Integrated Learning in the Classroom

Integrated Learning in the Classroom

In most schools today, educators integrate students who are non-native English speakers into the regular classroom. Students may be described in terms of their English language ability in order to create cooperative learning groups and to measure their progress. A student's English language ability is often described in one of the following ways:

Emergent language learners, just beginning to learn the language.

Limited English Proficient, or those with basic interpersonal communication abilities that allow interaction with peers socially. May also describe students with some level of cognitive academic language (CALP) allowing the student to interact more deeply with content.

Native English speakers or students that use English as their primary language.

This combination can present many challenges for teaching and learning. It is the teacher's responsibility to provide a classroom atmosphere where optimal learning can take place for all students. One of the primary tasks a teacher has is to create a safe environment where students can risk "trying" the language. In addition, certain strategies have been found to be particularly helpful in providing a learning community where everyone has access to not only learning English, but also the content.

There are many research-based ELL strategies that can facilitate greater learning in the classroom for students at all levels described. Pre-instruction activities including graphic organizers, semantic webbing and KWL charts can help students multiple ways. Studies suggest these activities promote greater cooperation in the classroom and create an environment where students are able to create models for learning and absorbing information at a pace that fits them well. These methods can help create a learning environment where "global levels of competence" are possible based on a student's individual skills and ability to discover ways of organizing information that caters to their skill level and ability (Givner, Lane & Pierson, 2003, 213). One way a teacher can integrate this strategy into learning is by establishing a curriculum that naturally integrates pre-instruction practices into learning. By preparing students through various tools for learning, students are more empowered when engaged in actual learning activities, because they know ahead of time what the goals and objectives of learning will be.

Multiple studies confirm that students learn in varying ways; while some are kinesthetic learners, others learn by example, others learn through auditory measures and still others learn best when teachers incorporate visual aids into the classroom. Visual aids can help boost self-esteem by illustrating hard-to-understand concepts, especially for students whose English speaking skills are less than the skills of the majority of the classroom (Colvin, 2002). Cooperative groups and peer learning is a tool for designing classrooms and organizing classrooms in a manner that encourages students of all abilities, and students of all demographic orientations to interact with one another. This reduces the likelihood for "emotional disorders" or behavioral problems in the classroom (Colvin, 2002, 166).

Repeat and rephrase techniques build confidence by allowing students the ability to use auditory skills in an attempt to match the abilities of their peers. Repeat and rephrase techniques also stimulate greater learning by embedding information into students subconscious, and into contexts they can translate into understandable terms based on their knowledge of the English language (Hall, Marchnkova & Vitanova, 2004). Repeat and rephrase is a technique that benefits not only students with little or few English speaking ability, but also students with English as their primary language. Repetition is a learning tool that allows students to memorize information and then translate it into a context that is understandable and applicable to their social and educational environment.

Lastly, music is a universal form of expression. Many researchers have emphasized music's ability to enhance student learning. Some believe the music of certain composers including Mozart stimulate centers of the brain known to promote greater learning. The reasons for this are not certain, but music is tool-integrated classrooms can use to boost self-esteem among students and encourage students to interact with each other and share with each other by sharing their own cultural heritage.

The English language is something often learned through rhymes and riddles, in traditional classrooms, as well as in integrated classrooms where not all students understand English as well as their peers. Nursery rhymes help students learn English in a fun and entertaining context, and context is a "primary component" of how students learn and integrate their learning into their everyday actions (Hall, Marchenkova & Vitanova, 2004, 9). Teachers can easily use music by encouraging students to play instruments, or by having group sessions where students sit together and recite nursery rhymes and other musical games. This is also a way teachers can re-emphasize the technique of repeat and rephrasing, because verses in nursery rhymes and songs are often repeated, thus more likely to leave a lasting impression on student's behavior.