It was an honor to be a featured educator for CodeVA this October! CodeVA is a nonprofit based in Richmond, VA which partners with schools, parents, and communities to bring computer science education opportunities to all students. All should follow CodeVA for CS news, engagement, training opportunities, and more!
CodeVA was a sponsor at #SETESOL22, where I presented Leveraging Coding & Computational Thinking to Learn English. I had the best conversations with Kristin Hott, their engagement strategist on CS in EL education. Finding like-minded educators is explosive! We talked about how Scratch listens to educators for feedback, Virginia’s CS SOLs, and how block based coding with its collocations and phrasal groupings in blocks mimics how the brain learns language, making it a must-use tool for EL educators. From these conversations came the connection which led to the spotlight.
Read the spotlight here! Thank you, CodeVA! CS for all, especially multilingual learners!
The first line hear grabbed me. ML teachers, we teach the everybody in this country. We are know where to begin. We are the resource. We are the first hello.
The second line hooked me. I thought I knew how to think? Is thinking something I can be taught? Are there different ways of thinking and what different modality of thinking does coding teach? And how can this benefit my everybody-my language learners. Watch:
This mode of thinking has been hard to capture. It is now referred to as “Computational thinking,” but that may be a little off-putting because it seems like it could be “Thinking like a computer,” which… it is… but thinking like a computer is only a fraction of what computational thinking entails and what it can do for our students if taught and put in practice.
So what is computational thinking? How are these aspects similar to or just different enough to the language learning process that this can help my language learners? Look for posts that address each of these. What connections are you making with language instruction? Do you see overlap and opportunity yet?
Since beginning my journey on integrating introductory CS in my ELD instruction, the reasons of why EL teachers can, should, (need to?) to integrate coding in their instruction have grown. And with each project, another reason pops up and waves its hands, “Hey, you forgot about me!” I am digging into each, then exploring how.
A participant at my #SETESOL2022 presentation added, coding provides immediate feedback. And my daughter has scrutinized this list and said, “Mom! It’s fun!!
There are different computer programming languages, Block Based Programming, Python, Java Script, C++ and more.
For beginners and language learners–our target group of learners–Block Based Programming is widely used.
I love Block Based Programming, particularly for EL students. Here’s why:
Language is learned chunks and collocations. Lewis (1997) in The Lexical Approach lists formulaic expressions:
Sentence Starters – Today I will ______.
Phrasal Verbs – to break down, to get over
Expressions – You’re kidding me!
Idioms – to have a hard time of it
Formulaic expressions and more. I’ve got it!
Block Based Programming capitalizes on this natural way the brain learns vocabulary and phrases. Directions/ lines of code are chunked, a boon for the language learner, showing a more complete picture of language in use-a word hanging out with its other word friends.
Scratch Tutorial on Turning a Sprite (A Character).
Blocks also include input parameters- places where you can change the number, direction word, sequence, or sound for example. This shows the language learner the flexibility of the language and what types of similar words in the same semantic category could replace the word. Bonus: note below the gradiency that the student is introduced to here.
Drop down menu from Build a Flappy Bird Game in Code.org
Get started!: MIT designed created a free coding platform Scratch for students to create digital stories, games, and animations. Also, Code.org utilizes block based programming.
When I first began teaching EL, I began in early childhood. My mentor EL teacher Ms. Deas, told me this is how you teach letters and sounds, present the same skill in a variety of presentations to create practice opportunities.
Practice. Repetition. Exposure. It is essential to language learning. But it is more than the numbing blur of flashcards.
A review of the research shows that it can take 6-20 exposures to learn a new word, but the question is in what context is the word being learned. Is it meaningful? Is it necessary? Is there a correlation to the L1?
This reminds me of a kind of potato I ate in Bolivia when I was there when I was 19. It was a staple to the people there, and I was eager to learn Spanish and I must have asked 20 times what was the name and I simply could not remember the name of this little, black, crunchy potato that I was served regularly. (It’s chuño!) My brain seemed to put a block on it, it got to the point where I wouldn’t ask because I was frustrated with myself and deeply embarrassed I could not remember this word. Even my shame couldn’t make me remember. But I remembered the potato!! Maybe I needed one more exposure.
Chuños. A freeze-dried potato traditional to the Quechua and Aymara communities of Bolivia and Peru.
Here comes in coding an algorithm.
Follow me here, non CS, language teachers. This is for us!! Coding is rich with repetition and opportunities to recognize repetitive patterns. When you give a robot directions, You have to be explicit and direct. And… repetitive.
Turn right.
Move forward.
Turn left.
Turn left.
Move forward.
Turn right.
Move forward.
Move forward.
Move forward.
Move forward.
Move forward.
Move forward.
Yes, repetitive. It gets annoying! But with this repetition, comes language learning. Our robot has safely arrived at its destination, and the language learner has had repeated meaningful interactions with how many move forwards?
A lot.
It’s purposeful, not a memorized vocabulary list. If your robot doesn’t arrive at its destination, you review the algorithm and add or subtract a directive. And further, the language learner also feels the drudgery of repetition and deduces how there’s gotta be a better way.
Instead of saying move forward move forward move forward move forward move forward move forward, couldn’t I say move forward x 6? Sounds like the language of math, kiddo. You’re becoming a computational thinker. We’ve moved forward.
Uchihara, T., Webb, S. & Yanagisawa, A. 2019. The Effects of Repetition on Incidental Vocabulary Learning: A Meta-Analysis of Correlational Studies. Language Learning, 69 (3): 559 – 599) Available online:
My purpose here is to share (and organize!) my journey how I am learning about coding and computer science. I will dig into the why and how I am incorporating it into my teaching of secondary ELs. I hope these stories encourage other EL teachers to do the same.
I have limited computer science background, which has me learning alongside my students. As a learner as well, I have learned how to collaborate with my students: “Let’s give this a try. Let’s figure this out together. What do you think?” I begin with teaching pre-teaching this language of collaboration, which all need from newcomer to LTEL. So. Let’s give this a try. Let’s figure this out together. What do you think?
