Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1: “You Have a Chance Also”: Case Histories of ESL Students at the University

What chance of success in higher education do ESL students have?   How do they attain it?   Language minority students at the university discuss their language development and educational experiences with Donna Brinton and Sandra Mano.

Chapter 2: Sheltered Instruction across the Disciplines: Successful Teachers at Work

How can teachers make sophisticated content accessible to students still in the process of acquiring English?   Linda Sasser and Beth Winningham visit the classrooms of sheltered history, science, English, and mathematics teachers who have made great strides in putting theory into practice.

Chapter 3: Writing and Language Socialization across Cultures: Some Implications for the Classroom

Cultures show great diversity in the ways they conceive and structure writing and in the ways they encourage children to use language.   George Gadda surveys some of what has been learned about these issues and suggests some strategies for the classroom.

Chapter 4: Helping Language Minority Students Read and Write Analytically: The Journey Into, Through, and Beyond

Can teachers push for the same kinds of analytical reading and writing in the ESL classroom that they do in their mainstream college prep classes?   Donna Brinton, Janet Goodwin, and Laura Ranks demonstrate ways to engage students in reading demanding texts and writing about them.

Chapter 5: Breaking New Ground: Responding to LEP Writers in Every Classroom

What happens when limited English proficient students “write to learn” in the various content classes and when their teachers write back?   Faye Peitzman and Beth Winningham present evidence of the power of student-teacher dialogues across the disciplines.

Chapter 6: What’s Fair?   Assessing Subject Matter Knowledge of LEP Students in Sheltered Classrooms

How can teachers fairly assess the extent of their limited English proficient students’ understanding of subject matter?   Dan Fichtner, Faye Peitzman, and Linda Sasser focus on ways teachers in sheltered classrooms have begun to modify and expand traditional assessment techniques.

Appendices

            A.   Passages about Bruno Bettelheim and Coalhouse Walker

            B.   Selecting Literature for Language Minority Students

            C.   Sample Comments for Problems Often Found in the Analytical Writing of

Language Minority Students

References