Ped 3151 - Action Research - Heidi Wippel

English Language Learners
in Science Classes
PED 3151 – Professional Inquiry and Action Research
Heidi Wippel
February 10th, 2022
Focus and Inquiry Questions
• My practicum this year was at the Adult High School, teaching Grade 11 Physics
and Grade 12 Chemistry.
• For many students at AHS, English is not their first language. I noticed when
teaching science classes that several of the ELL students were simply struggling
with the language, and once we took time to slow down and work through things,
there were very strong at understanding science concepts and doing calculations.
Question:
• As educators, how can we better support ELL students in science classes?
Results of Inquiry – Considerations
• ELLs are developing both conversational and academic language (5)
• Science academic language is a whole new language
• ELL students probably don’t have literary support at home. (5)
• Reading is probably easier than writing. Listening is easier than speaking. (5)
• Some ELLs may not be literate in their first language, so might not be familiar
with strategies they can use when learning English (5).
• Education is different everywhere. Make sure ELL students understand the
learning goals and strategies of the classroom. (5)
• A student's oral fluency may be misleading. Just because they can’t communicate
it doesn’t mean they don’t know it. (2)
Results of Inquiry – Multimodalities (2)
• Multimodality – teaching using several different modes (2)
• Supporting ELL learners in science classes is different in each of the modalities
and should involve using more than one modality at a time.
• Reading – science uses complex texts to share information

• Writing – usually in the form of lab reports/experiments, notetaking.
• Speaking and Listening – class/small group discussions, lecture style teaching.
• Doing (Science Inquiry) – hands on activities, flipped classrooms, simulations.
• Interpreting and Representing – using technology, predicting and making
inferences, metaphors and analogies.
Results of Inquiry – Specific Strategies
• Language taught in isolation is ineffective, need chunks of words (2)(6)
• Grouping students (either ELL + ENL, or ELLs together) (2)(3)
• Let students rely on their first language, and their science knowledge in that language (5).
• Synonyms and cognates (4)
• Collaboration with ELL teacher (2)
• Sentence frames/stems, especially in reports/labs (2).
• Word wall with pictures, the word in other languages, definitions (5).
• Expose students to language in different ways, since words have different meanings in
different contexts (example: table) (6).
• Explain how scientists represent information (for example textbooks) (6)
Links to Observations from Practicum
• Fill in the blank notes.
• Reduces the language load, can focus on the material.
• Would read through the notes with them, they can listen and read at the same time.
• Not just the words themselves, but also sentence structure. What is the question
even asking?
• Synonyms and cognates. I would often use synonyms or simpler words. I would
also break down the sections of the word.
• Students say that they understand, but they really do not.
• Supplemented with videos and simulations.
Links to Observations from Practicum
Multimodalities – Images, reading, listening.
This student only needed help setting up the question but was confident with the math.
Strategies to Enhance my Practice
• Use formative assessment frequently (1)
• Incorporate technology better (5)
• Incorporate more of the modalities into my lesson planning, such as images to
support notes (2).
• Incorporate more doing (science inquiry).
Areas for Further Research
• An area that I need to do more research and learning in is reading strategies (2). I
do not have experience teaching students how to read, so am not aware of
strategies that might help students, especially in terms of sentence structures.
• I am also interested in further exploring some of the technologies mentioned in (2)
and (5), to be able to better support ELL students in science classes.
• My second teachable is math. I am interested in learning how the supports for
ELLs in science and math compare.
Resources to Extend Understanding
A resource that teachers can use to extend This website also provides extensive
their understanding is this weekly podcast resources for working with ELL students. “A
called Equipping ELLs. bilingual site for educators and families of
English language learners”
Link
Paper by N. Petringa has many specific examples

and strategies for how to meet the needs of ELLs in
each of the modalities.
Link
References
1. B. Lau, "Science with Mrs Lau," [Online]. Available: https://www.scienceandmathwithmrslau.com/2017/09/ten-tips-
teaching-ell-science/.
2. N. Petringa, "Science Literacy for English Language Learners: A Qualitative Study of Teacher Practices in European
Private International Schools," University of Ottawa, 2021.
3. R. Bresser and S. Fargason, "Communication and Language Strategies for the Science Inquiry Classroom (Part 2),"
[Online]. Available: https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/communication-and-language-strategies-science-inquiry-
classroom-part-2.
4. R. Bresser and S. Fargason, "Opportunities and Challenges for ELLs in the Science Inquiry Classroom (Part 1),"
[Online]. Available: https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/opportunities-and-challenges-ells-science-inquiry-
classroom-part-1.
5. R. Johnson and K. Attwell, "Supporting English Language Learners in Your Classroom," The EduGals Podcast, 20 July
2021.
6. V. Betancourt, "Science For English Learners," Classnotes Podcast Archives, 2012.

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English Language Learners

• Reading – science uses complex texts to share information

Multimodalities – Images, reading, listening.

Paper by N. Petringa has many specific examples

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