Naglaa Salem presented on “Adjusting Teacher and Student Talk to Support ELLs in HE.” English Language Learners (ELLs) and HE, higher education were the focus. Salem defined teacher talk and student talk with the goal of reflecting some needs and challenges of ELLs in the class. Salem created three videos, a slide deck, and a Padlet board to make it more interactive and share some relevant background. Salem is the first presenter I hear describe not only how to contribute to Padlet, but also how to share your name or post anonymously, if wanted. Salem invited the audience to reflect on challenges that college/university ELLs encounter in a virtual classroom and several other prompts. I could infer that Salem had intentionally designed options for learners.
BICS and CALP were then introduced. BICS is the Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills-Cognitively undemanding and CALP is Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency and is cognitively demanding and takes time to develop through practice. Salem went on to explain that CALP uses abstract and specialized vocabulary that is typically complex for new learners. In addition, CALP uses complex syntax, and Salem explained that this may be long noun phrases, for example.
In the second video, Salem provided suggested practices for teacher talk. Articulating clearly was the first suggestion. Culturally-familiar examples, simple syntax, and referring. to visual elements were also suggested. I love how Salem phrased it: “provide exemplification as a verbal scaffold.” Salem also encouraged teachers to help ELLs contribute to the classroom culture by sharing feedback. Salem warned that when you go off on tangents or digress, you should clearly linguistically mark that this is a digression and not part of the course. This suggestion makes sense but can be forgotten. Additionally, Salem mentioned that instructors should check for comprehension and teach learners to share understanding of directions and concepts. The third and final video focused on practices for virtual classroom talk for ELLs. Salem shared that ELLs can be supported by building their confidence through scaffolded interactions. Salem suggested “grounding activities on their cultural background.” Communicating expectations and protocols for group discussions was emphasized. “Give them a chance to contribute… and model what is expected as you respond to questions.” Increasing wait time and modeling were mentioned several times . I appreciate the reminder to praise effort AND share successes. I have to be more intentional about supporting and communicating effectively with ELLs in the courses I teach. This was a great reminder of why it is critical and how it can be done.
