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How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment for ELLs

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How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment for ELLs

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How to create a welcoming classroom environment for ELLs. Reading Rockets. (n.d.). https://www.readingrockets.org/helping-all-readers/english-language-learners/creating-welcoming-classroom-environment-ells

This resource provides practices that support learning environments for ELL learners in three different categories.

*Creating a welcoming environment

*Reading 101 for ELLs

*Connecting with ELL families.

This resource is provided by Reading Rockets, an organization that utilizes research-based practices to increase literacy.

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An important first step in helping English language learners (ELLs) succeed is making them feel welcome in the classroom.

This will:

increase their confidence

make them feel more comfortable in the class

build a foundation for positive relationships with you and their peers.

Here's how you can get started!

The ELL student population includes students who were born in the U.S. and students who have immigrated from another country. For ELLs who have recently arrived in the U.S., they will face the challenge of learning a new language in addition to adjusting to an unfamiliar cultural setting and school system.

On a daily basis, ELLs are adjusting to new ways of saying and doing things. As their teacher, you are an important bridge to this unknown culture and school system.

In the same way that ELLs go through stages of English language learning, they may also pass through stages of cultural accommodation. These stages, however, may be less defined and more difficult to notice. Being aware of these stages may help you to better understand "unusual" actions and reactions that may just be part of adjusting to a new culture.

Euphoria: ELLs may experience an initial period of excitement about their new surroundings.

Culture shock: ELLs may then experience anger, hostility, frustration, homesickness, or resentment towards the new culture.

Acceptance: ELLs may gradually accept their different surroundings.

Assimilation/adaptation: ELLs may embrace and adapt to their surroundings and their "new" culture.

It is also common for students who are learning a new language to be 'silent' for a period of time, when they are listening to the language around them without speaking yet (much as a young child listens to language first before learning to talk). This is considered the first stage of language acquisition.

Patience and creating opportunities for small successes in speaking with you and peers can help build students' confidence. In addition, keep in mind that students' silence could also be a sign of respect for you as an authority - and not a sign of their inability or refusal to participate.

Students may also have experienced trauma or face different kinds of hardship in the U.S. You can better prepare yourself for this possibility by:

Learn more from the following:

This award-winning documentary highlights how the Dearborn, MI public school district is helping its immigrant students succeed. Learn more about this project and see related videos.

Getting to Know Students

Learn how to pronounce students' names correctly

Don't forget to smile and use positive body language!

A lot of communication happens through expressions, body language, and tone. Smiling and using positive body language can go a long way in making students feel welcome and comfortable, particularly if they are newcomers, as seen in the vignette shared by a teacher below.

Build relationships with students

Veteran teachers of ELLs always point to building relationships as the most important step in their work with ELLs. Not only does it increase engagement and support students' later academic success, it also provides invaluable information that can inform your instruction and family engagement.

In addition, it can help build bridges with students who may have particularly unique experiences, such as children in migrant farmwork families or Indigenous students.

See more ideas on how to build these relationships from the following:

Video: Showing students you care

Corpus Christi teacher Christine Price talks about the importance of showing students you care early on.

Identify students' strengths and interests

It's important to remember that ELLs bring lots of strengths, talents, and rich experiences to the classroom. Getting to know students' interests can help:

build rapport

engage students in learning

find connections with new friends.

Families are also an important source of information and are often happy to talk about the activities that their child enjoys. They may also appreciate the fact that their child's teacher is taking an interest in the child's strengths and talents. (This is especially true in special education settings.)

Teacher Omar Salem describes a student who not only sings and dances but manages her own YouTube channel and edits all of the video she posts of her performances.

Video: Using parent letters to get to know my students

Albuquerque teacher Clara Gonzales-Espinoza asks her parents to write her a letter at the beginning of each school year telling her about the child's personality, interests, strengths, and anything else they think she should know. In this interview, Clara speaks more about this strategy and its impact on her relationships with parents and students.

