SPRING 2024 | VOLUME 6 | ISSUE 2

PROMISING PRACTICE first transfer-level course in the respective discipline

(Hern & Snell, 2010). Faculty from many of the state’s
ALL In: Accelerated 117 community colleges participated in CAP’s commu-
nities of practice, starting with the first cohort in the
Language Learning academic year 2011–2012, and returned to develop
accelerated pathways at their own colleges. As these
as a Practical models proved successful and the data supporting ac-
celeration mounted, CAP leaders joined forces with the

Methodology for College Futures Foundation and other partners to lobby

for legislative action to compel a system-wide change.

Today's ESL Classroom

The resulting legislation, Assembly Bill 705 (Cal. As-
semb., 2017), was signed into law in October 2017 and
implemented as of January 1, 2018. This law required
Guillermo Colls that all state community college districts maximize the
probability that incoming students would access and
Melissa Reeve
complete their first transfer-level English and math
https://doi.org/10.58997/6.2pp2 class within a year of first enrolling and that students
who enrolled in ESL courses would access and complete
ABOUT THE AUTHORS their first transfer-level English class within three years
of first enrollment (Rodriguez et al., 2022).
Guillermo Colls has taught English, English as a The ESL provisions in AB705 essentially limit-
Second Language (ESL), and composition for 39 ed CCC credit ESL pathways to a maximum of five se-
years. He has been the dean of a business school mesters, reserving the sixth semester for the trans-
in Santa Maria and chair of the ESL depart- fer-level English class to make completion within
ment at Cuyamaca College in San Diego. While
chair, he created, oversaw, and implemented the three years logistically possible even for those
new Accelerating Language Learning program starting in the entry-level ESL course. Furthermore,
that embraces acceleration in ESL. He holds a maximizing the probability of transfer-level English
Master of Arts in Linguistics from San Diego completion, as required by the law, implied reduc-
State University. ing ESL sequences to as few levels as possible, given
the inevitable attrition of students within and be-
Melissa Reeve is a faculty member in English tween each level (Hern & Snell, 2010). ESL faculty at
and English as a Second Language at Solano each college were left to determine the curriculum,
Community College in Fairfield, California. materials, and methods they believed could achieve
Affiliated with the California Acceleration Project, the most effective and efficient rate of English acqui-
she served as an ESL Coach from 2018-2022 as sition so that even entry-level adult English learners
the CA Community College system implemented could be ready for the language demands of a first-
sweeping reforms to developmental English and year composition class after five or fewer semes-
ESL programs. Reeve holds an M.A. in ESL from ters of ESL instruction. Reeve (2017) suggested that
the University of Hawai’i, Manoa, and is cur- the ESL field could greatly benefit from pedagogical
rently completing her doctorate in Educational strategies similar to those developed by CAP practi-
Leadership at the University of California, Davis. tioners for use in accelerated English courses.
As early adopters of CAP principles, ESL facul-
Disclosure Statement ty at Cuyamaca College in San Diego, California, over-
No potential conflict of interest was reported hauled their entire program starting in 2016. Cuyama-
by the authors. ca’s ESL program’s redesign involved reducing the time

T
required for students to progress to college composition
he past 10 years have seen a major shift in English from as many as nine semesters to a maximum of five
and English as a Second Language (ESL) place- and as few as three. To maximize students’ language
ment and pedagogy in California’s Community acquisition within this truncated timeframe, Cuyamaca
Colleges (CCC), driven by a developmental education faculty developed the new pedagogically-based Accel-
reform movement known as acceleration. Popularized erated Language Learning (ALL) program.
by the faculty-led California Acceleration Project (CAP),
the acceleration movement focused on reducing or Corresponding Author
eliminating prerequisite pathways in English and math Guillermo Colls, MA, English as a Second Language
due to a decade’s worth of state-wide data showing Cuyamaca College
that each level of remediation statistically reduced a 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway | El Cajon, California 92019
student’s chances of ever reaching or completing the Email: [email protected]

