University of Technology Sydney

012237 Professional Experience 7: Meeting the English Language Needs of Learners

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2024 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Education: Initial Teacher Education
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade, no marks

Requisite(s): ((012235 Professional Experience 5: Teaching Students with Special Educational Needs OR 023155 Professional Experience 5: Teaching Students with Special Educational Needs) AND 012236 Professional Experience 6: Programming and Assessing in Education AND (012208 English Education 1 OR 024211 English Education 1 OR 028250 English Education 1) AND (012209 English Education 2 OR 024212 English Education 2 OR 028251 English Education 2) AND (012231 Professional Experience 1: Beginning Teaching OR 023151 Professional Experience 1: Beginning Teaching Issues in the Primary School OR 028230 Professional Experience 1: Preparation for Teaching) AND (012232 Professional Experience 2: Developing Classroom Management OR 023152 Professional Experience 2: Developing Classroom Management OR 028231 Professional Experience 2: Introduction to Classroom Management) AND 012233 Professional Experience 3: Integrating Learning Technologies AND 012234 Professional Experience 4: Integrating Diverse Contexts in Education)

Description

This subject, the final of the foundation subjects for teaching English in primary classrooms, expands ideas that have been introduced in English 1 and English 2. The expanded practices look particularly at English language learners, the types of texts used in classrooms and how to organise a literacy-rich classroom.

English language learners – those who are learning English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D, formerly ESL) – have specific linguistic and cultural needs. The subject lookS at strategies and policies that support all students in a multilingual/multicultural classroom setting. This includes being familiar with the ESL Scales (NSW DET) and EAL/D Resource (ACARA) as well as programs designed to support English learning in the primary school.

The focus on texts considers multimodal texts, the features of picture books, video, online reading sources and spoken texts that teachers draw upon for curriculum content. The subject considers how to support students to access such texts and the opportunities these texts provide for building knowledge of language and content.

As the final subject before students complete their degree, this subject considers models and strategies for creating a workable literacy classroom.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

a. Identify and apply the syllabus and other support documents to suggest teaching and learning strategies to support particular learners in the classroom, with a focus on the needs of EAL/D learners (GTS 2.1, 1.3, 1.5)
b. Analyse the needs of EAL/D students in the classroom, taking into account community, national and international influences on language learning (GTS 1.1)
c. Apply research into how students learn and the implications for teaching. (GTS1.2)
d. Design learning sequences that are based on the curriculum and include a range of strategies to assess and report on student progress. (GTS 2.1, 2.2, 3.3)
e. Describe the features of a range of resources, including ICT, and how to embed these into programs that engage students in their learning (GTS 3.4)
f. Apply personal skills in academic writing, constructing appropriate scholarly written and oral responses with accurate referencing and citations.

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

1. Professional Readiness

1.2 Design and conduct effective learning activities, assess and evaluate learning outcomes and create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments (GTS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
1.5 Employ contemporary technologies effectively for diverse purposes (GTS 2, 4)

2. Critical and Creative Inquiry

2.2 Make well-informed contributions to contemporary debates pertinent to education (GTS 3)

3. International and intercultural engagement
3.2 Respect diverse sointernational and intercultural engagementcieties and cultures and demonstrate inclusive practices (GTS 1, 3, 4)

6. Effective Communication

6.2 Exhibit high level numeracy and literacies (GTS 2)

Teaching and learning strategies

Teaching and learning will take place with an asynchronous workshop each week where you will actively engage with learning to support a weekly synchronous workshop. Each synchronous workshop will be followed up with an asynchronous task to complete. A tutor will be available for a 30-minutedrop in each week to support you with questions about the asynchronous post workshop components.

The teaching and learning model involves a:

  • Weekly 1-hour asynchronous learning component to be completed each week before a 1.5-hour synchronous workshop.
  • 30-minute asynchronous learning to consolidate concepts introduced in the accompanying synchronous workshop.

Teaching strategies in this subject involve:

  • Podcasts, videos, illustrations of practice and presentations to introduce, contextualize and illustrate new theoretical concepts and information.
  • Modelling and implementation of teaching strategies that can be applied in assessment tasks and in future teaching practice.
  • Scaffolding of academic readings across the synchronous and asynchronous activities.
  • Facilitation of student discussions and learning activities in workshops.
  • Formative feedback on students’ understanding of concepts and tasks in the weekly asynchronous and synchronous components of the subject.

Learning strategies in this subject involve:

  • Group based investigative activities.
  • Group based discussions of readings.
  • Independent reading of specified academic texts.
  • Independent activities and research.

Students are expected to undertake preliminary reading of the weekly texts before each workshop. These readings are linked across the synchronous and asynchronous learning and assessment tasks.

The subject is practice-based and includes tasks that simulate authentic school practices. For example, students work with sample programs, texts and materials that would be used in the classroom. Students engage in contemporary issues about schooling and teachers’ work by reading and critically appraising a range of current Australian and international literature on topical issues in English education.

Students should explore children’s books, particularly from the collection at the UTS library.

