Tips to Help Your English Language Learners
If you have English language learners in your classroom you already know that teaching reading for this group can be a challenge. Many teachers simply have not had much exposure to the kinds of strategies that can help these kids learn. Just like all other students teachers serve, English language learners have varying abilities and reading levels. What makes it complicated is when students arrive with no language skills other than maybe knowing the words hello and my name is....
Because of this challenge to the homeroom teachers in my building, I created this free resource as a kind of guide to help direct their instruction. I hope it is a help to all the teachers who feel they are helpless with the immigrant students. They need advocates and we, the teachers, are the ones to do it.
This is wonderful and super helpful. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Becky!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was teaching I worked and co-taught with our ELL teacher!! Your ELL resources are so helpful. We also need to think of their home life and how many parents or at least some cannot read or speak English...I always felt it was important to set up special ways to communicate with them in person instead of over the phone bc you can show them visuals. Great Resource great post!!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. I wish I could speak fluent Spanish. I know quite a bit of Spanish but processing it and remembering tenses is a learning curve. Of course that doesn't help my Somali, Nepali, or Arabic families though. I have found that if the picture support is not there it's very difficult to reach the kids. When I get a kid with no language, I take them on a tour of the school and use gestures with words to show the places they will go in the classroom. It's a challenge for me as well as the homeroom teachers. I grew up as a fourth generation ELL. My great grandpa came to Ellis Island with seven dollars in his pocket. He never really learned much English his whole life. He was like me in English the way I am in Spanish. He knew a few words.
DeleteGreat tips! Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Thanks for the comment.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAs a special educator, I LOVE this resource so much I had to give it a shout out on my Facebook page. Everyone needs this handy guide. Clear and concise!
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad this is helpful to teachers. I wanted to make this free so more teachers would pick it up and take it to heart. I really cannot imagine how hard it would be to come from far away places (sometimes refugee camps) and not know anything about the language or culture. The teachers I have worked with usually get this although there have been a couple who I feel think I'm the only one in the building who should be addressing the needs of these kids. The thing is that some of the kids have parents who don't understand "pull out intervention" and then refuse the service. If I can't get them to change their minds, I end up having to explain to teachers that the service goes with the child whether their parents elect the service or not. This is a federally mandated law. SOOOO with that said, now you know why I created the product.
DeleteGreat Tips! Stopping by to check out your resource!
ReplyDeleteHi Jamila James! I love your store and can see that you have many wonderful products that will reach many students and teachers! We were created for such a time as this!! I hope you have a wonderful school year.
DeleteThank you for the helpful freebie! I always have some English Language Learners in my class, so this will come in handy!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.
DeleteThank you! This is very helpful.
ReplyDeleteThank you! This is very helpful.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Believe it or not, I keep this handy at my desk so that I have an answer for those who question my strategies.
DeleteVery helpful, thanks!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like this! Thanks for the comment.
DeleteSuper helpful! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I hope it helps :)
DeleteThis is so helpful! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteChristina Henkel
Thanks! Glad you like it!
DeleteThanks for this great blog post and for kindly sharing your resource with us too :)
ReplyDeleteTeaching Autism
What a great little cheat sheet for working with ELL students. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks---I keep it handy!
DeleteThanks so much! This will be very helpful.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like this!
Deletenice and so helpful michelle miller
ReplyDeleteThanks, Retta!
DeleteThank you for sharing! I'm an ESL teacher, but it's been a long while since I have had a student with very limited English. These sorts of strategies are good for all learners!
ReplyDeleteMy first and second years of teaching ESL were like yours. Times have changed here in Ohio and the influx of refugees has sent so many to me that know almost nothing. I had a couple awhile back from Somalia that were fourth graders who had never been to school ever. When I asked them their names they just looked at me. It was clear they had no idea what I had just said. I knew I was in for it then.
DeleteThanks for sharing. I teach ESL kids along with those that are not ESL. It is a struggle at times. This will be a valuable resource.
ReplyDeleteDo your best. Just keep in mind that although the powers that be say the content should be the same as your regular ed kids, that if a kid can't read a simple sentence, they will probably not understand content. I have had to go back to teaching sight words, word families, and lots of pictures for kids like this. Literacy in another language could take as long as 10 years. In one year's time the students might make some small gains but not enough to boost your test scores. I personally think these kids should be exempt for more than three years, but that's just me. I know it's a lot of pressure on everyone. It's easy to throw the ESL teacher "under the bus" so to speak, if the kids don't progress or if the teacher has limited time for them. Voice concerns to the teacher before you get too frustrated. I worked with a teacher who went above me due to this very thing and tried to play like she was helping me. My superiors validated what I was doing and that was the end of that but it hurt my feelings nonetheless.
DeleteGreat ideas!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kerri!
DeleteGreat resource! I wish I had it last year.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have it now. It's not the answer to all the issues that come up with these kids, but it's a start.
DeleteThank you! This is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sue!
