce words pertaining to metals and metallic properties because the Science teacher was going to go into metals and nonmetals as a topic, she might pick a theme like “My experience with sharp things” and gently steer conversations to talk about knives and nails and barbed wire and ask questions like “Cut yourself on a nail? Ouch! What did the nail look like?” and note words as the student shares them. If she noted down “shiny” she might introduce “lustrous”. If she noted down dirty she might introduce “rusty” or “discoloured” and so on. She clearly pronounces the new words. She shows them (by writing) how they are to be used. She presents them in different forms (tenses or adjectival, etc). The students then get to share a sentence with the new words. They get to roll the words in their mouth. The teacher, then, presents the morphemic analysis of the words. The goal is to help them build contextual analytic skills. E.g. when introducing “lustrous” the teacher shares that it comes from the Latin root lustrare which means “brighten, illumine” and the same root is used in words like illustrate or lackluster etc. Etymology helps students learn multiple words while studying one. The teacher ends the session with exercise of using the new words in 3–5 different contexts which the student will complete and bring into the next class.
Day 3: Pick some of the words identified and use GenAI to create a story where these words appear. You can add a moral as well. You can generate a poem too. Here is an example:
Prompt: You are a highly respected children’s literature author. You need to create a story (of about 300 words) set in an Indian village with vocabulary suitable for grade 5 students while ensuring that the following words are definitely part of the story: jargon, chronology, equivalent, dire, negotiate and elaborate. The main characters in the story should be teens although adults and younger characters are allowed. Use simple and short sentences. The moral of the story should be to develop fortitude.
Story Generated:
In the peaceful village of Sundarpur, lived two teenage friends, Maya and Raj. They loved their village, which was full of colorful flowers and friendly people. But one summer, the village faced a dire problem. The water from their well was running out.
Maya and Raj wanted to help. They went to the village elder, Mr. Kumar. “We must find out when this problem began,” Mr. Kumar said. “We need the chronology of events.” They started asking questions and noting down answers.
They found out that a new factory was using a lot of water. “We should talk to the factory owners,” Maya suggested. “But we need to prepare and not use difficult jargon. We need them to understand.”
Raj nodded. “We need to show them how bad this is for our village. We should elaborate on the problem.”
Together with Mr. Kumar, they made a simple plan. They avoided confusing words. They decided to show how much water the factory used and the equivalent of how much the village needed.
On the day of the meeting, Maya and Raj were nervous but determined. They spoke to the factory owners. “Your factory is using too much water,” Raj said. “We don’t have enough for our village.”
Maya added, “This is a dire situation for us. Can we negotiate a solution?”
The factory owners listened carefully. “We didn’t realize the impact,” one owner said. “We will use less water and find other ways to get it.”
The village well began to fill again. Everyone was happy and relieved. Maya and Raj learned that facing problems bravely, even when scared, can make a big difference.
The story of Maya and Raj taught everyone in Sundarpur about fortitude. They learned that courage and strength help solve problems, no matter how big they seem.
— — — — — — — — — — — Story Ends — — — — — — — — — — — — -
Poem Generated:
In a village by the river, where the sun did brightly shine,
Lived Arjun and Meera, whose hearts were pure and kind.
They heard the elders speaking, in jargon quite complex,
The mill had stopped its turning, with dire, dreadful effects.
“Let’s learn the mill’s chronology, and see what we can find,
We’ll figure out the parts,” said Arjun with a mind.
“We’ll find the right equivalent, and fix it up anew,
We’ll show our village fortitude, in everything we do.”
They worked both day and night, with tools they’d negotiate,
Asking questions, seeking help, they didn’t hesitate.
They’d elaborate their plans, ensuring all was right,
Their courage never faltered, they battled through the night.
At last, the mill was ready, the villagers gathered ‘round,
With hopes and breaths all held, they listened for the sound.
The water flowed, the wheel turned slow, then faster every spin,
Arjun and Meera smiled, their fortitude did win.
So if you face a problem, no matter how dire it seems,
Remember Arjun and Meera, and follow all your dreams.
With fortitude and courage, and a heart that’s pure and true,
You’ll find that you can conquer, and great things you can do.
— — — — — — — — Poem Ends — — — — — — — -
On Day 3, students read this story, engage with it in groupwork, discuss and share their questions and doubts, indicate the words and phrases from which they inferred this or that and so on. Day 3 focuses on reading, and specifically, customised reading that builds on Day 1 & 2. The story itself being set in the local environs makes it accessible. The teacher is free to use her creativity and modify the generated text. Students generate questions that they would ask each other based on the story. The order of thinking demanded could be up to the students or made aspirational.
Day 4: Is about getting your brain to remember. The teacher and the student ask recall-questions and then identify how some remembered, why some got confused and techniques to remember - the pronunciation, the spelling, the meaning, the etymology, the usage etc. There are several games one could try to make this happen and activities to subconsciously create stickiness. A recent example to share (although not from a language class) was about remembering when are 2 lines parallel or perpendicular — PARALLEL has 2 L’s which are parallel and perpendicular has only 1 L, with its arms at right angles. Another example is the spelling of the word grammar. The teacher asked, the student stumbled — is it ‘a’ and ‘e’ or two ‘e’ or ‘e’ and ‘a’ or two ‘a’ — the teacher corrected and moved on. Instead of this common sequence, I worked with the child using her native language.
“How do you write “कोई मर गया” with English letters?”
“Koi mar gaya”
“And now tell me — Jab aap mein har gram, mar mar ke yaad rakhe, to…?”
“Gram-mar!”
Writing is interwoven with the exercises and activities to remember and associate. The entire body & its movements are used to help remember and associate facts.
Day 5: Is about practice, creative expression and building the writing muscle. The teacher roots it in the words of the week. She reminds them of their etymological roots while getting them to use them in different contexts. She provides samples where incorrect usage or tenses, etc. need to be analysed. Students note down the sample and also write the correct version with space left for (as homework) providing the rationale behind identifying something as wrong. Students note down a dictated paragraph (which includes words from earlier weeks as a spaced repetition) and then write another paragraph on their own as a continuation of the dictated one. The teacher shares a curated bunch of sentences from different sources (newspapers, magazines, etc.) to help the students study popular usage as well as read them out aloud to practice pronunciation. The day ends with student groups creating word cards with visual hints to remember the meaning and intonations. These go up on the classroom boards. Depending on the grade level, the students are then given an additional piece of homework which is a long essay or reading comprehension exercise.
Periodically, a week can be used to synthesise all that has been learnt so far and bring all those concepts together via activities and practice exercises.
