English+Language+Learners


 * This our ELL group:**
 * Laura**
 * Brandie**
 * Kim**
 * Erin**
 * Ashley**

**Laura Pantin's Post #1:** This website is a section of The National Education Association that examines the complexities of English Language Learners in the general education classroom. There are a variety of links on this section that provide educators with strategies in which to engage ELL students, build on their culture to create culturally relevant instruction, how to create "classroom and school environments that facilitate language learning," as well as to be able to identify "appropriate ELL instructional strategies aligned and differentiated to lessons, objectives, and goals." The website also states ways to facilitate ELL learning so that children are able to engage in the material. There are four different "highlight" sections on this website that include: (1) The Invisible Minority, (2) Speaking in Tongues: A Movie Not to Miss! (3) Welcoming ELL Parents into Your Classroom and (4) Fairness for English Language Learners. One of the sections that I think is the most useful is the third section on welcoming ELL parents to the classroom. It provides strategies to implement in one's class, such as sending a letter at the beginning of the year to the parents, calling a different parent everyday to elicit communication, and if necessary, going to their houses. There are also sub-tabs that give ways to have better attendance at parent conferences, ways to involve parents in the class and in their child's learning and ideas as to how parents can help in the class. [|NEA: English Language Learners]

**Ashley Hunter's Post #1** This is a worksheet I made with common problems that ELL students face and some strategies teachers can implement to help ELL students succeed and feel more comfortable in the school environment.

This file contains prevalent information about English Language Learners. There are five main sections of the article including: A Nation with Multiple Languages, The Many Faces of English Language Learners, Recent Policy History, Common Myths About ELL Students and Research-Based Recommendations for Effective ELL Instruction. [|NCTE English Language Learners]
 * Laura Pantin's Post #2:**


 * Laura Pantin's Post #3:**
 * VIDEO:** [|ELL Learning]
 * VIDEO:** [|ELL Learners: Culture, Equity and Language]

This website gives an overview of a book called __Fifty Strategies for teaching English Language Learners__. It is organized into five sections which flow easily from theory and planning, through learner involvement and vocabulary building, to increasing comprehension. Some of the 50 strategies include visual scaffolding, skills grouping, and partner work. Each strategy in the book includes a definition, rationale, and the step by step implementation instructions. They are tied to the current ELL standards. This book also includes types of assessments. I believe this book would be useful to own if working with ELL students. [|50 Strategies for teaching English Language Learners]
 * Erin Fitzgibbons's Post #1:**

This YouTube video gives strategies that are best for teaching ELL/ESL reading. Bottom up and top down strategies are discussed first. Top down strategies are more important but it is important to not dismiss the bottom up strategies. This video is brought to you by Reading Horizons. [|Strategy Video] [|Reading Horizons]
 * Erin Fitzgibbons's Post #2:**

This website features links to many resources, games, and lessons that can be used to teach English Language Learners. [|ELL/ESL lesson plans and resources]
 * Erin Fitzgibbons's Post #3:**

This website gives an excerpt from __Easy Ways to Reach & Teach English Language Learners__ by Valerie Schiffer Danoff. What is interesting is that these strategies, like many others listed for helping ESL students, are also used when talking about differentiated classrooms. It is all about differentiating instruction to meet the needs of their students whether their first language is not English or if they have a learning disability. Some of the strategies listed in this excerpt are draw pictures to explain vocabulary and put it up in the classroom, repeat the same lesson or concept in different ways, and color code directions. [|General Instructional Strategies]
 * Erin Fitzgibbons's Post #4:**

This website was very useful and shared a lot of information about working with ESL students. It is important to include the student’s native culture into lesson plans. Students work better when they can relate to their work and become more open to the learning process. This link suggests that teachers place the student’s traditions in context. An example given on the website, is sharing holidays from around the world. This will help students realize that everyone is different and we all believe in different things. It also gives the ESL student a chance to share their beliefs/holidays with the other students. The teacher should also insure that the individual need of the students is met. In order to help the student succeed the teacher must understand the needs of the student and work from there. ELS students may have different assignments from the rest of the class but is just as challenging to them.
 * Kimberly Kidd Post #1**
 * http://www.eslpartyland.com/teaching-esl-student**

[] This article provides three different strategies to meet the needs of ESL students. The article stresses the importance in meeting the student’s educational needs as well as social needs. The first step is to assess the student’s knowledge and gain an understanding in what they know and what they do not know. The second step is to empathize and imagine how hard it must be for them. Understanding that the student may feel disconnected to the community is very important to help their learning development. Lastly, the teacher should foster a sense of belonging. Help the student feel welcome. Discus the culture with the rest of the class and help them to realize that he or she is just learning how to speak English.
 * Kimberly Kidd post #2**

This two videos focus on making vocabulary fun. The first on is a fun lesson where students show the vocabulary word with the movement of their bodies and the other one uses a fun game to help ESL students connect meaning to words.
 * Kimberly Kidd #3**

[] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC0xdL1AbMA&feature=related

This is a video of a school which incorporates Spanish into their daily routines. I thought this was a good idea because the Spanish students can still speak in their native language and learn English and the American students can learn Spanish.
 * Kimberly Kidd #4**

