8 Supporting Linguistically Diverse Students

 

Why Does it Matter?

Linguistic diversity enriches an institution’s learning and teaching environment. Language proficiency is crucial for students’  learning, academic achievement, and preparation for professional life; therefore, it is essential that our study programs support its development (UniSA, 2019).

Online students can come from anywhere in the world. While English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EALD) students may be present in our face-to-face classrooms, this diversity increases significantly with online students. What does this diversity mean for the teacher? How does having EALD students impact your teaching approach, especially when teaching online?

This chapter provides advice on how to develop your teaching methods, content, activities, and assessments to better support students in developing English language proficiency in our online courses.

What Does it Look Like in Practice?

In this section:

• EALD Students as Part of a Learning Community
• Ensuring Accessibility of Your Content Presentations
• Making Reading Accessible
• Other Ways of Supporting EALD Students’ Understanding

EALD Students as Part of a Learning Community

As discussed in the previous chapter on Building Online Communities with Your Students, learning is a social activity, so it is important to make all students feel welcome and that they belong to the learning community from the beginning of the course. If you are teaching exclusively online, display a genuine interest in your students and their learning progress by starting one-on-one conversations with them using video calls or written chat.

Encourage students to learn each other’s names using a forum-based activity in the first week (e.g., Arrival forum) and by updating their profiles in the Learning Management System (LMS). You can also find out more about your students before class starts by running an anonymous survey or other ice-breaking activities.

To maintain an online learning community, a teacher needs to be ‘present’ on the course website – that is, displaying a balance of cognitive, teaching, and social presence (Anderson, 2008, pp. 343-365) through their interactions with students.

Ensuring Accessibility of Your Content Presentations

EALD students will have different levels of English language proficiency. For some, the pace of online lecture delivery in virtual classrooms may be challenging. Ideally, EALD students need to be able to see the words written as they are being spoken.

We recommend that you create key concept presentations of your content with notes using PowerPoint, record and caption using video recording software. It is advisable to provide students the handouts of the slides and notes. Additionally, you can add comprehension questions into your video recording so students can test their understanding as they go.

However, if you do need to give a lecture presentation in a synchronous online environment, we recommend the following:

• Post PowerPoint slides prior to the scheduled class: This allows students to review the material in advance.
• Record your session (with permission) and share the recording: Upload the recording to the course’s video folder so students can revisit the content.
• Begin your session with an outline of what will be covered: This helps set clear expectations for the session.
• Speak at a pace that allows time for note-taking and comprehension: Ensure your delivery is clear and unhurried.
• Use plain English and refrain from using idioms or slang: Simplify language to enhance understanding.
• Use visuals/diagrams to communicate key ideas: Visual aids can reinforce spoken content.
• Provide students with a glossary of terms that will be used in the lecture: This helps students familiarise themselves with specific terminology.
• Use breakout rooms to stimulate student discussion on a given topic/statement (pairs/groups): Encourage interaction and peer learning.
• Allow students to ask questions using Chat during the session: If your class size is large, nominate another person (e.g., tutor or a proficient student) to monitor the Chat for you and use the microphone to summarise their questions.
• Conclude by recapping key ideas and directing students to relevant resources: Reinforce learning and provide further study materials.

Making Reading Accessible

Some EALD students may find reading challenging and require additional support, especially in an online teaching environment. To develop reading capability, teachers need to help students become strategic in their reading by supporting them before, during, and after they read.

Before Reading

To prepare students for reading, identify key concepts that will be presented in the resources. Additionally, teach students how to skim, scan, engage in detailed reading, and take effective notes.

While Reading

Support EALD students while reading by showing them how to read strategically; emphasise that they do not always need to read cover to cover. Encourage them to focus on key sections or summaries that are most relevant to their learning objectives.

Post Reading

Offer opportunities for students to assess their understanding through activities designed to test their comprehension using tools such as H5P.

To help EALD students manage their workload, try to pace assigned readings evenly throughout the study period so that they can keep up with the volume and time required to comprehend and respond to complex readings. Some course and program mapping tools for readings are available from the UniSA ELILT website: ELILT website – Reading Resources.

Another strategy to support EALD students with their reading and understanding content is to source related material in their primary language. This can help bridge gaps in understanding and provide a more comprehensive learning experience.

Other Ways of Supporting EALD Students’ Understanding

There are several tools that you can use to support EALD students in their learning of content, which can be added to your course website. These include communication tools, glossaries of key terms, quizzes, and other interactive activities.

Communication Tools

Ensure that students are aware they can ask questions about the content using tools such as a Q&A discussion forum. This helps all learners clarify any concepts that are not clear. For large class sizes, break the groups into smaller ones (15-20 per group) to minimise the amount of forum reading required of students.

Glossaries of Key Terms

Creating a glossary of key terms for a topic is another way to help EALD students increase their vocabulary. This glossary can be an uploaded word document or webpage on your website, or you can create a glossary using the LMS or tools such as the Accordion in H5P to present key terms.

Quizzes and Interactive Activities

In order to build a robust vocabulary, EALD students need to regularly self-test their comprehension and receive formative feedback on their performance.

Language-Related Activities in H5P

There are specific tools available in H5P that support the development of language-related activities:

• Speak the Words: A H5P interactive content type where students answer questions using speech. The marking happens via Google’s speech recognition engine.
• Dictation: A H5P interactive content type where teachers record audio, which students listen to and type in the words.

Using Speech in Forums

You can also encourage students to communicate using speech with tools such as forums. For example, in the Moodle LMS, the Atto toolbar allows students to record audio and/or video directly within a forum. To switch your HTML editor to Atto, access your Preferences > Editor preferences > Atto HTML editor. Once turned on, the audio and video recording buttons will appear in your toolbar when working in the course site (e.g., in forums, wikis, databases). Select either audio or video and make a recording (limit 2 minutes), check your work, and then add the recording directly to your forum post.

If longer recordings are needed, the Audio Recorder is a H5P interactive content type that can be embedded into the course website for students (and teachers) to quickly record speech that can be downloaded as an audio file. The Audio Recorder can be coupled with a forum or database activity where students can compare their speech with model answers provided by you and with their peers.

Incorporating GenAI Tools

Generative AI (GenAI) tools offer innovative ways to support EALD students in their learning journey. These tools can assist in making study materials accessible while limiting the need for educators’ intervention. Examples include:

• Real-time Captioning and Translation Tools.
• Language Learning Apps
• Writing Assistance Tools
• AI-Powered Study Aids for quiz or flashcard generation
• Speech-to-Text Applications
• Text-to-graphics Applications
• AI Chatbots and Virtual Assistants
• AI-Enhanced Feedback Tools

 

Knowledge Check – What Did You Learn?

To reinforce your understanding of supporting EALD students, please answer the following questions:

What Does It All Mean for Me?

Reflecting on this chapter, consider how you can apply the principles and tools discussed to support EALD students in your courses. Here is an activity to help you integrate these concepts:

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References

UniSA 2019. The English Language and Intercultural Learning and Teaching Framework, University of South Australia, <https://lo.unisa.edu.au/course/view.php?id=17391#LL> Accessed 18 August 2020.

Anderson, T 2008, Teaching in an online learning context, In Theory and Practice of Online Learning, 2nd Ed., Edmonton: AU Press, pp 343-365.