Helping Our English Language Learners to Study for the ACT® & SAT®
English Language Learners are unfortunately out of luck if they’re hoping for a language-specific version of the ACT® or SAT®. Both of these tests require the test takers to read, write, speak, and understand the English language. So, what are some ways in which we can support our ELLs, and provide them with effective strategies that can help them succeed on the ACT® and SAT®?
Use Vocabulary Lists Made for English Language Learners
Our native English speakers typically focus on learning complex, advanced vocabulary (e.g., acrimonious, didactic) in preparing for the ACT® and SAT®. Our ELLs, however, would benefit far more from concentrating on learning high-frequency vocabulary terms (e.g., abstract, attribute, conclusion). Providing a list of essential vocabulary and practicing these words often will give an ELL the key to understanding the texts and the questions on the tests.
Here are a few of the most common vocabulary words/phrases students will need to know:
Articulation
Adapt
Brevity
Convivial
Censor
Challenge
Demonstrative
Develop
Histrionic
Impact
Implausible
In spite of
Justify
Logical
Metaphor
Narrate
Notwithstanding
Objective
Observation
Opinion
Oppose
Particularly
Plausible
Primary
Reference
Serve to
Underscore
Of course, this list is a bare-bones start, but you get the idea. Many of these words not only appear in many of the texts that students encounter on the tests, but these words and phrases also frequently appear in the questions themselves.
Another strategy to consider—specifically for ELLs whose native language is a Romance language (i.e., Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French)—is including as many cognates as possible. For instance, for a Spanish-speaking ELL, including cognate words that appear similar in both English and Spanish will undoubtedly help the student make quick connections and remember the English vocabulary terms faster.
For example:
evaluation and evaluación
information and información
narrate and narrar
represent and representar
Making these types of intuitive connections is the best way to learn and remember vocabulary, and will unquestionably help ELLs with their reading comprehension.
When creating these lists, you don’t want to inundate your ELLs with an overwhelming, lengthy vocab list. As your students master the more important vocabulary terms, add more terminology to their lists to keep their progress going. And most importantly, remember to make these vocab lists tailored to the individual ELL; every student learns at their own pace and comes to the table with a different collection of established vocabulary.
Teach Reading for Main Ideas
ACT® and SAT® passages can be lengthy and a lot for ELLs to take in. You’ll want to help them tackle these texts by breaking them into bite-sized pieces; one paragraph at a time. By dividing the text into smaller parts, ELLs can learn to extract the most important information, and leave the extraneous bits.
For example, in this excerpt from Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the reader can highlight the main idea:
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice “without pictures or conversations?”
The main idea of this paragraph: Alice is bored; the rest of the paragraph doesn’t matter. So, when the ELL reader encounters the related question and subsequent answers:
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A) Alice’s sister is an avid reader.
B) Alice is bored of sitting around with nothing that interests her to do.
C) Alice is jealous of her sister for having a book to read to occupy her time.
D) Alice does not know how to read.
The student can pick out the words tired of sitting and understand that the author is describing a girl who is bored.
Reading for the main idea takes plenty of practice. Encourage your ELLs to exercise this skill when they read any type of text from any genre—zero in on the most important parts to identify the purpose and the point of the text.
Teach ACT® Essay Writing Using “Learning Chunks of Language”
Chunks of language are, simply put, strings of words that are customarily used together. “For example,” “In other words,” On the other hand,” “In my opinion,”—these are all chunks of language that can be grouped together to help make an important statement. When ELLs are practicing essay writing for the ACT®, be sure to help them learn these essential transitional words and phrases that can pack a big punch in their writing.
Dedicate Ample Time for Teaching and Practicing Punctuation
Punctuation can be a doozy for our ELLs. Conventions of punctuation questions appear often on the ACT® English and the SAT® Writing and Language tests. Understanding what each punctuation mark means and what it’s used for is really important, especially for ELLs. Take the time to teach and practice the trickiest and most fundamental marks:
Colons
Dashes
Semicolons
Commas
Apostrophes
And the important ways in which these marks can effect:
Sentence structure
Combining sentences
Plurals
In most cases, you’ll want to start from the most elementary teachings of punctuation so that ELLs can get the basic rules down pat. And, as always, practice is the key here. Give your ELLs plenty of time to learn and practice using and editing punctuation.
ACT® and SAT® Support for ELLs
While the tests are not translated into ELLs’ native languages, there are some accommodations and testing supports offered by College Board and ACT®, respectively.
College Board
The College Board offers English Language Learners:
Translated test directions
Bilingual word-to-word dictionaries
50% extended testing time
For more information on SAT® testing supports for ELLs, visit the College Board site.
ACT®
ACT® offers English Language Learners:
Translated test directions
Bilingual word-to-word dictionaries
Extended testing time (time and a half)
Testing in a non-distracting environment
For more information on ACT® testing supports for ELLs, visit the ACT® site.
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