[]

Great Resource: English Language Learners: The Essential Guide by David Freeman and Yvonne Freeman This book is a wonderful resource for teachers of ELL students-- it has sample texts to use with these students, as well as information behind the theory and practice of teaching and engaging ELL (sample piece of text: //If the World Were a Village//-- "a fascinating book that tells readers what percentages of people in the world speak different languages, come from different countries, are different ages, have different levels of education, and own different portions of the world's wealth" (p. 32). Some helpful information in the book includes: 1. Utilizing the "Preview/View/Review" method which is broken down like (p. 93): Preview (First Language) Students are given an overview of the lesson or activity in their first language
 * Laura Pantin's Post #4:**

View (Second or Target Language--English) The teacher teaches the lesson or directs the activity in the students' second language.

Review (First Language) Students summarize key ideas and raise questions about the lesson in their first language and report back in English.

2. "Ten Tips for Supporting Students' Primary Languages" (p. 96):
 * 1) Arrange for books to be read to students in their primary languages.
 * 2) Organize bilingual tutoring.
 * 3) Organize pen-pal letter writing.
 * 4) Pair newcomers with a partner who speaks the same primary language.
 * 5) Use primary-language storytellers.
 * 6) Build a classroom library in students' primary languages.
 * 7) Encourage primary-language journal writing.
 * 8) Publish books written in students' primary languages.
 * 9) Ensure that classroom environmental print represents students' primary languages.
 * 10) Allow ELLs to talk in their primary languages.

ELL & Parents [|Ways to Accommodate Parents]

**Ashley Hunter's Post #2** __Culture In the Classroom__
 * Some students are not accustomed to looking directly at an authority figure or an older person. They may feel more comfortable looking down or away. This is a sign of respect in some cultures.
 * Many students who are limited in English refrain from from asking for help and will not answer voluntarily.
 * Silence in many other cultures is a sign of respect rather than a sign of inability or a refusal to participate. Also some students may be apprehensive about speaking out in a group if the teacher is present because the teacher is seen as an "elder" and silence is respected.
 * They may not be accustomed to physical education activities due to cultural differences.
 * Also cultures perceive personal space differently and what "comfortably close" in one culture may be perceived as an invasion of space or an aggressive posture in another.
 * Some ELL students prefer to work individually and others collaboratively on assigned tasks. What may look like cheating is actually a culturally acquired learning style--an attempt to model what is being done and is an attempt to participate in the learning process.
 * [|Culture in the classroom]**

**Ashley Hunter's Post #3** This is a great video that talks about the importance of Parent involvement. Parents of students classified as English Language Learners (ELL) discuss the importance of parent involvement to a child's education, and the value of being familiar with the ELL classification process. The video is in Spanish, however there are subtitles in English throughout the entire video, so the viewers comprehension isn't compromised.

[|ELL Parent Involvement]

Ashley Hunter's Post #4 This website does a great job of describing culture shock in students. It goes into detail describing what culture shock is, the causes of culture and school shock, the effects of school shock and how to help students overcome it.

[|Culture and school shock in students]

**Brandie Sullivan's Post #1** This scholarly article focuses on the relationships between oral language, literacy and student success for all english language learners in the United States. They cover all grades from pre kindergarten to 12th grade. This article shares how these relationships can be applied in the academic classroom setting. It also provides suggested areas of focus for future studies in order to improve the success of these students. Educating English Language Learners

**Brandie Sullivan's Post #2** This scholarly article focuses on the teaching english language learners with diverse abilities. They refer to it as sheltered content instruction. There are always going to be situations where a special education teacher is given an english language learner and has no idea how to approach the situation. Regular classroom teachers are even given the chance to work with these students and are not sure exactly what to do. This issue is growing by the minute as each district is growing with diverse populations. This site provides a text that offers help for teachers who need to teach english language learners who also have special education adaptations. This is where I was introduced to the sheltered content instruction approach. Not only does the text offer theories and common practices for teaching english language learners but it also offers strategies for dealing with specific special education adaptations. This text can answers any questions regarding these two particular types of students. sheltered content instruction

**Brandie Sullivan's Post #3** This scholarly article was very interesting to me. It presented the top fifty strategies teachers should use for teaching english language learners. Not only is it referred to as a scholarly article, but it also is a published book. It is hands on and it offers fifty proven strategies that can help english language learners understand content material. During all this, they will also be able to improve their speaking skills along with reading and writing. Listening in english is also an essential piece. Every strategy in the book comes with a purpose, a definition, and step by step implementation instructions. This book assures teachers they will use expected standards, beneficial rationales, and proper monitoring strategies for these type of students in regards to planning and teaching. fifty strategies for teaching english language learners

**Brandie Sullivan's Post #4** This site was created by the National Council of Teachers of English. They discuss how much our population changes as immigrants come to the United States. The population of immigrants has tripled in the past 30 years and now we are forced to face this issue and how we can adapt to this as future teachers. This site covers the issue of being a nation of multiple languages, the many faces of english language learners, recent policy histories, common myths about english language learners, and research based recommendations for effective ELL instruction. ELL research brief