Text/Material Analysis

Directions: For your selected material (trade book, textbook chapter, video, or other), there are
these tasks: (1) identify the text’s key ideas, concepts or events, (2) reflect on experiences or
knowledge that would help students connect these to their lives, (3) identify potential barriers to
student understanding (particularly language use and culture); (4) determine which aspects of
text content and structure are most likely to interfere with comprehension. USE COURSE
RESOURCES whenever possible to answer the questions, and cite or quote those resources
when possible.

Identify the material in APA format (visit the Purdue OWL or the Resources module on
Canvas for help):
Ferlazzo, L., & Hull-Sypnieski, K. (2012). The ESL/ELL teacher's survival guide: Ready-to-
use strategies, tools, and activities for teaching English language learners of all levels. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
http://searchit.libraries.wsu.edu/WSU:WSU_everything:CP51230815270001451

________________________________________________________________________

Task 1: Key concept identification

A. List major concepts, ideas, and/or events from the material.

Building Relationships-This is perhaps the most critical factor affecting student

motivation and learning. This is especially true for students in an ELL class who are

faced each day with the challenge and often scary experience of learning a new

language and interacting in a new culture.

Resources in the ESL Classroom- Resources are highly important to effective

instruction in any classroom.

Establishing Routines- Having a system of procedures benefits the students and the

teacher. For ELL students having a particular routine frees students to learn new

concepts. Students can focus on learning activities when they know what to expect and

are familiar with classroom routines.

B. List supporting concepts, ideas, and/or events.

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Teacher-Student Relationships- Teachers must learn about their students’ experiences

and backgrounds in order to connect them to new learning.

Student-Student Relationships- It is critical that ELL students develop trusting and

enriching relationships with each other. One way to this is to facilitate strong

relationships between students in an ELL class is through cooperative learning

activities. Students can gain valuable speaking practice while learning from each other.

Teacher-Parent Relationships-A trusting partnership relationship between teachers

and parents can have a major impact on the level of parent participation in their child’s

educational development, so it is important to have a relationship between teachers and

parents to increase student motivation and academic achievement.

Basic Art Supplies- having pens, pencils, markers, construction paper, glue, scissors

and highlighters can be useful for many different projects and activities. Having these

allows students to immediately focus on the content of the lesson and immediately get

to work.

Binders and Folders- It can be helpful to have binders or folders for each student to

leave in the classroom. This can help students help their materials in the classroom. It

can help students and teachers keep track of papers and make it easier for students to

get to work immediately.

Bilingual Dictionaries-Having dictionaries available that are in the languages spoken

by students is a good idea in an ELL classroom. Research indicates that bilingual

dictionaries to be an important component of language learning.

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Classroom Library-Research supports that the practice of Free Voluntary reading,

which involves letting students choose reading materials based on their own interests.

Having a library in the classroom that is well stocked and well organized can be a way

to motivate students to voluntarily read.

Peer Tutors-This can be a very valuable resource in an ELL class, especially in a large

class with a range of proficiency levels. Peer tutors can serve as excellent role models,

translators, and classroom helpers.

Classroom Walls-This can be an important resource for ELL students. Examples of

things you can put on the wall are word walls, concept maps, academic sentences

frames, posted classroom routines, student works, etc.

Technology Basics-Examples of these are document cameras, computer projectors, and

having access to computer lab and to the Internet. This can enhance the learning

experience of ELL students in the classroom.

Opening and Ending Procedures-Having a walk in procedure, a warm up question or

a journal topic is a good way to get students focused and learning from the minute they

walk in. And doing a brief closure activity each day is a routine that can assess student

learning. Having student respond in writing to a question in writing to a question

related to the lesson can help students reflect on their learning.

Procedures for Disturbing Materials- This can reduce the teachers stress and create

smoother transitions from one activity to another. This is to allow for a smooth

distribution and collection process, assigning student jobs can be done for this

procedure.

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Posting Agendas and Schedule- This is helpful, so students can be familiarized with

classroom routines and following written directions.

Modeling Routines and Making modeling a routine- It is important to model routines

for students, so that they know what to expect. It is also crucial for students to make

modeling a part of their daily routine in order to make input more comprehensible for

students.

Computer Routines- When considering a structure time in the computer lab, keeping it

simple does build success. Being less controlling and being more helpful students can

help them develop self-control.

Task 2: Experience and knowledge

A. List three experiences that would help your students connect key concepts to their lives.
***Put examples given in the activities section of the chapter
I Am Project (Building Relationship)- This project/activity is a good way to get to know

your student. It is also a good way for your student to get to know you. This should be

done on the first day of class. Have a handout ready before class, and ask a student to

hand one to each student (student involvement). Doing these activities with your

students will letyou get to know them better as well. Some questions that may be on the

handout are; I am happy when…, I am scared when…, In the future, I will…, etc.

(Ferlazzo & Hull-Sypnieski, 2012, p.21).

Find Something in the Classroom (Resources in the ESL classroom)- There are many

different supplies in the classroom that can be used to help our ELLs. As highlighted in

this chapter it is important to have these supplies to make sure that we are fully help

our students (Ferlazzo & Hull-Sypnieski, 2012, p. 26). This activity can be used in the
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first few weeks of class. This is a great way to get students familiarized with the

materials that can be found in the classroom. Have a time for students to look around

the classrooms and look for books, dictionaries, calculators, etc. The purpose of this is to

when they need help in the future, they know where the supplies are located to help

them.

