ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS' (ELL) PERFORMANCE IN BASIC SCIENCE USING SHELTERED INSTRUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Sheltered Instruction offers ELL students with the necessary support and time to concentrate on improving language fluency, as well as the required material in graduation-required curriculum areas (Echevarria et al;2022).

Echevarria et al. (2022) explain that enrolling ELL students in sheltered instruction content area classes affords them opportunity to enhance English language skills, material understanding, and task completion skills.

Sheltered instruction is an instructional method that combines language and subject education (Wikipedia,2022). The objective of sheltered education is to make subject matter accessible to all students (Wikipedia,2022)

Throughout the day, children in sheltered instruction courses receive intelligible core material instruction from a core instructor. To teach language and content, sheltered education employs a communicative approach that emphasizes communication and functions above grammar and structure. When addressing content concepts, the method emphasizes the use of language functions such as bargaining, explaining, describing, and defining.

The topic is presented utilizing instructional methodologies that scaffold the content's learning through the use of visuals, gestures, manipulatives, paraphrasing, etc. Each class contains distinct language and topic objectives. The use of higher-order language, particularly in questioning (Echevarria et al., 2022) and critical thinking are also essential components of sheltered education.

Researchers have discovered that ELL students whose teachers implemented the sheltered teaching observation procedure performed better (SIOP components).

A research conducted between 1998 and 2000 contrasted two large groups of ELL middle school pupils from the east and west coasts who were taught by certified ESL instructors. One set of pupils was instructed by teachers who underwent SIOP model training. The professors of the second set of students were unfamiliar with the SIOP paradigm. The two groups of students were given prompts in the fall and spring that required expository writing using the Illinois measure of Annual Growth in English (IMAGE) assessment rubric. The results indicated that the teachers using the SIOP model outperformed their ELL peers who had not been taught using the model (Echevarria et al;2022).

Honigsfeld & Cohan(2022) researched a group of New York public school teachers who cooperated to learn more about the SIOP model and apply it. By studying ELL student artifacts, these educators discovered the model's success. The pupils' writing samples and utilization of graphic organizers improved. The teachers also observed an improvement in the creativity, engagement, and comprehension of their ELL pupils (Honisfeld and Cohan, 2022). As evidenced by these research, when sheltered training is handled effectively, it may have a favorable effect on the language skills of ELL children.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Unsatisfactory academic performance, especially in public examinations, is one of the contemporary educational issues of public concern (Kolawole & Dele, 2022). This low level of success in a variety of academic areas may be the result of inadequate English language instruction in elementary school. According to a number of studies, linguistic inefficiency inevitably results in low academic achievement (Onukaogu, 2022).

Reports from the senior secondary certificate examination (SSCE) indicate language-related problems that contribute to pupils' weaknesses in reading and writing, such as the inability to follow directions, make observations, and draw the proper conclusion (Report by WAEC Chief Examiners 2022).

Students learning English as a second language have trouble grasping the meaning of logical connections in scientific language, according to Dale and Cuevas (2022). As Maleki and Zangani (2022) note, ELL students' inability to completely comprehend the contents and concepts of various sections of the curriculum taught in the target language (English) appears to be one of the most important challenges they encounter in their specific course of study. This may be owing to their lack of proficiency in English, the medium of teaching, which may have a detrimental impact on their overall academic performance. Therefore, the entire success of ESL students in Nigeria is highly dependent on their English ability.

According to the chief examiner's report (2022), the following issues are related to science subjects:

a.         Students' inability to communicate effectively in English on scientific subjects

b.        Lack of depth of understanding in the subject matter

c.         Students' inability to record observations during experiments.

d.        Lack of equipment and resources to teach particular curriculum topic.

e.         Students' belief that science courses must be remembered, preventing them from transferring the understanding of basic ideas learned in lower grades.

f.         Students are deficient in written English (misspellings);

g.        Failure to comply to directions on the question paper;

h.        Lack of self-confidence leading to copying and frequent cancellations in presenting work.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary objective of this study is to examine English Language learners performance in Basic Science using sheltered instructions. Specifically but not limited to, other objectives of this study are:

i.          To find out whether English Language learners perform well in Basic Science.

ii.        To find out the different instruction methods used in teaching Basic Science.

iii.      To find out whether English Language learners taught using sheltered instructions perform better than students taught with other methods.

iv.      To find out whether English Language learners taught using sheltered instructions have a better attitude towards science.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

These questions shall be answered in this study:

i.          Do English Language learners perform well in Basic Science?

ii.        What are the different instruction methods used in teaching Basic Science?

iii.      Do English Language learners taught using sheltered instructions perform better than students taught with other methods?

iv.      Do English Language learners taught using sheltered instructions have a better attitude towards science?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be valuable for validating the effect of sheltered instruction on the performance of English language learners in Basic science.

This study will confirm the performance of male and female English language learners subjected to sheltered education, as well as the effect of sheltered instruction on students' attitudes toward science.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Generally, this study is focused on English Language learners performance in Basic Science using sheltered instructions. Specifically, this study is focused on finding out whether English Language learners perform well in Basic Science and finding out the different instruction methods used in teaching Basic Science.

It is also focused on finding out whether English Language learners taught using sheltered instructions perform better than students taught with other methods and finding out whether English Language learners taught using sheltered instructions have a better attitude towards science.

Teachers and junior students of selected secondary schools will serve as the respondents for this study.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

As with any human endeavor, the researcher experienced small impediments while performing the study. Due to the scarcity of literature on the subject as a result of the discourse's nature, the researcher incurred additional financial expenses and spent additional time sourcing for relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as during the data collection process, which is why the researcher chose a small sample size. Additionally, the researcher conducted this inquiry in conjunction with other scholarly pursuits. Additionally, because only a small number of respondents were chosen to complete the research instrument, the results cannot be applied to other secondary schools outside the state. Regardless of the limits faced throughout the investigation, all aspects were reduced to ensure the best outcomes and the most productive research.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Sheltered instruction: Sheltered instruction is an approach to teaching English language learners which integrates language and content instruction. The phrase "sheltered instruction," original concept, and underlying theory of comprehensible input are all credited to Stephen Krashen.

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