DeleteI really love your fiction/nonfiction sort! (Sorry for some reason it won't allow me to comment under that post)
ReplyDeleteMy 2nd grade students always need reminders about the difference between fiction and nonfiction. I think your sorts would definitely help! Thanks :)
Thanks! think I fixed my posting dilemma. I'm a new blogger and have to work out the kinks.
DeleteI love your blog, Jackie! Anne Rozell
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Anne. That means a lot coming from you!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this resource! I have Never had any ELL, but might have some kids this year and a new grade level and am a bit nervous. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteIt will be ok. You will have to let me know what your roster looks like. Now I'm curious.
DeleteThank you for this resource. My most rewarding experience with an ELL just happened this summer. A student I had from Japan for one year came into my classroom knowing little-to-no English. By the end she was great! She moved back to Japan after the school year. However, this summer I traveled to Japan and had the opportunity to have dinner with her and her father! So happy!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Emily
scheinbere@hotmail.com
That's a great story! What took you to Japan? That is one expensive journey! I spent a summer in Japan many years ago and actually tried to learn hiragana. I got to take ink painting lessons from a painter and visited lots of places including Kyoto and Hiroshima. I got to ride the bullet train, too! I taught English language classes within a couple of the churches there. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had. My Japanese pastor came to the states a couple of times for church related things and he got to stay with my family.
DeleteExcellent resource! Thanks for sharing. Last year just 2 out of my 11 special ed students spoke English at home. I made sure all communication from me (newsletters, reminders, etc.) went home in English, Spanish, & Arabic.
ReplyDeleteOh my! Good for you. I have Hispanic, Arabic, Nepali, Somali, Vietnamese, and other African countries like Ghana and Kenya. It's interesting. My Hispanic parents come to all the conferences. Their kids are so sweet. My Nepali girls are amazing and the others are quite interesting to say the least. I love my job.
DeleteThanks for the chance!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing! I work at a bilingual school, and we have a high population of migrant students that speak many different languages. This is very helpful. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this wonderful resource. I really struggled my first year trying to teach my ELL students.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the The Five Stages of Language Acquisition Made Easy freebie. It is very helpful!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the The Five Stages of Language Acquisition Made Easy freebie. It is very helpful!
ReplyDeleteSo very helpful! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I had a student last year who spoke no English but she was eager to learn. She did very well, soaking everything up like a sponge. Your resource can help me to better serve students like her who might not be as eager as she was. So again I say thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I had a student last year who spoke no English but she was eager to learn. She did very well, soaking everything up like a sponge. Your resource can help me to better serve students like her who might not be as eager as she was. So again I say thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas that will be very helpful! We have a lot of Hispanic students in our school. I know children learn things much faster than adults, but it is still frustrating for them when they don't understand a word/concept. I'm a new follower! Thanks so much for sharing your ideas!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! Thanks for the freebie.
ReplyDeleteA very informative and helpful post, thank you!
ReplyDeleteAwesome resource!! This will be so helpful. Thank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteThank you for the freebees
ReplyDeleteGreat blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the resource. My school is the most diverse in Southern Arizona with 20 different languages spoken by our students. I teach a "mainstream" class (as opposed to self-contained ELD) but I still have ELLs who have been reclassified and need continued support.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great resource! Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteGreat resource! Thanks
ReplyDeletelove your new blog great color scheme very interesting topics to explore.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteVery informative post! Bookmarking for future reference.
ReplyDeleteThis will be great because we have many ELLs at my school.
ReplyDeleteThis is great!
ReplyDeleteThank you. This is great!
ReplyDeleteThis would have been helpful when I had ELLs. Great resource.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this awesome tips! It helps me serve my students better! Thanks again and God bless!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! This will be soo helpful to me, since only 9 of my 25 students in the upcoming year come from English-speaking homes!
ReplyDeleteThis is super helpful! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great resource for teaching and reaching ELL students! As a former ELL student, the tips offered here are effective for teaching ELL students.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great resource!
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your wonderful tips and resources!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great tips!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this great resource!
ReplyDeleteI teach in a newcomers program! Great tips here!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great resource!! I work in Denver and more and more of our students are English Language Learners!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great resource!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your ideas! This will be so helpful!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these great ideas. Perfect for this back to school season :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips. Very helpful!
ReplyDeleteThe tips are super helpful. Thanks for the resource!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing !!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this! There are great tips and i am appreciative that you offer it for free. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up, I am a big believer in commenting on blogs to inform the blog writers know that they’ve added something worthwhile to the world wide web!..
ReplyDeleteتعليم انجليزي
Within this webpage, you'll see the page, you need to understand this data. تعلم الانجليزية
ReplyDeleteCollege-level students who are non-native English speakers almost always view academic writing in particular and English writing in general as frustrating tasks. This article provides some tips on how to make English writing more enjoyable for EFL students. https://www.seoexpertindelhi.in/google-word-coach/
ReplyDelete