Ensure that students have information about activities and clubs

Make sure that students have information about extra-curricular activities, sports, and clubs related to their interests. You can also encourage them to start their own club within the school.

ELL educator Christine Rowland notes, "Many students find involvement in school clubs and teams to be extremely helpful, as they are often experts in these areas, and they can provide a space where they more easily feel they belong."

Welcoming Students' Language and Culture

Invite students' cultures into the classroom

Encourage ELLs and their families to share their culture with you and your class. Show-and-tell is a good opportunity for ELLs to bring in something representative of their culture, if they wish.

Invite students and families to:

share photographs, visuals, or meaningful artifacts such as flags or mementos

tell a popular story or folktale using words, pictures, gestures, and movements

share information about important holidays or celebrations.

Looking beyond the classroom

Imagine that you are walking into your school for the first time as a parent.

What do you see on the walls?

If your first language weren't English, would you see signs in your language?

Would you see flags, maps, or books representing your home country?

Would you see your child's work on display in the hallway?

If you think more could be done to make families feel welcome, consider:

sharing some ideas with colleagues or administrators and taking small steps that you can point to as successes

looking for opportunities to celebrate all families and their languages, customs, and cultures, whether in the classroom or at a school-wide event

keeping a lookout for a special part of their lives that other families might appreciate getting to know.

See more ideas in the following:

Video: What happened when the students realized the Yemeni flag wasn't on stage

ELD Specialist Diana Alqadhi tells the story of some students who realized that the Yemeni flag was not featured prominently enough on stage before a school show.

Invite students' languages into the classroom

Label classroom objects to allow ELLs to better understand their immediate surroundings. These labels will also assist you when explaining or giving directions, and it gives peers an additional opportunity to learn some words in their classmates' language.

Start with everyday items, such as "door/puerta," "book/libro," and "chair/silla."

You may wish to ask students who can write in their first language or family members to help you with this project.

You can also invite students to teach the class some words from their home language.

Learn more about the resources available in students' home languages

Students benefit from support in their home language - what Dr. Fred Genesee calls their " most valuable resource." You have may have access to learning material in students' languages, or you may be able to find resources that support those languages.

Language access for multilingual families

In addition, it's critical to understand what language access resources you have available through your school and district, particularly for communication with families. Keep in mind that all families have a legal right to information in their home language. Family liaisons, interpreters, ESL teachers, or administrators may have more information about what language access resources are available in your district.

Video: What Do School Districts Need to Know About Language Access?

This helpful overview about what language access means for school districts is a great introduction to the requirements, best practices, and funding streams related to language access in public education. This interview features Dr. Jennifer Love, the Supervisor of Language Access and Engagement in Prince George's County Public Schools, Maryland.

Video: Language Access for Multilingual Families

What does appropriate language access mean for multilingual families? This interview also features Dr. Jennifer Love.

Ensure your students see themselves reflected in the classroom

Ask yourself if students can see representations of their culture, race, gender, and other aspects of identity reflected in your:

classroom materials and library

lesson plans and activities

classroom visuals (both in-person and virtual).

In addition:

Success in the Classroom

Encourage your students

Some ELLs may not answer voluntarily in class or ask for your help even if they need it. ELLs may smile and nod, but this does not necessarily mean that they understand. Offer one-on-one support and encouragement as much as possible. For convenience, it may be helpful to seat ELLs near your desk.

Assign a buddy

Identify a classmate who will make a good buddy for new students - someone who is friendly, patient, and a good communicator to be a buddy. This student can make sure that the new student understands what he or she is supposed to do during class activities. It is helpful if the peer partner knows the ELL's first language, but not necessary. However, remember to never use another student as an interpreter in any situation.

Learn more about ways to increase peer interaction and collaboration in these related strategies.

Ask the class how they can help welcome new students

Ask students to brainstorm ways to help ELLs in particular. You may wish to make a list of ideas on how to welcome new students at the beginning of the year so that students have these strategies in mind if a student comes with little advance notice.