14
 JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ACADEMIC SUPPORT PROGRAMS

The Pedagogical Makeover monitor model (Lei & Wei, 2019), and his ideas on
The legislation shortening ESL sequences in language acquisition have inspired many approach-
California highlighted the need for a revised curric- es to teaching English to non-native speakers. The
ulum that maximizes language acquisition in much curriculum outlined in this article is no exception.
less time. Pressure arose for a methodology that Krashen’s theories were not universally accepted
optimizes the limited time given for students to from the onset. The general complaint against them
reach the necessary English proficiency to proceed was the lack of empirical evidence to support the
with college-level academic work. New methodolo- claims or the inability to test some of the ideas (Cook
gies to teach adult language learners are somewhat & Cook, 1993; Ellis, 1994; Greg, 1984; McLaughlin,
rare these days compared to the many such meth- 1987; Zafar, 2009).
odologies that appeared in the 60s and early 70s However, in a review of Krashen’s theories
(Celce-Murcia, 2014). However, recommendations and the criticisms against them, Lei and Wei (2019)
to adjust the ESL curriculum continue to emerge. For concluded that:
example, Baranowska (2020) presented research This theory has played a crucial role in fa-
suggesting teachers increase their adaptation of cur- cilitating the teaching of second language
rent technologies like videos and subtitles, and Ellis all over the world, and some effective
(2020) suggested a makeover to more teaching methods have been based
modular curriculums in ESL and En- For over 50 years, on [Krashen’s] main claims in the
glish as a Foreign Language teaching. theory for facilitating the learners
The ongoing pursuit of more research has to better acquire the second lan-
effective and quicker methods of guage. Despite various criticisms
teaching English language learners so demonstrated that from all perspectives, Krashen’s
they can partake fully in the opportu-
nities presented by their new culture
language teaching Monitor Model has played a signifi-
cant role in the field of second lan-
and language has resulted in what is done best when guage acquisition and second lan-
we, the authors, are calling Accelerat- guage teaching. (p. 1463)
ed Language Learning (ALL). Our ALL following broad For over 50 years, research
program incorporates elements that has demonstrated that language
have long been present in optimal lan- communicative teaching is done best when follow-
guage teaching. This remodeled class-
room practice has proven to be both
principles that ing broad communicative principles
that practice language in settings
practical and highly effective with ESL practice language where the words are meaningful
students at the community college for a student. This communicative
level for the past 5 years at Cuyamaca in settings where approach (Canale & Swain, 1980)
College in El Cajon, California. has been a principal philosophy
After briefly reviewing liter- the words are in language teacher training pro-
ature pertaining to communicative
approaches to language teaching and
meaningful for a grams, and the techniques associ-
ated with this approach have pro-
learning, this article will set out the student. duced dynamic, student-centered
course structure, content, and in- methodologies such as the natural
structional strategies we have used to demonstrate approach (Krashen & Terrell, 1988), communica-
how and why ALL has worked so well with today’s tive language teaching (Hymes, 1979), silent way
students at Cuyamaca. (Gattegno, 1972), suggestopedia (Lozanov, 1978),
content-based instruction (Mohan,1986), total
Background From the Last 50 Years physical response (Asher, 1969), and the even
Krashen, citing Smith (1988), put it this way: more recent teaching proficiency through read-
Our problem in language education, as Frank ing and storytelling (Lichtman, 2015).
Smith has pointed out, is that we have con- Unfortunately, in contrast to the emphasis
fused cause and effect. We have assumed that on communicative approaches in ESL teacher-train-
we first master language ‘skills’ and then apply ing programs, most actual ESL classrooms and text-
those skills to reading and writing. But that is books have continued to emphasize explicit gram-
not the way the human brain operates. Rather, mar instruction as key to language learning (Admin,
reading for meaning, reading about things that 2022). While an argument can be made for the im-
matter to us, is the cause of literate language portance of grammar in language comprehension
development. (Krashen, 2004, p. 150) and production, the necessity of explicit, front-load-
Krashen’s model, referred to in early literature as the ed grammar instruction does not necessarily follow.

