Equity through Language
professional development, everyone is talking about equity. But have you ever thought about
equity within language? As an educator, are you being equitable in the way you use language
supports when teaching content?
only way we can give equitable
access of content to ALL learners.
Comprehensible input is exactly
that: sharing any input in a way
that all learners can comprehend.
Comprehensible input requires
intentional planning on the part
of a teacher, but can be done
meaningfully with things like
pictures, diagrams/charts
and realia; just to name a few.
Some simple steps a teacher can take will make a world of difference for students'
understanding and ultimately achievement. Valentina Gonzalez demonstrates this beautifully.
As Ms. Gonzalez states towards the end of her demonstration some of the most important
things she did for students were: pointing, using props (realia) and also repeating the words
several times while giving time and space for students to repeat the words themselves. These
multiple points of exposure are huge for all learners. Marzano's research shows that students
need anywhere from 4-40 exposures to a word before being able to use the word themselves.
Four times for those who have a broad vocabulary and forty for our language learners. This
research demonstrates that comprehensible input is a need for ALL our learners.
How do you make your teaching
comprehensible? How do you
ensure ALL learners have
access to what you are saying?
What strategy will you try out or
begin to use to meet the
needs of ALL learners?
Resources:
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