Be vigilant about health issues, dietary concerns, and allergies

Students may have specific health issues or dietary restrictions due to health, cultural, or religious reasons. Be sure that you learn all essential information you need to know about student health and diet from parents or guardians. For ELLs, be sure to confirm and clarify this information with the help of interpreters.

If you learn information about a student that would be helpful for other staff to know, particularly regarding health or food allergies, talk with administrators about how to keep the child safe. In addition, be sensitive to cultural or religious norms, such as fasting for religious reasons.

Keep an eye out for signs of culture shock

Moving to a new country and leaving a familiar life, relatives, friends, and language behind can be traumatic for children in the best of circumstances. Those challenges are compounded if children have experienced trauma, violence, or upheaval. Learn more about how culture shock can impact students in the classroom and affect student behavior so that you recognize signs if newcomers act out.

Encourage students to take ownership of the classroom culture

Ask students to answer the following questions through drawings or written responses.

How can I be a good classmate to others?

What are examples of unkind or disrespectful behavior in the classroom?

To support ELLs in their discussions of these questions:

Encourage students who speak the same language to discuss their ideas in groups.

Provide scaffolded materials such as graphic organizers, sentence stems, and sentence frames.

Use a picture book to talk about different kinds of behavior with students.

Create a shared set of classroom expectations together

Return to your earlier discussion of what a respectful classroom looks like.

Brainstorm ideas on possible class rules based on that discussion.

Streamline the list of class guidelines or rules.

Add any rules or guidelines that are missing.

In order to establish appropriate consequences for disrespectful behavior, you may wish to come up with ideas with the class or determine those consequences yourself.

Post the final list classroom rules in the classroom.

Translate the rules into ELLs' native languages so that they can keep the list handy and share it at home.

To see an example of this proces in action, take a look at ELL expert Carol Salva's process for developing a community contract each year.

Help your ELLs understand expectations for the classroom

ELLs may need some extra support in understanding expectations for classroom behavior. Helping them understand these expectations can avoid misunderstandings, discipline problems, and feelings of low self-esteem.

At the same time, it's important to remember that students bridging two cultures may need guidance which behaviors are appropriate in which setting (such as eye contact, physical proximity, etc.). If you have questions, talk with a cultural liaison in the school to learn more about appropriate responses and ideas for helping students navigate a new culture. You can also learn more about cultural norms of your students, particularly related to schooling, to help inform your approach.

Here are a few strategies that you can use in class:

Use visuals like pictures, symbols, and reward systems to communicate your expectations in a positive and direct manner.

Physically model language to ELLs in classroom routines and instructional activities. ELLs will need to see you or their peers model behavior when you want them to sit down, walk to the bulletin board, work with a partner, copy a word, etc.

Be consistent and fair with all students. Once ELLs clearly understand what is expected, hold them equally accountable for their behavior.

Post a daily schedule. Even if ELLs do not yet understand all of the words that you speak, it is possible for them to understand the structure of each day. Whether through chalkboard art or images on Velcro, you can post the daily schedule each morning. By writing down times and having pictures next to words like lunch, wash hands, math, and field trip, ELLs can have a general sense of the upcoming day.

Finally, remember ELLs can make unintentional "mistakes" as they are trying hard to adjust to a new cultural setting. They are constantly transferring what they know as acceptable behaviors from their own culture to the U.S. classroom and school. Be patient as ELLs learn English and adjust - and remember that you will learn a lot from this experience too!

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How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment for ELLs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An important first step in helping English language learners (ELLs) succeed is making them feel welcome in the classroom. This will: increase their confidence make them feel more comfortable in the class build a foundation for positive relationships with you and their peers. Here's how you can get started!

