Making it Work for EVERYONE!
Professional Development:
Helpful Hints & Strategies
for Integrating English Language Learner into the Classroom
My Goal and Purpose
My goal and purpose not only for this professional development post, but also for this blog in its entirety, is to give back to a community that has given me so much from the time I entered as a kindergartener until now as a teacher myself. I know that I don't have extensive knowledge or experience in teaching, however, I have learned so much in my time as an elementary education undergraduate student and now with the start of my masters program. I am so fortunate to have had amazing professors and teaching mentors who have passed on their wisdom to me. So here are my thoughts, ideas, and research on Integrating ELLs into the Classroom.
Laying Down the Groundwork on ELLs
- An English Language Learner or ELL is a student who is learning the English language in addition to their native language. English Language Learners can come from anywhere around the world, and speak any language as their native tongue.
- There are many factors to consider in ELL achievement, such as, the instruction and assessment of students, their cultural background, and the attitudes of the classroom teacher towards the students.
- It has been found to be very important to bring students’ home cultures into the classroom to give students some familiarity to latch onto.
- An overwhelming amount of research has been collected about ELLs and the best ways for them to succeed. There are countless techniques and ideas out there for you to help your ELL students achieve their goals and beyond.
Keep Reading Below For More on ELLs...
The Basics for Success with ELLs
In Ayanna Cooper's article 10 Tips for Teaching English-Language Learners (Edutopia),
I pulled what I thought the most important tips for teaching ELLS.
- Know Your Students- Having a basic understanding of who students are, is so important to the success of that child. Investigating students' backgrounds and educational experiences will provide you with better ways to support their education.
- Be Aware of their Social and Emotional Needs- Understanding more about not only their cultures, but their family dynamic, is key to helping ELLs be successful in and out of the classroom.
- Increase Your Understanding of English Language Proficiency- Understanding the levels of English proficiency is so important to making sure your students are at the correct level to succeed.
- Use Strategies that Match Language Proficiency- Knowing the level of your student's language proficiency is vital in order to be able to scaffold appropriately with suitable strategies.
- Collaborate to Celebrate- Always seek support from other teachers and professionals who have prior experience with English Language Learners.
- Care About Your Students Well-Being- Most importantly, Take an interest and show your students you care about them. Students are more likely to succeed if they know at least one person is looking out for them.
The Do’ & Don’ts For Teaching ELLs
With the number of ELLs in the U.S. growing rapidly, more and more teachers are trying to respond to the needs of those students. In an article written by Larry Ferlazzo on Edutopia, an educational webpage that is geared towards reporting "What Woks in Education", he talks about the Do's and Don'ts For Teaching English Language Learners.
Modeling
Rate of Speech and Wait Time
Use of Non-Linguistic Cues
Giving Instructions
Check for Understanding
Encourage Development of Home Language
- Do model for students what they are expected to do or produce, especially for new skills or activities, by explaining and demonstrating the learning action and sharing your thinking process aloud.
- Don’t just tell students what to do and expect them to do it.
Rate of Speech and Wait Time
- Do speak slowly and clearly, and provide students ample wait time to formulate their responses, whether in speaking or in writing.
- Don’t speak too fast, and if a student tells you they don’t understand what your said, never, ever repeat the same thing in a louder voice.
Use of Non-Linguistic Cues
- Do use visuals, gestures, intonation, and other non-verbal cues to make both language and content more accessible to students.
- Don’t stand in front of the class and lecture students, or heavily rely on a textbook as your only aid.
Giving Instructions
- Do give verbal and written instructions, practicing these cues will help all learners in the classroom, especially ELLs.
- Don’t act surprised if students are lost when you haven’t clearly written and explained step-by-step directions.
Check for Understanding
- Do regularly check that students understand the lesson.
- Don’t simply ask, “Are there any questions?” This is not an effective way to gauge what all your students are thinking.
Encourage Development of Home Language
- Do encourage students to continue building their literacy skills in their home language (L1). Learning to read in the home language promotes reading achievement in the second language as “transfer” occurs.
- Don’t “ban” students from using their native language in the classroom or at home.
