Scenario Response 5

Jin Wu's experience doing the writing exam offers valuable insight into the challenges ELL students face, even when they show progress in class. Despite his growing language skills and classroom engagement, the formal, high-stakes nature of an on-demand writing assessment created a barrier. This scenario suggests that Jin’s receptive language (listening, reading) is ahead of his productive language (writing under pressure), and he may struggle with academic language or testing vocabulary like “Explain,” “Describe,” or “Compare.” To better prepare Jin for the next on-demand writing task, I would take the following steps:

1. Pre-teach academic language and prompt starters. I would create a mini-unit that teaches him how to break down typical writing prompts using visuals, anchor charts, and examples. Sentence stems and writing frames would also help guide his thinking and provide structure.

2. Practice timed writing with support. To build his confidence, we would regularly do short, timed writing practices with familiar content. Initially, I would allow discussion or L1 brainstorming before writing to reduce anxiety.

3. Use think-alouds and modeling. I would model how I approach a writing prompt: how I plan, brainstorm, and get started. This would help demystify the process and show that writing is built step-by-step.

4. Build background knowledge and vocabulary. Because comprehension issues often stem from unfamiliar topics or words, we would focus on building content-specific vocabulary and prior knowledge before any writing assessment.

5. Incorporate peer and teacher conferencing. Giving Jin opportunities to discuss his ideas verbally before writing would help build oral fluency and bridge into written fluency.

This event reminds me to monitor not just Jin’s overall performance, but his specific needs in different settings. Supporting ELLs means anticipating where academic language demands may become barriers, and proactively scaffolding to ensure they feel equipped and empowered.