Introduction

Many factors contribute to a classroom's diversity. These include race, culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, learning styles, varied experiences and background knowledge, support from home, skill level, readiness, behavior, and students' proficiency level in English. Because they are among the fastest-growing demographic group of students in the United States, teaching English language learners (ELLs) has become a big challenge for teachers as they try to find ways to make content comprehensible and help students use English to communicate their understanding of the core content areas of mathematics, social studies, and science.

Just as diversity comes in many different forms in the classroom, English learners as a group are diverse as well. ELLs vary widely by level of schooling, parents' level of education, parents' proficiency in English, proficiency and literacy in their native language, and proficiency in English. Some English learners have had limited access to education, and some have experienced war firsthand or lived in refugee camps. Most ELLs are born in the United States, but the level of English spoken in their homes varies considerably (Wright 2010).

The students in Sharon's class are mostly English learners, but they are different from one another in many ways. For example, Diana is a student from Burma who is at the beginning level of English proficiency according to California's English Language Development Test (CELDT). She has had limited access to public education in her home country and struggles with academic content.

Rafael was born in the United States, but his parents do not speak English. Although he is making good progress in school, his proficiency in English is at an intermediate level. Carlos is a gifted student whose English skills are advanced. His parents are bilingual and speak to him in both English and Spanish at home. These three students are examples of the range of experiences, backgrounds, and levels of proficiency that Sharon must consider when she plans and teaches her science lessons.

Challenges Language Learners Face During Inquiry Science

When engaged in inquiry science, children must use language to make a prediction or a hypothesis. They use language when talking to a friend about how they'll set up an experiment. And they use language when they are reading about batteries, reflecting on the outcome of an investigation, writing about the conclusions they draw, or pondering new questions they have.

Language can be a powerful learning tool during inquiry, promoting the understanding of science concepts (Rosebery, Warren, and Conant 1992). But when the language of instruction is unfamiliar to a student, English language learners can experience challenges that may create roadblocks to learning. These challenges are reflected in their scores on science achievement tests, which are well below that of their native English-speaking counterparts (Next Generation Science Standards Writing Team 2012).

English language learners face a triple challenge during science instruction. They must learn everyday vocabulary, content-specific vocabulary, and the language structures that are used when engaged in inquiry, such as formulating hypotheses, drawing conclusions, making inferences, and asking questions.

The language of science can be confusing for English language learners because it uses many words from everyday life that have different meanings. For example, students may know that they eat off of a plate, but in science, plate tectonics has quite a different meaning. The same is true of the words cell (as in cell phone), tissue (something to use when you sneeze), and organ (an instrument). All of these words have meanings in everyday life that are different from the way they are used in science (Wright 2010).

To create an equitable learning environment for English language learners during inquiry, teachers must be aware of their students' proficiency levels in English and determine the language demands of science lessons to plan for appropriate support during instruction. English language learners are entitled to high-quality language and content instruction so that they can use English to learn science and use science as a context for learning English. When we teach science, we are also teaching English, not just teaching in English.

Determining the Academic Language Demands of a Science Lesson

When planning a science lesson, Sharon analyzes the language that students will be reading, writing, listening to, and having to produce. If students have to read from their science textbook or a piece of nonfiction, Sharon reads the text ahead of time, looking for any text features that might pose problems for her English learners. She asks herself many questions as she thinks about the language demands of the reading:

• Are there tricky definitions that might need to be discussed or recast in more accessible ways?
• Are there grammatical forms that might be challenging to readers, such as the conditional tense: What might happen if an earthquake occurs in a large city?
• Are there long, complex sentences that might need to be broken down into shorter sentences for the students?
• Are there idiomatic phrases that may be unfamiliar? Are there captions in the text that students might need to pay particular attention to?
• Are there transition words used (unless, although, finally, because, consequently, therefore), and will students need to learn what they indicate (Cloud, Genesee, and Hamayan 2009)?

Sharon also thinks about key vocabulary that her students might need to understand and use during inquiry. For example, when planning a unit on energy, Sharon determines what:

• everyday words students will need to know and use (such as rubber band, wire, flashlight, Styrofoam, paper, battery)
• content-specific vocabulary they will need to learn (such as electricity, conductor, energy, insulator).

