Guided Language Acquisition Development

It's a new style of teaching and reaching out to English-language learners. It uses charts and chants and turns students into "super scientists" and "experts," putting them in control of their education, proponents say.

The teaching style is known as Guided Language Acquisition Development, or "GLAD".

This style has been used to help kids who are struggling with their language skills. The 10-year-old GLAD program is recognized by the state of California as an effective approach to teaching English-language learners.

GLAD focuses on student participation, which includes designing charts and graphs, singing chants and songs and working in small groups to become "experts" on designated topics. The units are based on life science and social-studies concepts and focus on auditory, visual and tactile skills to reach all learners.

For one exercise, students break into small groups to research a specific task. At the same time, a group member meets with the teacher, who trains the students to be "experts" in a concept. The "experts" take the lesson back to their groups to share what they just learned while understanding what their classmates just learned in their groups, as well. Together the teacher leads the class to refresh what the students just learned. Reinforcing the message are a range of tools, like chants, vocabulary activities and posters. Through interactive lessons, learning becomes fun.

The teaching style benefits teachers, as the units cut down on the time teachers spend planning.