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment for ELLs

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment for ELLs

# data[].attributes.body
How to create a welcoming classroom environment for Ells. Colorín Colorado. (2023, August 25). https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/how-create-welcoming-classroom-environment

This resource adds practices to make your ELL students feel welcome. By doing this your ELL students will:

increase their confidence

make them feel more comfortable in the class

build a foundation for positive relationships with you and their peers.

This resource is provided by Colorin Colorado. This site is dedicated to ELL teachers and families and focuses on Research based instructional strategies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
An important first step in helping English language learners (ELLs) succeed is making them feel welcome in the classroom.

This will:

increase their confidence

make them feel more comfortable in the class

build a foundation for positive relationships with you and their peers.

Here's how you can get started!

The ELL student population includes students who were born in the U.S. and students who have immigrated from another country. For ELLs who have recently arrived in the U.S., they will face the challenge of learning a new language in addition to adjusting to an unfamiliar cultural setting and school system.

On a daily basis, ELLs are adjusting to new ways of saying and doing things. As their teacher, you are an important bridge to this unknown culture and school system.

In the same way that ELLs go through stages of English language learning, they may also pass through stages of cultural accommodation. These stages, however, may be less defined and more difficult to notice. Being aware of these stages may help you to better understand "unusual" actions and reactions that may just be part of adjusting to a new culture.

Euphoria: ELLs may experience an initial period of excitement about their new surroundings.

Culture shock: ELLs may then experience anger, hostility, frustration, homesickness, or resentment towards the new culture.

Acceptance: ELLs may gradually accept their different surroundings.

Assimilation/adaptation: ELLs may embrace and adapt to their surroundings and their "new" culture.

It is also common for students who are learning a new language to be 'silent' for a period of time, when they are listening to the language around them without speaking yet (much as a young child listens to language first before learning to talk). This is considered the first stage of language acquisition.

Patience and creating opportunities for small successes in speaking with you and peers can help build students' confidence. In addition, keep in mind that students' silence could also be a sign of respect for you as an authority - and not a sign of their inability or refusal to participate.

Students may also have experienced trauma or face different kinds of hardship in the U.S. You can better prepare yourself for this possibility by:

Learn more from the following:

This award-winning documentary highlights how the Dearborn, MI public school district is helping its immigrant students succeed. Learn more about this project and see related videos.

Getting to Know Students

Learn how to pronounce students' names correctly

Don't forget to smile and use positive body language!

A lot of communication happens through expressions, body language, and tone. Smiling and using positive body language can go a long way in making students feel welcome and comfortable, particularly if they are newcomers, as seen in the vignette shared by a teacher below.

Build relationships with students

Veteran teachers of ELLs always point to building relationships as the most important step in their work with ELLs. Not only does it increase engagement and support students' later academic success, it also provides invaluable information that can inform your instruction and family engagement.

In addition, it can help build bridges with students who may have particularly unique experiences, such as children in migrant farmwork families or Indigenous students.

See more ideas on how to build these relationships from the following:

Video: Showing students you care

Corpus Christi teacher Christine Price talks about the importance of showing students you care early on.

Identify students' strengths and interests

It's important to remember that ELLs bring lots of strengths, talents, and rich experiences to the classroom. Getting to know students' interests can help:

build rapport

engage students in learning

find connections with new friends.

Families are also an important source of information and are often happy to talk about the activities that their child enjoys. They may also appreciate the fact that their child's teacher is taking an interest in the child's strengths and talents. (This is especially true in special education settings.)

Teacher Omar Salem describes a student who not only sings and dances but manages her own YouTube channel and edits all of the video she posts of her performances.

Video: Using parent letters to get to know my students

Albuquerque teacher Clara Gonzales-Espinoza asks her parents to write her a letter at the beginning of each school year telling her about the child's personality, interests, strengths, and anything else they think she should know. In this interview, Clara speaks more about this strategy and its impact on her relationships with parents and students.

Ensure that students have information about activities and clubs

Make sure that students have information about extra-curricular activities, sports, and clubs related to their interests. You can also encourage them to start their own club within the school.