Content (topics)

Over the course of this subject, students will read, view, observe, discuss and write about the following topics:

  • How English is learnt as an additional language
  • How teachers support all language learners in the classroom, to learn English and other subjects through English
  • The nature of texts that are used in the classroom
  • Multimodal features of texts and how they work to create meaning
  • Ways of reading and responding to literature texts
  • Identifying language features of texts
  • Organisational issues of a literacy classroom

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Critical review of resources for EAL/D students

Objective(s):

a, b, d, e and f

Weight: 40%
Length:

1400 words

Criteria linkages:
Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs
Effectiveness and appropriateness of selected resources; demonstration of resources in appendices. 30 a, d
Effectiveness of justification, analysis and explanation of the resources. 30 b, e
Effectiveness of ONE resource in using transformative ICT 10 e
Cohesiveness and accuracy in written presentation. 15 f
Effectiveness and accuracy of referencing. 15 f
SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 2: Presentation for, and analysis of, implementing strategies in a learning sequence

Objective(s):

a, b, d and e

Weight: 60%
Length:

1500 words

Criteria linkages:
Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs
Effectiveness of identifying linguistic demands in writing lessons over the FOUR-week program 20 a
Effectiveness of contemporary resources and strategies to support the identified demands for EAL/D learners 20 d
Effectiveness of THREE examples in the design and content to support sentence, group and word levels of tasks for EAL/D learners 20 b
Effectiveness of CANVA to scaffold the linguistic needs for writing at whole text, sentence, group and word levels 20 e
Skillfulness and accuracy of written presentation and referencing 20 e
SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Minimum requirements

Students are expected to attend all workshops. Students who are absent for more than 2 workshops may be refused to have their final assessment marked (see UTS Rule 3.8)."

Required texts

Derewianka, B. (2020). Exploring how texts work. 2nd Ed. Primary English Teaching Association Australia.

The textbook is available as a hard copy or e-pub at PETAA by accessing this link.

Student membership to this professional organisation will provide you with a further discount, three free books and three PETAA papers each year plus additional resources and discounts on Professional Learning.

References

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2014). English as an Additional Language or Dialect teacher resource. Retrieved 1 October 2014.

Conteh, J. (2015). The EAL Teaching book: Promoting success for multilingual learners (2nd ed.). Sage.

Creese, A. (2005). Teacher collaborative talk in multilingual classrooms. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Cummins, J. (2008). BICS and CALP: Empirical and theoretical status of the distinction. In Street, B. & Hornberger, N.H. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of language and education. New York: Springer. Curriculum Corporation. (1994). ESL scales. Curriculum Corporation.

Derewianka, B. (2012). A new grammar companion for teachers. PETAA.

De Silva Joyce, H., & Feez, S. (2012). Text-based language & literacy education: Programming and methodology. Phoenix Education.

Derrick, J., Ecclestone, K. & Gawn, J. (2009). Formative assessment in adult literacy, language and numeracy. NIACE.

Gibbons, P. (2014). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching English language learners in the mainstream classroom. (2nd ed.). Heinemann.

Gibbons, P. (2009). English learners, academic literacy, and thinking: Learning in the challenge zone. Heinemann.

Goos, M., Geiger, V., Dole, S., Forgasz, H., & Bennison, A. (2018). Numeracy across the curriculum: research-based strategies for enhancing teaching and learning. Allen & Unwin.

Griffiths, G., Ashton, J., & Creese, B. (2015). Training to teach adults mathematics. NIACE.

Griffiths, G., & Stone, R. (Eds.). (2013). Teaching adult numeracy: Principles and practice. NRDC & Open University Press.

Hammond, J. (2001). Scaffolding: Teaching and learning langauge and literacy education. PETA.

Hammond, J., & Miller, J. (Eds.). (2015). Classrooms of possibility: Supporting at-risk EAL students. PETAA.

Hammond, J., Burns, A., Joyce, H., Brosnan, D., & Gerot, L. (1992). English for social purposes: A handbook for teachers of adult literacy. NCELTR.

Harmer, J. (2007). How to teach English. Pearson.

Herzberg, M. (2012). Teaching English language learners in mainstream classes. PETAA.

Hughes, N., & Scwab, I. (Eds.). (2010). Teaching adult literacy: Principles and practice. NRDC & Open University Press.

Ivanic, R., Edwards, R., Barton, D., Martin-Jones, M., Fowler, Z., Hughes, B., Mannion, G., Miller, K., Satchwell, C., & Smith, J. (2009). Improving learning in college: Rethinking literacies across the curriculum. Routledge.

Jarvis, P. (ed) (2006). The theory and practice of teaching (2nd ed). Routledge.

Killen, R. (2013). Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Lukin, A., & Ross, L. (1997). The numeracy handbook: A resource for literacy and numeracy teachers. Sydney: NSW AMES & NCELTR.

NSW Education Standards Authority. Students learning English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D). (n.d.). Retrieved 9 July 2019.

Nunan, D. (2005). Practical English language teaching: Grammar. McGraw-Hill

Osmond, P. (2006). Literacy face to face: A resource for volunteer adult literacy tutors. TAFE NSW.

Paton, A., & Wilkins, M. (2009). Teaching adult ESOL: Principles and practice. NRDC & Open University Press.

Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Schwab, I., with Allenmano, J, Mallows, D., & McKeown, A. (2015). Training to teach adults English. NIACE.

Scrivener, J. (2011). Learning teaching (3rd ed.). Macmillan.

Scrivener, J. (2012). Classroom management techniques. Cambridge University Press.

Seely. J. (2004). Oxford everyday grammar. Oxford University Press.

Thornbury, S. (2006). An A – Z of ELT. Macmillan.

Underhill, A. (2005). Sound foundations: Living phonology. Heinemann.

Walsh, M. (2011). Multimodal literacy: Researching classroom practice. PETA.

Waynryb, R. (1993). Classroom observation tasks. Cambridge University Press.