Support FAQs

Instructional Questions

How do I know which students should work on which course (Newcomer, ELD 1, or ELD 2)?

We highly recommend that you have all students take the ELD 1 Entry Assessments or the initial Performance Indicator unless he or she is a Newcomer with limited English competency. If that is the case, the student should work in the Newcomers module.

If the student scores 90% or higher across the 3 language areas in the ELD 1 Entry Assessments, the student should be ready for ELD 2. Alternatively, if the student scores within the upper range of the Performance Indicator or in the previous year's standardized proficiency assessments (such as the Summative ELPAC or WIDA ACCESS), the student may be ready for ELD 2.

With the Language Tree Online Comprehensive program, you have access to all three modules below:

  • The NEWCOMERS module is for pre-emergent/emergent English learners (e.g., SIFE/SLIFE) with very limited English language competency.
  • ELD 1 is for beginner-level English learners. These students would generally be newcomers or English learners with 1-2 years of study in an ELD/ESOL program. For WIDA and other state standards, this course would be suitable for Level 1 and Level 2 students. 
  • ELD 2 is for intermediate-level English learners and long-term English learners (LTELs). These students would generally be at the Developing, Expanding, or Intermediate proficiency level. For WIDA and other state standards, this course would be suitable for Level 3 and Level 4 students. 

Is the program suitable for a SIFE or English learner with limited English skills?

The Language Tree Online Newcomers module was specifically developed for newcomers in the secondary grades. Highly scaffolded instructional content ensures new concepts can be grasped by learners with very limited language comprehension, including SIFE/SLIFE populations. This includes the use of videos, images, audio support, and subtitles (where appropriate).

How is this course generally used in a classroom?  How much time should we spend on Language Tree each week? 

The course can be adapted to different class situations, whether there is designated ELD time, in mixed ELA/ELD classes, or for virtual learning. In all situations, we recommend a hybrid instructional approach with a combination of teacher-led instruction together with students working independently on the online lessons and practice assignments.  The program includes downloadable teacher-led lessons that can be used for whole-class or small-group instruction.  Use these resources to frontload or review concepts before assigning independent work to students. Employ direct instruction for some or all of the lessons based on lesson difficulty and students' language competency.  

We recommend that you use Language Tree with your students at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes each time. This does not include time students may spend on their own in the program. Our experience is that it takes consistent, sustained work in the program to achieve significant improvement.

Does the program automatically assign lessons to a student based on the assessment results?

No, lesson and work assignment is a process that the teacher still controls. The diagnostic ELD 1 or ELD 2 Entry Assessments provide teachers with detailed information about each student’s grasp of a specific language standard. The recommended approach is to have students work through all lessons in a language area (Foundational Literacy Skills, Collaborative Listening and Speaking, Language Function and Construction)  if the student scores less than 90% on that area's Entry Assessment.  

Once the Entry Assessment is completed, students can start working on the lessons in the module. The lessons in a module are gated because each lesson builds on the previous one.  Students must demonstrate competency in that skill before he or she can proceed to the next lesson. The threshold is 80% correct in the quiz section following the video instruction.

What type of reporting can I get as a teacher?

Educators have access to a variety of real-time data that offers insight into your class and individual student progress.

  • Diagnostic Entry Assessment results: Pinpoint your student's language skill gaps to understand where additional support is needed.
  • Class Skills Trace: View whole class trends to help inform teaching next steps. 
  • Lesson Progress Monitoring: Stay on top of student progress as they work through the program.
  • Lesson Attempts: Know when a student has run into issues with completing a specific lesson requiring intervention.
  • Exit Assessment: See growth and know which language areas still require strengthening.

Administrators get reporting at the district, sites, and individual student levels on usage, usage duration, and assessment scores.

Is this course available with subtitles in different languages?

The videos in the American School Culture are available in Spanish voiceover and subtitles in 12 other languages. 

However, the standards-based assessments and lessons are in English only, which follows best practices in ELD pedagogy. As scaffolding, we provide visual and audio support in our lessons and exercises. Note that it is perfectly fine for students to use translation tools on the Internet to help them better comprehend lessons and tasks. 

How can I know if the student has benefited from your course?

Our goal is to help students gain the skills needed to move up to the next English language proficiency level. This happens only after the annual state proficiency assessment (which happens sometime between February and May). The Language Tree Exit assessment, which should be given after the lesson modules are completed, is a good indicator of progress. Teachers can compare Exit and Entry assessment results. 

Note: For students who are ready to re-classify, we recommend the Language Tree Performance Indicator as both a screener and as practice for the Summative ELPAC or WIDA ACCESS.

 

A student took the Exit assessment and scored lower than 90%.  Did he pass?  What happens next? 

We are looking for growth or improvement over time rather than a specific "passing" score.

  • Look at your Entry and Exit Assessment scores side by side. Check if the student has improved on the Exit Assessment. For example, if the students scored 38% on the Entry Assessment and 64% on the Exit Assessment, this is a marked improvement. If you feel that the student should be scoring higher then I would suggest that the students work through the additional Practice Assignments.
  • If you want to drill down to specific language areas that need more support, you can use the Exit Assessment Skills trace and assign only those lessons where the student did not answer assessment items correctly.
  • If the Exit Assessment score is lower than the Entry Assessment score for a language area, we recommend that the student complete all of the Practice Assignments in that specific module (FLS, CLS, and/or LFC). The additional practice lessons will provide the students with opportunities to work on that particular language skill or function.

Check whether the student took sufficient time to take the Entry Assessments. Did he or she rush through them?  If so, have a conversation with that student and reiterate the importance of the Exit Assessment and taking adequate time to complete it. It is a reflection of all of their hard work in completing all of the lessons in that module.

Note: The student does have 2 opportunities to take the Exit Assessments and the system will record the highest score.

What do I do when my student cannot move on to the next lesson?  Can I manually move them forward?

For the online lessons, students can continue to attempt the lesson quiz as many times as needed.  The program will never lock them out, but it will prevent them from moving forward if they don’t achieve at least 80% in the quiz section that follows the video instruction.

There are a few ways you can provide intervention:

  • Use the downloadable teacher-led lesson plan and complete the activities covering the area where your student is struggling.
  • Review the online lesson together using the video professor as your “co-pilot” to provide more scaffolded instruction while the student continues to answer the “quiz” questions independently.
  • Additionally, you can utilize the related online practice assignment and work with the student (or small group) struggling in that language skill or standard for additional intervention and practice.

Remember to regularly check Lesson Attempts in the Reporting and Resources of the program. Students who are stuck will automatically show up in lesson attempts (3+ times without achieving the 80% threshold).

Technical Questions

Can a student access the course at home? 

Yes, the course is web-based, so students can securely access the course on any Internet-connected device at any time using their assigned login credentials or through their school’s portal. 

Can a student use it on a mobile device or tablet?

Yes.  Our course is built on the Moodle LMS  which has a “responsive” interface so it works on the mobile web.  However, the best user experience would be either with the Moodle mobile app or on a computer.  

What is the WAN/LAN bandwidth requirements for each user?

Our course includes streaming audio and video components, which have variable bandwidth requirements. The videos are compressed and optimized. To be safe, we recommend up to 4Mbps per user.   

Is there a self-help documentation available for teachers? 

Yes, we have a detailed User's Guide that details best practices on how to use the program.  If you are getting started and just need to know how the program works, go to the Getting Started section on our website.