15
SPRING 2024 | VOLUME 6 | ISSUE 2
Much as children do when learning their native importance of Krashen’s input studies, including the
language, adult language learners engage myri- idea that reading is the most important language
ad strategies apart from rote practice of grammar input of all (Krashen, 2004). This focus on implicit
rules, such as reading and listening without explicit rather than explicit teaching characterizes the ALL
instruction, and all of these combine to produce a methodology.
knowledge of grammar.
The Instructional Cycle
Implicit Learning The process of instruction in ALL centers on
Thus, the growing dissatisfaction with explic- authentic reading assignments with scaffolded ac-
it teaching approaches has culminated in linguistic tivities to engage students in making meaning from
investigator Van Patten’s conclusion: “Language is these challenging texts and to support students in
too abstract and complex to teach and learn explic- producing texts of their own. The instructor’s role is
itly” (2020, p. 19). His meaning, simply put, is that not to lecture or otherwise direct the input and sub-
rules and paradigms in a language do not express sequent learning but rather to facilitate the activi-
what actually is in the mind of speakers and listen- ties that allow students to become architects in the
ers, and therefore, we cannot ‘teach’ a language decoding of the input—the learning—mostly with
outside the constructed framework we have made. the help of their fellow students.
It takes engagement in language to learn it, and this The ALL instructional cycle (see Figure) is
is the focus of communicative techniques that aspir- flexible enough to allow teachers the latitude to
ing language teachers take much trouble to learn— find what Krashen has currently relabeled from his
but which are too often abandoned in language original comprehensible input to the optimum in-
classrooms. put (Krashen, 2020). While Krashen does not define
We propose to restore a best-practice ap- the parameters of this optimum input, he insists
proach to teaching English as a Second Language. it is out there to discover. In ALL, determining this
We call on language programs to exchange their measure is accomplished through class cooperation
textbooks for real-world reading content and to fol- to achieve an understanding of new language and
low an instructional cycle that embraces nearly all ideas together. In a typical semester, this cycle can
of the communicative techniques that institutional be repeated several times.
conventions have unintentionally repressed. Our The activities and practice mentioned in the
ALL model has the advantage of being structured cycle are interactive exercises whose underlying
like the English composition courses in place at most principles are borrowed directly from those
8 commu-
California community colleges, and it centers the nicative methodologies enumerated above. A text is
Figure Figure: The ALL Instructional Cycle
The ALL Instructional Cycle
Pre-reading
collaborative
activity (oral)
Instructor feedback as Guided reading
students start the next assignment
cycle’s reading steps

Final draft and in- Vocabulary work

class writing Repeat with text 2, 3, etc.

Focused writing Collaborative

instruction & practice, practice: Breaking
reactive based on draft
1 error patterns down meaning

Quiz on readings
Draft 1 and
vocabulary

Collaborative Collaborative
practice (oral):
practice: Pre- Building analysis &
Writing synthesis

16
weekly for 3 hours). The curriculum requires the novel The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a
 JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ACADEMIC SUPPORT PROGRAMS

