How to Educate English Language Learners Through the Use of Graphic Organizers

ELLs are presented with quite a challenge once reading material starts to become increasingly difficult and complex. It is crucial to their academic success that they learn how to read and understand informational texts, which as Grabe and Stoller explain, involves the ability to "remember main ideas and certain details, to link the text to the reader's prior knowledge, and to recognize and build rhetorical frames that organize the text information" (as cited in Jiang & Grabe, 2007, p.46). A strategy that can help with ELL's comprehension is the use of different graphic organizers, including Venn diagrams, KWL charts, semantic maps, diagrams, tables, timelines, and outlines. This type of organizational tool allows ELLs to visually organize key concepts and their relationships that otherwise may be difficult material for them to understand. By using graphic organizers, students can more easily see how ideas and patterns in the text are related (Simich-Dudgeon, 1998; Jiang & Grabe, 2007; Frederickson, 1999; Morahan & Clayton, n.d.). Another important aspect of using this type of strategy is the teacher is able to point out important facts from the map or chart at any time during the lesson to clear up confusion a student may have. Teachers can also adjust the graphic organizer depending on the level of an ELL's English. The visual aid of the graphic organizer along with additional teacher explanation will allow an ELL to attain much more from the lesson (Brown, 2007).

As cited in Jiang & Grabe (2007), Tang investigated the effect of graphic organizers on comprehension for 45 ELL students. In one group, students were given a passage in the form of a tree graph that was partially complete. They finished the graph and wrote a recall. The second group read the same passage also in the form of a tree graph, but focused more on vocabulary. They answered questions after reading, and then wrote a recall. The results of the posttest showed that the first group did considerably better than the second group in the recall test. The amount of information recalled was much higher due to the fact that their attention was focused on the visual representation of the text.

These types of strategies have a huge impact on comprehension, and allow ELLs to build English language skills, background knowledge, increase understanding, and make learning more enjoyable. ELLs will become more successful students if teachers give them the opportunity to utilize all of these strategies for comprehension.

Another element that is useful in providing clues to meaning is collaborative talk in the classroom. Collaboration is fundamental to teaching and learning in general, but particularly beneficial to ELLs learning the English language. By collaborating with more competent speakers of English, ELL students will develop emergent language and cultural competence in a supportive and nurturing environment. Students collaborating with one another will help create positive attitudes toward reading and improve reading comprehension. Teachers are persuaded to integrate collaborative talk or peer-pairing in the classroom with specific subject content. Through collaborative discussions students will gain knowledge in both the subject area as well as methods of speaking and vocabulary. They also have the opportunity to experiment with the language and develop ways of putting their ideas together and trying them out (Egbert & Simich-Dudgeon, 2001; Simich-Dudgeon, 1998; Frederickson, 1999; Reed & Railsback, 2003; Jiang & Grabe, 2007).

According to Simich-Dudgeon (1998), Student-Organized face-to-face discussion and Question-Response-Feedback are two of the most beneficial types of classroom interaction for ELLs. During Student-Organized Interaction the teacher and English-speaking students model proper grammar as well as vocabulary and verbal expression. During this type of interaction ELLs can improve their listening comprehension by listening to their peers ask questions, explain important information, and make predictions.

Question-Response-Feedback is beneficial because it focuses on concepts, skills, and vocabulary that have already been taught. Students can respond verbally or non-verbally depending on how well they know the English language. They can respond non-verbally by "pointing to a location on a map, adding a feature to a diagram, or demonstrating a calculation at the chalkboard" (Simich-Dudgeon, 1998, p. 5). These types of classroom interactions are teacher-structured and supportive, which enables ELLs to feel comfortable and useful in the classroom (Simich-Dudgeon, 1998).

Another common instructional technique for building comprehension is the Total Physical Response (TPR) technique, which uses modeling and simple commands to prompt non-verbal or short oral responses. Developed by James J. Asher in the 1960's, TPR is a tool that focuses on the relationship between language and its physical representation. Teachers can use visual aides, actual objects, and actions to explain a simple concept and then model what ELLs are to do before giving a command. It involves a series of actions along with a series of simple commands. Students respond by performing the appropriate actions. For example, they can point, draw, arrange, or write to clarify a specific instruction. Showing and doing, rather then simply telling, provides a clearer message and less confusion for the students. As ELLs become more advanced in their English proficiency teachers can increase the complexity of a command. Instruction will gradually get more complex and so will the students' ability to comprehend (Frederickson, 1999; Reed & Railsback, 2003).
Teachers should frequently provide opportunities and encouragement to integrate reading and writing into collaborative activities (Frederickson, 1999). These types of classroom interactions create a comfortable classroom community and supportive environment where ELL students can collaborate and negotiate meaning among their peers, learn the English language, and interact with others and interpret a variety of language functions. In collaborative grouping, more students talk and participate in the lesson, asking questions and responding to others, which makes the material more understandable. (Frederickson, 1999; Simich-Dudgeon, 1998; Egbert & Simich-Dudgeon, 2001; Rea & Mercuri, 2006).