As she thinks about when and how she will teach the terms, Sharon draws from a variety of strategies that make the vocabulary accessible and easier to learn. These include:

• making use of realia or concrete materials to demonstrate usage (for example, using a real flashlight when introducing the word)
• creating an illustrated vocabulary chart to help students visualize the words
• using familiar synonyms for academic terms (for example, see-through for transparent)
• making students aware of cognates, which are words in English that sound similar in a student's native language (for example, the word atomos is Spanish for atoms).

In addition to using these strategies to explicitly teach vocabulary, Sharon models using the words in context and has her students repeat them for practice.

The academic language that students must learn and use during inquiry science is not restricted to vocabulary. Students must also use the vocabulary in complete sentences to say something about their learning. So if a student is learning about minerals and wants to compare two different ones, she will need to know some describing words (black, white, rough, smooth) and be able to use them to compare the minerals (mineral A is white and smooth, whereas mineral B is black and rough).

In other words, the student is using the vocabulary for a purpose: to compare minerals. In science, students use language during inquiry for a variety of purposes: to describe, compare, hypothesize, predict, sequence, categorize or classify, explain, analyze, draw conclusions, ask and answer questions, estimate, persuade, and identify. Whenever we ask children to read something, say something, write something, or listen to our directions or a procedure during inquiry science, we are placing a language demand on them for which they may need extra support, depending upon their level of proficiency in English.

Setting Content and Language Objectives

When planning a science lesson, Sharon thinks about content and language as interconnected, because we use language to learn about science concepts, and we use science contexts to develop language. "Just as language (development) cannot occur if we only focus on subject matter, content knowledge cannot grow if we only focus on learning the English language" (Hill and Flynn 2006, 22).

When students use communication to make sense of the world, and when they talk or write about their learning, it gives the teacher a window into their thinking. Are their ideas correct? Do they hold naïve conceptions about a concept? Do their ideas hold merit? Language is an important learning tool and a key assessment tool. When Sharon thinks about the science content she will teach, she considers the language that students will use to show that they have learned the content. To help her provide the right support for students, she first sets a science-content objective (guided by the overall science standard or goal for the lesson), and then she thinks of a language objective that supports the content objective.

Example: Energy lesson

For example, for one of the lessons in a unit on energy, Sharon knew that students would be learning about different sources of energy (the science-content objective). She also knew that students would be thinking about, talking about, and then writing about what they think energy is. Because Sharon knew that her students would need to describe where energy comes from and what it is, she set a language objective: "Students will orally and in writing describe energy and where it comes from."

Setting a language objective focuses Sharon's attention on the purpose for using language in a lesson (in this case, the purpose was describing). Setting a language objective also guides Sharon when she thinks about the support students will need when using language. In the lesson on energy, Sharon offered her students a simple writing prompt—Energy is …—to help them get started on their writing. The idea for the prompt flowed directly from the language objective.

Example: Pendulum lesson

In another lesson, on pendulums, Sharon's content objective was "Students will conduct multiple trials to test a prediction in a pendulum experiment." Her language objective, which supported the content objective, was "Students will make predictions about the pendulums orally and in writing." Writing a language objective helped Sharon focus on the purpose for using language in the lesson (making predictions), thereby helping her plan for linguistic support.

Example: Mineral lesson

For a lesson on minerals, Sharon had to teach the following big idea or science standard over the course of a week: "Students know how to compare the physical properties of different kinds of rocks and know that a rock is composed of different combinations of minerals." The lesson she was going to teach that day from the rocks and minerals unit engaged students in performing tests.

Sharon's content objective was "Students will perform a variety of tests to learn about the properties of minerals." Her language objective, which supported the content objective, was "Students will use key vocabulary to describe and compare the properties of minerals orally and in writing." The language objective for the lesson helped Sharon focus on what she wanted students to talk and write about during the lesson so that they would meet the content objective. It also helped guide her in creating the support students would need to describe and compare the minerals.

Native English speakers are able to perform the language functions of describing, predicting, and comparing when prompted with questions such as, Can you describe what energy is and where it comes from? What do you predict will happen when you perform the experiment with the pendulum? How does mineral A compare with mineral B? English language learners may understand the content of the lesson, but their inexperience with the language can keep them from articulating what they know.

It is also possible that their struggles with the language of instruction lead them to partial or inaccurate understandings of the content. Until they verbalize their understandings, what they have learned or not learned remains a mystery to the teacher and may even be unclear to the students themselves. Choosing a language objective or language function that matches the science-content objective makes the learning more observable to the teacher and the student (Bresser, Melanese, and Sphar 2009).