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS:
Differentiated Instruction (DI) &
Sheltered Instruction (SDAIE)
(Writing, and Learning in ESL by: Suzanne F. Peregoy & Owen F. Boyle)
Differentiated Instruction:
Sheltered Instruction:
- Differentiated Instruction is an approach in which teachers acknowledge, respect, accommodate, and build on a wide array of student differences to facilitate optimal growth for all. Teachers consider each student's prior knowledge and experience relevant to the topic or procedure to be taught, using the primary language as a resource when possible.
- When using differentiated instruction, teachers should also look for each student's strengths and preferences for taking in, processing, and showing their understanding of ideas and information, whether through linguistic means, such as talk and print; nonlinguistic means, such as pictures, diagrams, charts, figures; or physical and kinesthetic means, such as demonstrations, drama, and pantomime.
- Two of the most important aspects of differentiated instruction are variety and flexibility in classroom organization, learning materials, and grouping. Because DI addresses individual differences, and English language learners bring multiplicity of such differences, differentiated instruction is both natural and necessary for effective English Language Learner instruction.
- Finally differentiated instruction calls for a classroom climate that actively promotes mutual respect and caring among students and the teacher, a climate which each student is valued for their differences and particular talents. This also means a classroom where support is provided necessary to learn, grow and thrive to the fullest potential.
Sheltered Instruction:
- Sheltered Instruction, also called Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) is a content-based approach that uses target language for instruction, with special modifications to ensure student comprehension and learning. Sheltered instruction addresses three main goals:
- Grade- level appropriate content area learning
- English language and literacy development
- Positive social and affective adjustment
- Both ESL and content teachers should use sheltering techniques, integrating language, and content instruction, preferably with ongoing co-planning and coordination. Social and affective adjustments are another important piece of effective English Language Learner instruction. To the extent that you establish positive relationships to form a community of learners, you also are in turn promoting social development and self-esteem among your students. The social-emotional climate of a classroom that we establish also provides opportunities for ELLs to see themselves as worthy, capable, and contributing member of the classroom community, both socially and academically.
The English Language Learner Alphabet
Food For Thought!
THINK about these discussion questions.... DISCUSS your thoughts with a colleague or friend and comment below with your answers, I want to hear YOUR ideas!!!
- Do you believe that a teacher- student relationship with all students, especially ELLs is crucial to a student's success?
- If yes, why do you think so?
- What strategies can you/do you already use in your own classroom that can reinforce the relationships between you and your students, in particular ELLs?
So... How Do We Build Positive Relationships with
our ELL Students?
Again in an Edutopia by Larry Ferlazzo entitled Seven Tips for Building Positive Relationships with English-Language Learners, the author tells us that positive relationships with our students are the foundation of any successful classroom and particularly one that includes English- Language Learners. Teachers need to know their students, to understand their interests, their goals, and what will help them be the most successful in their classroom.
Strategies to Build A Positive Relationship with Students:
- Regular Check-Ins- This is the easiest way for teachers to get to know their students and their abilities. Teachers should talk with them on a daily basis, taking the time to ask students about their experiences, both inside and outside of the classroom will help build a genuine trust and bond.
- Reading Students Writing- Reading the thoughts students put onto paper is a great way to get insight into their lives. Many times students will not feel comfortable revealing details about their lives, however many students may feel more comfortable writing. You can learn about students' feelings, problems and successes by reading their daily/ weekly journal reflections.
- Teachers Writing About the Classroom- When not only teachers read students' work, but also students read teacher feedback, they are automatically gaining insight into what you think of them and their work. It also increases the trust and respect between the teacher and the students. When students feel they "matter", their level of motivation and therefore achievement are more likely to increase.
- Weekly Reflections- Teachers can stay connected to students by having them write a weekly reflection. The reflection could simply be a journal or responses to questions. Structuring the journal prompt or questions as an invitation for students to share their feelings, concerns and questions about the class and about their lives outside the classroom will really help them open up.
- Evaluation- As teachers, we can build trust with students by asking them to anonymously "evaluate" our teaching abilities and use the results to reflect on our practice. This can be done by distributing a quick survey or set of questions about classroom activities, our style of teaching, the pace at which we teach and so on. It is so important to get students' feeling about our teaching to make them also feel their opinion is respected.
