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English Language Learner - General Information

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English Language Learner - General Information

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The website attached from the National Education Association provides resources and information for ELL advocacy, how to partner with families and communities, and how to differentiate for ELL's in the classroom.

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Achievement gaps between English language learners (ELLs) and non-ELL students are deeply rooted, pervasive, complex, and challenging for National Education Association affiliates and members.

The good news is that NEA is actively addressing the complex issues by engaging in research and advocacy and proposing strategies that we can pursue individually and collectively to help eliminate those gaps.

What do schools need to effectively address ELL students. Schools need the following to effectively address ELL students?

Schools need to promote:

A research-based process for the effective teaching of ELLs

Curriculum design and lesson planning based on sound pedagogical principles, practices, and high standards

Strategic methods for making grade-level materials and resources comprehensible for ELLs

Research-based training on theory, culture, diversity, social status, and policy of language acquisition

Training, technical assistance, and/or funding for programs and services for ELL students

Advocacy that will increase awareness as to the coalitions that support educators who work with ELLs

Resources that will help educators learn more about effective, differentiated teaching strategies specifically addressing ELLs.

How can I effectively partner with ELL families and communities?

All families want the best education for their children, and ELL families are no different. English Language Learners of all ethnicities cite education as a priority for their children, and for the majority of Hispanics-the largest group of ELLs in the nation-education outranked every other issue on national surveys.

Families are your most valuable allies for advocating for the rights of ELL students. Use the following advocacy strategies as helpful starting points for partnering with ELL families and communities.

Be open to different forms of parental engagement. Families are involved in their childrens' education in a variety of ways. Offer them a variety of opportunities for being involved.

Don't forget about extended families. Extended families and community members often play a significant role in the lives of English language learners. Welcome them into the classroom and at school events.

Increase families' comfort levels being at school. Provide programs that directly benefit them (e.g., free English classes, information about immigrant rights or community services).

Recognize and eliminate barriers to family involvement. Identify ways the school can support families participating in school activities and events by providing services like childcare, transportation to and from events, interpreters, dinner, flexible meeting times, and dual language resources.

Build relationships with family and community. Developing trusting and respectful relationships with parents will go a long way toward helping ELL students succeed in school. Many districts have launched home visit programs as a way to enhance parent-teacher communication, help teachers learn more about their students, bridge cultural gaps, and show parents and students how much teachers care. Participating in local community events also helps show you are invested in the life of the community and helps inspire trust.

Immigration status matters. Recognize that families of ELLs may be dealing with various factors associated with their immigration status. They may have feelings of dislocation and unfamiliarity with cultural and institutional norms. Take care in the type of information you request, and contact the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights for guidance in navigating this issue.

Use multiple ways of communication. Ask families what form of communication works best for them: email, notes home, phone calls, face-to-face school drop-off or pick-up. Communicate in families' preferred language if possible. If this is not possible, find a trusted, bilingual interpreter who can accompany you to a meeting and whom you feel would be comfortable around parents.

Learn about your ELLs' families. Allow your students to do projects that help you gain insights into their family and cultural backgrounds. Encourage families to come to the classroom and share one aspect of their culture. Let the family member and the student be the experts.

Share resources and your expectations for students with families. Give all parents information about opportunities that will help ensure their children don't make harmful decisions or fall behind academically. Start sharing information early (e.g., talk about college planning in junior high so families know the type of coursework required).

Make sure parents know their rights. Rights for parents of ELLs are often an amalgamation of district, state, and federal requirements. Identify and share resources that will help parents understand and exercise their rights in proactive ways, not just when faced with an issue.

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English Language Learners: What you need to know | NEA

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Achievement gaps between English language learners (ELLs) and non-ELL students are deeply rooted, pervasive, complex, and challenging for National Education Association affiliates and members. The good news is that NEA is actively addressing the complex issues by engaging in research and advocacy and proposing strategies that we can pursue individually and collectively to help eliminate those gaps.