ELL educator Christine Rowland notes, "Many students find involvement in school clubs and teams to be extremely helpful, as they are often experts in these areas, and they can provide a space where they more easily feel they belong."

Welcoming Students' Language and Culture

Invite students' cultures into the classroom

Encourage ELLs and their families to share their culture with you and your class. Show-and-tell is a good opportunity for ELLs to bring in something representative of their culture, if they wish.

Invite students and families to:

share photographs, visuals, or meaningful artifacts such as flags or mementos

tell a popular story or folktale using words, pictures, gestures, and movements

share information about important holidays or celebrations.

Looking beyond the classroom

Imagine that you are walking into your school for the first time as a parent.

What do you see on the walls?

If your first language weren't English, would you see signs in your language?

Would you see flags, maps, or books representing your home country?

Would you see your child's work on display in the hallway?

If you think more could be done to make families feel welcome, consider:

sharing some ideas with colleagues or administrators and taking small steps that you can point to as successes

looking for opportunities to celebrate all families and their languages, customs, and cultures, whether in the classroom or at a school-wide event

keeping a lookout for a special part of their lives that other families might appreciate getting to know.

See more ideas in the following:

Video: What happened when the students realized the Yemeni flag wasn't on stage

ELD Specialist Diana Alqadhi tells the story of some students who realized that the Yemeni flag was not featured prominently enough on stage before a school show.

Invite students' languages into the classroom

Label classroom objects to allow ELLs to better understand their immediate surroundings. These labels will also assist you when explaining or giving directions, and it gives peers an additional opportunity to learn some words in their classmates' language.

Start with everyday items, such as "door/puerta," "book/libro," and "chair/silla."

You may wish to ask students who can write in their first language or family members to help you with this project.

You can also invite students to teach the class some words from their home language.

Learn more about the resources available in students' home languages

Students benefit from support in their home language - what Dr. Fred Genesee calls their " most valuable resource." You have may have access to learning material in students' languages, or you may be able to find resources that support those languages.

Language access for multilingual families

In addition, it's critical to understand what language access resources you have available through your school and district, particularly for communication with families. Keep in mind that all families have a legal right to information in their home language. Family liaisons, interpreters, ESL teachers, or administrators may have more information about what language access resources are available in your district.

Video: What Do School Districts Need to Know About Language Access?

This helpful overview about what language access means for school districts is a great introduction to the requirements, best practices, and funding streams related to language access in public education. This interview features Dr. Jennifer Love, the Supervisor of Language Access and Engagement in Prince George's County Public Schools, Maryland.

Video: Language Access for Multilingual Families

What does appropriate language access mean for multilingual families? This interview also features Dr. Jennifer Love.

Ensure your students see themselves reflected in the classroom

Ask yourself if students can see representations of their culture, race, gender, and other aspects of identity reflected in your:

classroom materials and library

lesson plans and activities

classroom visuals (both in-person and virtual).

In addition:

Success in the Classroom

Encourage your students

Some ELLs may not answer voluntarily in class or ask for your help even if they need it. ELLs may smile and nod, but this does not necessarily mean that they understand. Offer one-on-one support and encouragement as much as possible. For convenience, it may be helpful to seat ELLs near your desk.

Assign a buddy

Identify a classmate who will make a good buddy for new students - someone who is friendly, patient, and a good communicator to be a buddy. This student can make sure that the new student understands what he or she is supposed to do during class activities. It is helpful if the peer partner knows the ELL's first language, but not necessary. However, remember to never use another student as an interpreter in any situation.

Learn more about ways to increase peer interaction and collaboration in these related strategies.

Ask the class how they can help welcome new students

Ask students to brainstorm ways to help ELLs in particular. You may wish to make a list of ideas on how to welcome new students at the beginning of the year so that students have these strategies in mind if a student comes with little advance notice.