- "Talking and Walking"- Having one-on-one conversations with students about their goals, interests, struggles, and anything that is on their mind, will help students learn to trust and respect us more, because they know they are able to be vulnerable in a safe place. One way to do this is by going on a quick walk with the student around campus so they can talk to you alone without worry of being overheard.
Assessing English Language Learners
(The Instructional Assessment Resource & Reading)
(Writing, and Learning in ESL by: Suzanne F. Peregoy & Owen F. Boyle)
Let's think about the concept of assessment, why do we assess our students? Why do we test our students on the concepts they have learned? The reason for assessment is something that many of us don't usual questions or think about often, it's just natural. Why is assessment a necessary part of our classroom and why do we really do it? Think about this question, comment and discuss your reasoning for assessing your students.
So... Why is it we assess our students?
Without student assessments, it is really not possible to know if students are learning or meeting your goals and course expectations. Teachers who assume that students are learning simply because they were present in the classroom are more often than not disappointed when they grade summative assessments, and by the time teachers realize the gap in knowledge of their students, it is too late to remedy the problem.
Assessing English Language Learners:
For the above reason, assessing ELLs is also extremely important, if not more important. Using informal assessment or authentic assessment allows teachers to track the ongoing progress of their students regularly and often. While standardized tests measure students at a particular point in the year, ongoing assessments provide continual snapshots of where students are throughout the school year. By using informal assessment, teachers can target students' specific problem areas, adapt instruction, and intervene earlier rather than later.
Strategies for Informal Assessment:
*ALWAYS SCAFFOLD- scaffolding assessment allows ELLs to demonstrate their content knowledge through projects, drawings, graphic organizers, and other informal assessments. Consider giving ELLs extra time to complete these tasks, or to give shorter response.
So... Why is it we assess our students?
Without student assessments, it is really not possible to know if students are learning or meeting your goals and course expectations. Teachers who assume that students are learning simply because they were present in the classroom are more often than not disappointed when they grade summative assessments, and by the time teachers realize the gap in knowledge of their students, it is too late to remedy the problem.
Assessing English Language Learners:
For the above reason, assessing ELLs is also extremely important, if not more important. Using informal assessment or authentic assessment allows teachers to track the ongoing progress of their students regularly and often. While standardized tests measure students at a particular point in the year, ongoing assessments provide continual snapshots of where students are throughout the school year. By using informal assessment, teachers can target students' specific problem areas, adapt instruction, and intervene earlier rather than later.
- Ongoing Assessment- In collaboration with differentiated instruction, ongoing assessment is relative to the curriculum and constant and careful observations of students as they engage in a variety of learning activities. Through this kind of assessment and observation, teachers can begin to determine the best starting point for each student and plan optimal learning experiences for all. Ongoing assessment in collaboration with differentiated instruction highlights the importance of assessing during all phases of instruction; before, during, and after instruction.
Strategies for Informal Assessment:
- Performance Based Assessment- based on classroom instruction and everyday tasks. We can use performance- based assessment to assess ELLs language proficiency level and academic achievement throughout oral reports, presentations, demonstrations, written assignments, and portfolios.
- Assessment Activities- these activities are geared toward ELLs current levels of English proficiency and can be used to assess speaking or reading:
- Reading with partners
- Retelling stories
- Giving descriptions or instructions using visual or written prompts
- Taped oral reports, such as role playing
- Brainstorming
- Playing language development games
- Portfolios
*ALWAYS SCAFFOLD- scaffolding assessment allows ELLs to demonstrate their content knowledge through projects, drawings, graphic organizers, and other informal assessments. Consider giving ELLs extra time to complete these tasks, or to give shorter response.
ELPs Integration Activities and Differentiation
Below are TEKs, corresponding ELPS, activities, learning objectives, and differentiation ideas that you could use in your elementary classroom. Please feel free to download the PDF file at the bottom and use these activities in your own classroom. After you have tried them in your classroom, comment below and give me your thoughts on:
- What worked in the activity?
- What didn't work in the activity?
- What would you improve upon?
- How could you further enhance or adapt these activities for your own classroom ELLs?
Here is a link for the PDF format of the above ELPs document and ELL Alphabet...ENJOY!
![](http://education.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/pdf.png)
elps_integration_project.pdf |
![](http://education.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/pdf.png)
the_ell_alphabet.pdf |