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ELL's without Spanish as their Native Language 

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ELL's without Spanish as their Native Language 

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- Embrace their culture & provide them with reading material that relates to their culture.
- Use cognates
- Inclusion in the classroom - bring the language training to them

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Esperanza Rising - Book Resource for Middle School ELL's 

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Esperanza Rising - Book Resource for Middle School ELL's 

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Esperanza Rising is about a young girl that always thought she would live with her family on their ranch in Mexico. However, a sudden tragedy brought on by the Mexican Revolution forces Esperanza and her mother to flee to California during the Great Depression. Esperanza was not prepared for a life of hard labor, financial struggles, and/or a lack of acceptance but that is what she faced when she settled in a camp in California for Mexican farm workers. Throughout the story, Esperanza found a way to rise above her difficult circumstances and embrace her new found lifestyle.
I think this book is especially great for ELL's that are struggling with their identity. Below are teacher resources from Scholastic - activities and lesson plans - that go along with this book!

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Esperanza Rising Teaching Guide | Scholastic

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Use the beloved novel Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan as inspiration to improve students' writing skills. Students use story starters and historical fiction journal wr

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Jalapeno Bagels - Book Resource for ELL's 

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Jalapeno Bagels - Book Resource for ELL's 

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Jalapeno Bagels is about a boy who is deciding what food to take for his school’s International Day. The boy named Pablo, helps his Hispanic mother and his Jewish father at their bakery and discovers a food that represents both of his parents’ backgrounds. I feel that this book would be especially great to read to my class in order to bring awareness and acceptance of multiple cultures into the classroom. After reading the book, students could go home and ask about their own heritage. Then, like they did in the story, each student could bring in a food dish or an item that they feel represents their culture for an International Day. Students could share about their culture and then go around the room and share their foods and items with one another. Below is a video of this book being read aloud.

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- May have little to no formal schooling
- May move between schools often
- May lack access to effective, consistent language instruction
- May have limited practice developing and using academic language
- May have personal responsibilities that occupy hours during or outside of the school day

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The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Book Resource for ELL's 

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The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Book Resource for ELL's 

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The Invention of Hugo Cabret is 525 pages in length but the message is portrayed mostly through pictures. This is great for middle school aged ELL’s because they will be able to comprehend the story without having to decipher very many words in English. In addition, when there is text to be read throughout the story, the ELL’s can use the pictures as context clues to understand what the text is saying. Below is a book trailer for this book that 6th graders at Lincoln Elementary created using iMovie.

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The Invention Of Hugo Cabret Book Trailer

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Book trailer for The Invention of Hugo Cabret created by sixth graders at Lincoln using iMovie on an iPad.

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According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the percentage of public school students in the United States who were English Language Learners was higher in school year 2012-2013 at 9.2% than in 2002-2003 at 8.7% and in 2011-2012 at 9.1%.

While more than 70% of English Language Learners do speak Spanish as their primary language, nearly 150 languages in total are spoken by ELL students across the country. In 2012, there were five states where Spanish was not the primary language in ELL programs within schools: Alaska (Yupik), Hawaii (Ilokano), Montana (German), Maine (Somali), and Vermont (Nepali).

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- Strong literacy in their native language
- Academic skills and content area knowledge developed in their native language
- Strong family support and commitment
- High levels of personal responsibility, resilience, resourcefulness, and commitment to success

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I love Saturdays y Domingos - Book Resource for ELL's 

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I love Saturdays y Domingos - Book Resource for ELL's 

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This book is a great book for elementary-aged ELL students. In this 32-page short story, the child spends Saturdays with her Grandma and Grandpa, who come from a European-American background, and spends Sundays (Domingos) with her Abuelito y Abuelita, who are Mexican-American. Throughout the story, the narrator visits the circus and the pier, shares stories from her grandparents’ pasts, and celebrates her birthday. This book does a great job of conveying the depth and joy of both Spanish and English culture. This affirmation of both cultures will speak and relate to ELL’s as well as all children who want to know more about the make-up of families with different ethnic backgrounds. Below is a video of this book being read aloud.

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I do not own any rights to this book, just wanted to share it since my school used it for our classes.