Improving English Language Learners' Scientific Writing Through Co-Teaching: Collaboration Between ESL and Secondary Science Teachers

• In Event: Co-Teaching for English Learners: Evidence-Based Practices and Research-Informed Outcomes

Abstract

Objectives
Research shows that support for ELLs’ language learning needs can range from excellent to nonexistent. This session will focus on the co-teaching strategies of an English Language specialist teacher and a mainstream science teacher and how they work together to improve ELLs’ scientific writing within mainstream science classes. Specifically, the presentation will detail the co-teaching processes, pedagogical methods used for explicit instruction of scientific writing, and the outcomes of such collaborative effort in a secondary school in Canada.

Perspectives and Theoretical Frameworks
Current instruction for ELLs in science classes focuses mostly on teaching Tier 3 vocabulary, with less attention paid to teaching the style of scientific writing that requires students to move fluidly between the tenses, effectively use the passive voice, and be precise on word choice. With the move towards inquiry-based assessments in science, ELLs are being called upon to explain their results and hypotheses in greater detail through writing - a challenging task for many. Collaboration between ESL teachers and science teachers can ensure the teaching of scientific content while also addressing the language requirements of scientific writing, particularly objectivity and concision. To support ELLs’ challenges in scientific writing, a lexical approach to language instruction (Lewis, 1993) and content-based academic language teaching strategies (Zwiers, 2014) were adopted by both teachers.

Methods
This paper is based on the first author’s own teaching experiences as an ESL teacher in the secondary school. The ESL and science teacher collaborated on creating instructional materials for grades 8-12 following the provincial curriculum in British Columbia, Canada where the collaboration took place during January and March 2017.

Findings and results
After recognizing the lack of concision and objective language use in the lab reports of their grade 9-11 students in Canada, the first author and a Physics teacher discussed the issue and recognized the importance of combining their expertise to help improve ELLs’ scientific writing. Together, the ESL and the Physics teachers co-planned and then co-taught a Grade 9 Science and a Grade 11 Physics lesson that focused on scientific writing. Each of the lessons began with direct instruction from the ESL teacher about the language requirements of scientific writing while the Physics teacher was available to support content questions. The lesson ended with a debrief session where students provided the teachers with feedback of the co-taught lesson. The results were overwhelmingly positive and both ELL and native English speaking students expressed an increased understanding of how to use the necessary grammar and style elements required for scientific writing.

Scholarly or scientific significance
The collaboration between the two teachers highlighted the importance of combining teacher expertise to establish essential foundational skills that ELLs need for success in higher-level science classes. This session proposes that support for the academic and language learning needs of ELLs within mainstream classes is best met when core academic and ESL teachers engage in co-teaching and co-planning strategies to develop ELLs’ academic language while also meeting core curriculum outcomes.

Authors

• Guofang Li, University of British Columbia

• Brandy Gibb, University of British Columbia