Setting a content objective helps the teacher think about the science content she needs to focus on. Setting an accompanying language objective serves to highlight the language students will use during the lesson to indicate whether they are learning the science. Setting a language objective also guides the teacher in planning strategies that will support students when they communicate during inquiry.

Providing Support

The support that we provide English language learners during inquiry science falls into three categories: strategies that make content comprehensible, strategies that provide opportunities for communication, and strategies that provide support for communication.

Making Content Comprehensible

The strategies that make science content comprehensible include ones that Sharon uses to help students access key vocabulary:

• the use of illustrated vocabulary banks
• highlighting cognates
• recasting science terms or using familiar synonyms
• providing realia and concrete materials

Sharon also uses gestures or acts out words, phrases, and directions when teaching. She uses lots of visuals such as graphic organizers and pictures that help children "see" concepts. In addition, she modifies her teacher talk by slowing down and articulating clearly when giving directions, emphasizes key words, and avoids idiomatic phrases or slang. In addition to bridging new vocabulary with students' native languages, Sharon always taps their prior knowledge and experiences so that they can build on their current knowledge about science topics. All of these strategies help English language learners access science content because they allow them to visualize what the teacher is saying and connect what they are learning to what they already know.

Providing Opportunities for Communication

Sharon uses several different talk formats to provide students with the chance to discuss their learning:

• Whole-class discussions provide a forum in which there are many opportunities for the cross-pollination of ideas.
• Small-group formats create a safer environment in which more students get a chance to talk (See Figure 4.1).
• Partner talks give English language learners an even safer place to share ideas and rehearse what they might report in a whole-class setting.

Figure 4.1: Student Conversation

When partnering students during pair-shares, Sharon sometimes places a student with advanced proficiency with a beginning-level English learner so that language modeling or translation can occur.

At other times, she places two students together who are at the same proficiency level in English so that more talk can happen. Sharon might even let the students choose whom they want to pair-share with.

To begin a science discussion, Sharon might ask a question and then give students sufficient time (sometimes up to ten seconds) to gather their thoughts and generate a response before talking to the group or to their partner. Providing wait or think time is crucial for all students, but particularly for English language learners, who may need more time to think before sharing.

The use of wait time and the different talk formats provide opportunities for all English learners to think and then talk about their learning. But what if the students don't have the language (in English) to say something? This is when it is important for the teacher to offer structured support to assist students in communicating.

Providing Support for Communication

Sharon uses a variety of strategies to help her students communicate their science thinking and practice new words and phrases they are learning (see Figure 4.2). Some strategies are easy to use and take little time or effort. For example, Sharon might ask for a thumbs-up or thumbs-down after asking a question such as "Do you agree or disagree with Carlos's hypothesis?"

Eliciting nonverbal responses supports English learners because the responses help teachers check for understanding without requiring students to produce language. English learners can participate and show that they understand a concept, or agree or disagree with someone's ideas, without having to talk. This is especially important for students whose comprehension of English is more advanced than their ability to speak the language.

Another easy strategy to use that supports students is having them give a choral response or echo in unison a new word or phrase. For example, when introducing the phrase conductor of electricity, Sharon had the class echo the phrase to her several times. This strategy exposes students to new vocabulary and serves as a model for correct pronunciation, syntax, and grammar. It also gives them practice using the language of science.

During a science lesson, students are exposed to many important concepts and ideas. These ideas may come from the teacher or from another student in the class. One strategy that holds students responsible for listening is having them repeat or reword someone else's idea. Although repeating may not seem like a high-level task, it is much more active than simply listening to the concepts as they are presented. Rewording encourages students to express a new concept in their own language, a language we know they understand. Students can repeat or reword statements made by the teacher or by other students. The teacher can also repeat or reword statements made by students to emphasize or question information (Bresser, Melanese, and Sphar 2009).

Figure 4.2 Strategies, Activities, and Tools to Support English Learners

Sentence Frames and Prompts

I learned…
I wonder…

In another lesson on UV beads, Sharon provided the following prompts to help students formulate testable questions:

What if…?
Does…?
I wonder…?
What will happen if…?
Is it possible to ____________?

Sentence frames serve a variety of purposes. They provide the support English language learners need to fully participate in science discussions, serve to contextualize and bring meaning to vocabulary, provide a structure for practicing and extending English language skills, and help students use the vocabulary they learn in grammatically correct, complete sentences (Bresser, Melanese, and Sphar 2009).