read, discussed and broken down for meaning, and English Composition within three years. While only
then synthesized into a written and oral response. 17% of students in our spring 2013 cohort persisted
To make it easier on students, longer texts are often through and passed all five levels of ESL plus English
broken down into three or more parts, resulting in Composition in their sixth term (fall 2015), 34% of
the cycle within the cycle, before continuing to the our spring 2016 cohort made it through the 4-lev-
written portion of the curriculum. el ALL program plus English composition within five
A 6-week curriculum segment that follows semesters (by spring 2018), with some (12% of the
the ALL instruction cycle, including readings and starting cohort) doing so in just three semesters (by
activities, is available by emailing either Guillermo spring 2017). The new program, therefore, showed
Colls ([email protected]) or Laurie Woods a marked acceleration in language learning as mea-
([email protected]) These materials are used sured by total throughput through transfer-level En-
in Cuyamaca College’s intermediate ESL level, which glish.
meets 6 hours per week (twice weekly for 3 hours). Students in the ALL cohort also demonstrat-
The curriculum requires the novel The Circuit: Sto- ed a remarkable leap in writing proficiency, further
ries from the Life of a Migrant Child (Jimenez, 1997). demonstrating this method’s efficacy in prepar-
All lessons are based on the community language ing students for success in college composition. To
learning style (La Forge, 1971). demonstrate the dramatic difference
A pre-reading activity initiates
the ALL instructional cycle. Students
Students in the in student writing at the end of just
one semester in an intermediate-level
work in groups to interpret and re- ALL cohort also ALL class, we compared final compo-
spond to a series of questions without sitions from a student enrolled in the
input from the instructor. Students in demonstrated traditional ESL program and a student
each group explain the questions to enrolled in the pilot ALL programs.
each other and come up with answers a remarkable These began the semester at the same
before sharing their answers with levels of English composition profi-
the other groups. Only after the full
leap in writing ciency.
community of students has processed proficiency, Both papers were given a grade
their question-and-answer combina- of B in the respective classes. The two
tions does the instructor come in to further compositions we analyzed came from
verify conclusions, which then sparks classes with the same instructor. This
another round of group discussions. demonstrating this instructor had taught Cuyamaca’s in-
To view a sample lesson from the cur-
riculum, see the Appendix. method’s efficacy termediate, five-level-below-transfer
course for many years and continued