Be vigilant about health issues, dietary concerns, and allergies

Students may have specific health issues or dietary restrictions due to health, cultural, or religious reasons. Be sure that you learn all essential information you need to know about student health and diet from parents or guardians. For ELLs, be sure to confirm and clarify this information with the help of interpreters.

If you learn information about a student that would be helpful for other staff to know, particularly regarding health or food allergies, talk with administrators about how to keep the child safe. In addition, be sensitive to cultural or religious norms, such as fasting for religious reasons.

Keep an eye out for signs of culture shock

Moving to a new country and leaving a familiar life, relatives, friends, and language behind can be traumatic for children in the best of circumstances. Those challenges are compounded if children have experienced trauma, violence, or upheaval. Learn more about how culture shock can impact students in the classroom and affect student behavior so that you recognize signs if newcomers act out.

Encourage students to take ownership of the classroom culture

Ask students to answer the following questions through drawings or written responses.

How can I be a good classmate to others?

What are examples of unkind or disrespectful behavior in the classroom?

To support ELLs in their discussions of these questions:

Encourage students who speak the same language to discuss their ideas in groups.

Provide scaffolded materials such as graphic organizers, sentence stems, and sentence frames.

Use a picture book to talk about different kinds of behavior with students.

Create a shared set of classroom expectations together

Return to your earlier discussion of what a respectful classroom looks like.

Brainstorm ideas on possible class rules based on that discussion.

Streamline the list of class guidelines or rules.

Add any rules or guidelines that are missing.

In order to establish appropriate consequences for disrespectful behavior, you may wish to come up with ideas with the class or determine those consequences yourself.

Post the final list classroom rules in the classroom.

Translate the rules into ELLs' native languages so that they can keep the list handy and share it at home.

To see an example of this proces in action, take a look at ELL expert Carol Salva's process for developing a community contract each year.

Help your ELLs understand expectations for the classroom

ELLs may need some extra support in understanding expectations for classroom behavior. Helping them understand these expectations can avoid misunderstandings, discipline problems, and feelings of low self-esteem.

At the same time, it's important to remember that students bridging two cultures may need guidance which behaviors are appropriate in which setting (such as eye contact, physical proximity, etc.). If you have questions, talk with a cultural liaison in the school to learn more about appropriate responses and ideas for helping students navigate a new culture. You can also learn more about cultural norms of your students, particularly related to schooling, to help inform your approach.

Here are a few strategies that you can use in class:

Use visuals like pictures, symbols, and reward systems to communicate your expectations in a positive and direct manner.

Physically model language to ELLs in classroom routines and instructional activities. ELLs will need to see you or their peers model behavior when you want them to sit down, walk to the bulletin board, work with a partner, copy a word, etc.

Be consistent and fair with all students. Once ELLs clearly understand what is expected, hold them equally accountable for their behavior.

Post a daily schedule. Even if ELLs do not yet understand all of the words that you speak, it is possible for them to understand the structure of each day. Whether through chalkboard art or images on Velcro, you can post the daily schedule each morning. By writing down times and having pictures next to words like lunch, wash hands, math, and field trip, ELLs can have a general sense of the upcoming day.

Finally, remember ELLs can make unintentional "mistakes" as they are trying hard to adjust to a new cultural setting. They are constantly transferring what they know as acceptable behaviors from their own culture to the U.S. classroom and school. Be patient as ELLs learn English and adjust - and remember that you will learn a lot from this experience too!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment for ELLs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An important first step in helping English language learners (ELLs) succeed is making them feel welcome in the classroom. This will: increase their confidence make them feel more comfortable in the class build a foundation for positive relationships with you and their peers. Here's how you can get started!

# data[].attributes.body
Scott, R. (2015, May 26). Practices to welcome and support ells. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/practices-to-welcome-and-support-ells-robyn-scott

This resource provides strategies to make your ELL students feel welcome. It utilizes practices in tolerance, empathy, and perspective to form relationships with your ELL students.