During a unit on energy, Sharon wanted the students to make a prediction about a pair of students' hypothesis. To help them make a prediction, she provided the following frames. The first frame is appropriate for beginning-level English learners. Sharon differentiated the second frame for intermediate/advanced English learners. Notice how the second frame includes the conjunction because. This prompts the learners to explain their thinking further but requires more language:

I predict ___________ hypothesis will work/won't work.
I predict ___________ hypothesis will work/won't work because __________.

During an investigation of UV beads, Sharon offered the following frame to help students describe the beads:

The beads are ____________ and made of ____________.

To create sentence frames, Sharon first thinks about what key vocabulary students will need to know and understand. She then thinks about the purpose for using language. Will students be using vocabulary to make predictions about a hypothesis? Draw conclusions about an experiment? Compare minerals? Describe an energy source? Ask questions about UV beads? Explain how they got a toy car to move?

Sharon tries to anticipate what students will say, and this guides her in creating the frames. When structured appropriately, sentence frames are flexible enough to be useful in a variety of contexts and open enough to allow students to give us their own ideas. These frames allow students to use the key vocabulary terms and put together complete thoughts, thoughts that can be connected, confirmed, rejected, revised, and understood. What's important is that the teacher model using the frames and give students practice so that they will actually use the frames during instruction.

The chart in Figure 4.3 includes examples of sentence frames for different topics in science and for different language functions or purposes for using language. The examples also include frames that are differentiated for different levels of English proficiency: beginning and intermediate/ advanced.

Supporting Students at Different Proficiency Levels

As mentioned, the students in Sharon's class represent a wide range of proficiency levels in English.

Native and advanced English speakers

For example, John and Felicia are native English speakers who require little linguistic support during inquiry science, although sentence frames for advanced proficiency levels can push them to use more sophisticated language.

Carlos and Benito are at advanced and intermediate levels of English proficiency, respectively, and with some added grammatical support, are able to perform all of the language functions that John and Felicia can. For example, when Carlos makes a grammatical error, Sharon models correct usage and has him repeat it to her. These two students, like everyone in Sharon's class, also need exposure to and support for using academic terms during inquiry science. They also need practice talking like scientists, since the language they are expected to use during inquiry is more formal than the English they use on the playground.

Students who are native English speakers, and those who are at advanced and intermediate levels of English proficiency, are able to respond to more open-ended questions during inquiry. For example, Sharon might ask, "What do you think will happen when we use the lemon to make a battery?" This is a good question for native English speakers and those at advanced and intermediate levels of proficiency. But a response to this question requires a lot of language for beginning-level English learners. These students must produce so much language just to structure their answer that they might choose not to answer at all.

Beginning English speakers

Jackie, Alejandra, and Dao are at the beginning stages of English language development and need lots of visual support. They understand more English than they can produce, and the questions that Sharon asks them are sometimes different from the questions she poses to students at more advanced levels. For example, to improve his participation, Sharon might ask Dao a question that requires a nonverbal or one-word response. (For example, "Do you agree with Carlos's hypothesis?" or "Thumbs-up if you agree with Carlos's hypothesis.")

Sharon might ask Dao a question that requires only a physical response. ("Point to the materials that make the bulb light up" or "Can you show me how to make the bulb light up?") Sometimes Sharon will build the answer into the question. ("Which works better, the potato or the lemon?")

Figure 4.4 shows what students at different levels of English proficiency can do, what support they need, and the types of questions that are most effective to ask.

Figure 4.4 • Support for Different Proficiency Levels in Englis

When thinking about support for students at different proficiency levels, it's important to hold high expectations for all students. Just because a student is beginning to learn English doesn't mean he isn't good at science! And just because a student at the beginning stages of English language development typically struggles with responding to open-ended questions doesn't mean we can't ask them. When Sharon asks an open-ended question, she first asks everyone to think about it. If individual students need a more structured or modified form of the question in order to respond, she will provide one. Sharon's goal is for everyone to improve and move forward in their English language development, and she uses inquiry science as a context for them to do so.

Equitable Access For All Students

During inquiry science, Sharon wants all of her students to have access to science content. If language is a barrier to learning, she provides the necessary support. Without support, many of her students might not be able to participate in science discussions or express their learning through the language of instruction. Providing explicit language support is critical to equitable access.

Lisa Delpit frames this idea in her book Other People's Children (1999). She urges educators to explicitly teach those forms of language that will enable students to succeed in school and actively participate in their learning communities. Therefore, when we expect the students in our diverse classrooms to contribute their ideas during science discussions, we need to make sure that they have the skills in English to do so.