Observations and Outcomes

in preparing to do so while teaching one pilot sec-
tion of the ALL class that would even-
Cuyamaca College’s imple- students for tually replace the older course.
mentation of ALL pedagogy corre- The student who authored the
sponded with a restructuring of the success in college “Childhood Memories” sample de-
whole ESL program. The “traditional” scribed three of their simple pastimes
ESL program model consisted of five composition. with little detail of what made them
levels that students had to complete favorite. The student who authored
sequentially from their respective starting points the “Daily Struggle” sample described in five para-
(determined by intake assessment). Our new pro- graphs the hard life of children of migrant workers
gram consisted of just four levels and allowed stu- in California with an introduction, support, and con-
dents who completed any level with a final grade clusion—and with simple citations as well. Since stu-
of A or B to skip the next level, which many opted dent permissions were not available to publish these
to do. To assess the effectiveness of the ALL meth- samples, we used the NEO Syntactic Comparison
od in meeting AB705’s requirement that commu- Analyzer (Lu, 2010; Python Package Index, 2023) to
nity colleges prepare ESL students to successfully compare multiple elements of the two papers. Rele-
complete transfer-level English composition within vant elements are reported (see Table). The students
three years, we compared the outcomes of students from the pilot ALL program displayed a higher level
who started in the lowest level of our ALL program of syntactic elements in every category. For example,
in spring 2016 with those of an earlier cohort who the composition from the ALL program was approx-
had started in the lowest level of our traditional pro- imately nine times longer, their average sentence
gram in spring 2013. We found that the ALL program length and clauses per sentence almost doubled, and
doubled the proportion of students who complet- their use of dependent clauses and coordinate phras-
ed the ESL program and progressed to and passed es increased eight-fold and six-fold, respectively.
17
SPRING 2024 | VOLUME 6 | ISSUE 2
Table References
Comparison of the Complexity of Two Final Papers Admin. (2022, October 10). The importance of gram-
From a Traditional and an ALL Pilot Class mar in English language. 21K School: World
Traditional ALL pilot % Class Education for Your World. https://ww-
Syntactic element
ESL class class change w.21kschool.com/qa/blog/the-importance-of-
Words 101 923 813.9 grammar-in-english-language
Asher, J. (1969). The total physical response technique
Sentences 9 45 400 of learning. The Journal of Special Education,
3(3), 253–262. https://doi.org/10.1177/002246
Mean length of 696900300304
11.22 20.51 82.8
sentences Baranowska, K. (2020). Learning most with least effort:
Clauses per Subtitles and cognitive load. ELT Journal, 74(2),
1.44 2.4 66.7
sentence 105–115. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccz060
Cal. AB 705, Reg. Sess. 2017–2018 (2017). https://legis-
Dependent clauses 5 45 800 can.com/CA/bill/AB705/2017
Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of
Coordinate phrases 4 28 600
communicative approaches to Second Lan-
Complex nominala 2 94 4600 guage teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics,
1(1), 1–47. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/I.1.1
Note. The analysis was conducted using the NEO Syntactic Com- Celce-Murcia, M. (2014). An overview of language teach-
parison Analyzer (Lu, 2010; Python Package Index, 2023). ing methods and approaches. In M. Celce-Mur-
a
A complex nominal is a group of words in which the main noun cia, D. Brinton, & A. Snow (Eds.), Teaching En-
is determined by the presence of modifiers. For example, in “a glish as a Second or Foreign Language (4th ed.,
nice cup of tea.” pp. 2–14). National Geographic Learning.
Cook, V., & Cook, V. J. (1993). Linguistics and Second
Implications for Teaching and Learning Language acquisition. Macmillan.
in the ESL Classroom Ellis, R. (1994). The study of Second Language acquisi-
ALL demands more of students, and our re- tion. Oxford University Press.
sults at Cuyamaca suggest that students will rise to Ellis, R. (2020). In defense of a modular curriculum for
meet those greater demands. At this point, we claim tasks. ELT Journal, 74(2), 185–194. https://doi.
that English can be taught more quickly and efficient- org/10.1093/elt/ccaa015
ly through the ALL method, making this curriculum Gattegno, C. (1972). Teaching foreign languages in
an attractive alternative to traditional, textbook, and schools: The silent way. Educational Solutions
grammar-based approaches. Acceleration has shown World.
signs of effectiveness beyond the audience it was Gregg, K. (1984). Krashen’s monitor and Occam’s razor.
first conceived for. While this methodology is being Applied Linguistics, 5(2), 79–100. https://doi.
conducted in several community colleges in Califor- org/10.1093/applin/5.2.79
nia at present, ALL is also being taught in a San Diego Hern, K., & Snell, M. (2010). Exponential attrition and the
area high school with very positive results. Mountain promiseofaccelerationindevelopmentalEnglishand
Empire High School in the San Diego area adapted math. https://rpgroup.org/Portals/0/Documents/
Cuyamaca’s curriculum to their 5-day high school Projects/California%20Acceleration%20
schedule and reported vast improvement among Project%20%28CAP%29%20Evaluation/