Field Trip to the Computer Lab (Establishing Routine)- This activity can be used to

establish a routine to students. You can bring them to the computer lab once a day, once

a month, or however often it is necessary to go to the computer lab. Keeping

instructions and activities simple can lead to success for ELLs. When ion the computer

lab, spend more time being the controller and more time helping students develop self-

control and a confidence booster for students. (Ferlazzo & Hull-Sypnieski, 2012, p.34).

B. List 3 pieces of knowledge that would help your students connect key concepts to their lives.
Different Cultures- Knowing the different culture of your students can be important

for teachers, but it can also be important for the students. They will interact with peers

that will come from different cultures. I think that it is important for these students to

know what culture their peers come from, so that when they interact with them, they

will know how and why their peers act differently than they do. One idea that can be

done in class is to have an activity where students can write the culture they are from

and share it in class, we can ask them to make a poster. The poster can be put on the

walls of the classroom for reference later.

Cultural Acceptance-It is important for students to accept that their fellow students

might come from different cultures, practices different customs and speak different

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language. Learning different cultures can familiarize students and help them accept and

know their peers’ culture.

Daily Routines- Students need to know the regular routine in the classroom. This is

important, because knowing and following the daily routine can help students be more

comfortable in the classroom. An example of a daily routine that the student can learn is

looking at the board at the end of the class to see if there is homework and what it is

about.

Task 3: Barrier identification

 Answer these questions as specifically as possible:

 Is the material presented in a register that students are familiar with, or is it more or less
formal than they are used to? Give examples.

-The target audience for this text are teachers that are handling ELL classrooms,

or classrooms with ELL students. This text may also be for future teachers that

are in college, or people that are curious to find out how to handle an ELL

classroom. The author made the text formal, this is seen through his word

choices. However, this text is simple to read and easy to understand. This quote

demonstrates the formality of the text, but also having it easy to read and

understand, “There isn’t a perfect formula for being an effective ESL teacher, but

for growth to occur, students must feel comfortable taking risks, making

mistakes, and taking ownership of their learning. “(Ferlazzo & Hull-Sypnieski,

2012, p.13). This quote means that although this book might be a helpful guide

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 for ELL teachers or future ELL teachers, there is still no perfect way to teach ELL.

But we must make the students comfortable in the classroom to have our

students succeed, learn and grow as a person.

 With what specific language structures or grammar might students have difficulty? Use
the Andrews’ book to explain.

-There are no specific language structure or grammar that students might have

difficulty with except for the word choices that the author used. Andrews

explains this as having grammar variations. Grammar variation as explained by

Andrews (2001), is the different structure of phrases or sentences (p.97).

 From whose point of view is the material presented? What difference might this make to
comprehension?

-This text is from a point of view of ELL teachers. The authors are both ELL

teachers and have taught in an ELL classroom, so they have an experience on

what they are talking about. The difference that this might make is that these two

authors are experienced in the field, and have used the materials and strategies

that we read in the book in their classroom.

 What vocabulary in the materials might ELLs have trouble with? Why?

-There are different vocabularies in the text that might be difficult for some

student or readers to understand. An example of this is the text having some

words, terms or acronyms that some readers might not understand. This is

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 because the text is written for future teachers or teachers and is set in a more

formal tone.

 What cultural aspects of the book might ELLs find challenging? Why?

-Cultural aspects of the book that ELLs might find challenging are learning

lessons and being comfortable in the classroom despite coming from different

cultures. Some students learn differently than others, so it is important to make

students comfortable even if they come from different cultural backgrounds.

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Task 4: Comprehension demands

A. Based on your answers to the previous tasks, describe what kind of student might succeed in
understanding this material.

-Students that might succeed in understanding this material are students that re

interested in teaching in an ELL classroom, or wants to be an ELL teacher. They will

understand this material, because they are passionate about teaching ELLs. Since this

text is focused on strategies about how to succeed in teaching ELLs, the purpose of this

text is to inform and share the different strategies that can help teachers in an ELL

classroom.

C. Based on your answers to the previous tasks, describe what kind of student might fail in
understanding this material.

-The students that might fail in understanding this material are students who are not

interested in teaching at all or teaching in an ELL classroom. Because this text is

focused for teachers or future teachers. These students will be bored with the book.

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Reflection:
What might you as the teacher do to help students who face challenges with the material you
selected? List at least 3 strategies that might help, who they might be helpful for, and how you
could tell (assess) whether they helped.

As a teacher I would have my students who are facing challenges with this book by

having;

Reflection Paper- A strategy I would use to help students who are struggling with this

book by having a reflection paper. After reading the chapter, I will make them write

three things that they have found interesting, two things that they do not understand or

struggle with and one comment or question they have for the teacher. I will give them

feedback or answer any questions that they have to make sure that they are getting the

full concept or idea of the book.

Concept Map- The second strategy I would use to help students who are struggling

with this book is having them make a poster of a concept map. Concept Maps can

connect the chapter together. It can help students that are struggling with the book to

get the idea or concept of the chapter or book. Students can make posters out of the

concept map and it can be posted in the classroom for future references.

Venn Diagram- The third strategy I would use to help students who are struggling

with this book is to make a Venn diagram. This is also a good way to understand the

idea or concept of the book. The students can compare the book from their personal

point of view, differences and similarities.

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References:

Andrews, L. (2001). Linguistics for L2 teachers. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Ferlazzo, L., & Hull-Sypnieski, K. (2012). The ESL/ELL teacher's survival guide: Ready-to-
use strategies, tools, and activities for teaching English language learners of all levels. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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