their English language learners. Several other high Hern%20Exponential%20Attrition.pdf
schools are now exploring the possibility of using ALL. Hymes, D. H. (1979). On communicative competence.
In C. J. Brumfit & K. Johnson (Eds.), The com-
Conclusion and Future Implications municative approach to language teaching (pp.
As an adaptation of acceleration principles, 1–26). Oxford University Press.
the ALL curriculum requires two key elements. First, Jimenez, F. (1997). The circuit: Stories from the life of a
the levels of English as a Second Language cours- migrant child. University of Anew Mexican Press.
es need to be reduced to minimize the exit points Krashen, S., & Terrell, T. (1988). The natural approach—
where students drop away before completing their language acquisition in the classroom. Prentice
goals (Hern & Snell, 2010). Second, and very crucial, Hall International.
the teaching pedagogy has to change to allow for Krashen, S. D. (2004). The power of reading: Insights
equivalent or superior language learning within the from the research. Libraries Unlimited.
reduced timeframe. The ALL program’s instructional Krashen, S. (2020, May 18). Webinar with Stephen
cycle and pedagogical methods achieve this. Krashen [Video]. YouTube. https://www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=hSnGEGoUfL0
18
 JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ACADEMIC SUPPORT PROGRAMS
La Forge, P. G. (1971). Community language learning: Reading Material: The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez—
A pilot study. Language Learning, 21(1), 45–61. University of New Mexico Press, 1997.)
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1971.
tb00489.x Pre-Reading Collaborative Activity
Lei, W., & Wei, L. (2019). A critical evaluation of Krash- • Show the following pictures:
en’s monitor model. Theory and Practice in Lan- • Picture of migrant farm workers working in
guage Studies, 9(11), 1459–1464, http://dx.doi. a field.
org/10.17507/tpls.0911.13 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/
Lichtman, K. (2015). Research on TPR storytelling. In B. us/coronavirus-undocumented-immi-
Ray & C. Seely (Eds.), Fluency through TPR story- grant-farmworkers-agriculture.html
telling (7th ed., pp. 364–380). Command Perfor- • Pictures of children working in the fields.
mance Language Institute. https://nfwm.org/farm-workers/farm-work-
Lozanov, G. (1978). Suggestology and outlines of sug- er-issues/children-in-the-fields
gestopedy (M. Hall-Pozharlieva & K. Pashma- • Ask students:
kova, Trans.). Gordon & Breach (Original work 1. Who are these people?
published 1971). 2. Is there a name for this type of worker?
Lu, X. (2010). Automatic analysis of syntactic complexity 3. What exactly do they do?
in second language writing. International Jour- 4. What crops do migrant workers gather?
nal of Corpus Linguistics, 15(4), 474–496. • Next, ask students to work with a partner
McLaughlin, B. (1987). Theories of second language and write down five words or short sen-
learning. Edward Arbold. tences that describe this kind of work.
Mohan, B. A. (1986). Language and content. Addi- • Then, ask three to four groups to discuss
son-Wesley. their words or short sentences.
Python Package Index. (2023). NeoSCA 0.0.55. https://
pypi.org/project/neosca/ Guided Reading Assignment for Chapter 1
Reeve, M. (2017, March 9). Acceleration in ESL: Making (The Guided Reading is a daily activity to activate
the case for accelerated pathways for English lan- schema. They will be re-reading the chapters sev-
guage learners. [Conference presentation]. Accel- eral times, including one chapter a day with the in-
eration Across California First Annual Conference. structor’s read-along.)
https://app.box.com/v/CAPConference2017 • The instructor reads Chapter 1 aloud as the
/file/147274452094 class follows in their books.
Rodriguez, O., Hill, L., Montoya-Payares, D., & Sala- • The class may ask questions at any time.
zar, R. (2022). English as a Second Language • The chapter is only eight pages, so try to
at California’s community colleges: An early complete it in 20 minutes.
examination of AB 705 reforms. Public Poli-
cy Institute of California. https://www.ppic. Homework:
org/publication/english-as-a-second-lan- Read the first three chapters of The Circuit for
guage-at-californias-community-colleges homework and be prepared to discuss the follow-
VanPatten, B (2020). While we’re on the topic: BVP on ing questions in the next class meeting:
language, acquisition, and classroom practice. 1. How does the family cross the border?
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign 2. How much money do they have?
Languages. 3. Why does the main character want to pick
Zafar, M. (2009). Monitoring the ‘Monitor’: A critique of cotton?
Krashen’s five hypotheses. The Dhaka Universi- 4. Does he do a good job babysitting?
ty Journal of Linguistics, 2(4), 139–146. https:// 5. What is the character’s first day of school like?
doi.org/10.3329/dujl.v2i4.6903 6. Why does his head hurt?

Appendix Partial comprehension is okay. The next meeting will be-

gin with the breakdown of meaning, starting with vocab-
ALL Sample Lesson Plan ulary. Then, the students will read these chapters again.

This lesson uses the following ALL Instructional Creative Common Licensing
Cycle components:
• Pre-Reading Collaborative Activity
• Guided Reading Assignment
• Homework This work is licensed under Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0

19