Edutopia is an educational website dedicated to teacher and administrators. It gives them researched based strategies to implement in the classroom.

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Through practices that incorporate tolerance, empathy, and perspective, you can engage your English-only students in appreciating and sharing with their ELL classmates.

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6 Essential Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners

# data[].attributes.subject
6 Essential Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners

# data[].attributes.body
Kaplan, E. (2019, April 12). 6 essential strategies for teaching English language learners. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-essential-strategies-teaching-english-language-learners

This resource provides 6 tools that you can work into your lessons to teach your ELL students. It includes strategies that help with student relationships, language skills, productive language, speaking and listening, differentiation, and native languages and technology.

All of these resources are research based and give real world examples of implementation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Through practices that incorporate tolerance, empathy, and perspective, you can engage your English-only students in appreciating and sharing with their ELL classmates.

# data[].attributes.body
Sigueza, T. (2024, January 12). Using graphic organizers with Ells. Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/using-graphic-organizers-ells

Graphic organizers are a great tool for educators. Yet, they are not always utilized in the most effective way. This article lists general ways that teachers can best utilize graphic organizers with ELL students. It then gives an in-depth K-W-L strategy and how to implement it.

KWL is a graphic organizer strategy that has been researched and used for many years as an effective graphic organizer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Graphic organizers are a great tool to use when teaching English language learners (ELLs). Visual illustrations allow ELLs to better understand the material while learning important vocabulary.

Graphic organizers are most useful to ELLs when presented in small group activities. During the activities ELLs benefit from opportunities to work cooperatively - students are able to discuss and share their thoughts as they begin to contribute to the group effort. When ELLs use graphic organizers, they show achievement benefits across a variety of content areas, in all grade levels.

Ideas for Graphic Organizers

When teachers begin to use graphic organizers they need to follow some simple steps to make sure ELLs gain knowledge from such a simple yet reliable tool (Merkley & Jefferies, 2001). For example as a teacher begins to present a new topic, such as the solar system, an organizer can assist introducing the new idea.

Teachers should also begin to verbalize the relationship between the ideas, and the information that will be taught. Students or adults can write/draw the information provided by other students using a K-W-L chart. Graphic organizers should be tailored to reinforce the relationships between concepts, reminding students that this is just a quick preview of the material that will be taught next.

Secondly, teachers need to provide the opportunity for students to participate in discussions. ELLs need to have numerous pauses to process language in order to participate. For instance, classroom activities can be tailored to let students create graphs such as a concept definition map. Students can create a list of familiar terms to these maps.

Once students had the opportunity to share their thoughts and understand the topic that it is to follow, teachers can start to connect new material to their prior knowledge. Lessons need to guide ELLs to activate prior knowledge as they recollect earlier taught content to be able to retain new material (Merkley & Jefferies, 2001). In other words, graphic organizers provide a visual summary as they describe information - introducing ELLs to new technical vocabulary as they reinforce decoding skills of key words for an upcoming lesson.

Graphic organizers facilitate ELLs' comprehension through visual illustrations of key terms, vocabulary, ideas, and the relationship among them. Improving student's reading comprehension can be challenging, but such progress is necessary when focusing on students who are learning English (Kim, Vaughn, Wanzek, & Wei, 2004).

Note: When using graphic organizers with ELLs, be sure to explain how to use them and check back to ensure their understanding.

Strategy: K-W-L Chart

K-W-L charts are graphic organizers where students can share:

Here are some examples:

Video: Using a K-W-L Chart for background knowledge

ELL high school teacher Christine Rowland explains how to use a KWL chart to identify students' existing background knowledge.

Recommended Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Graphic organizers are a great tool to use when teaching English language learners (ELLs). Visual illustrations allow ELLs to better understand the material while learning important vocabulary. Graphic organizers are most useful to ELLs when presented in small group activities.

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How to use technology to support ells in your classroom. 

# data[].attributes.subject
How to use technology to support ells in your classroom. 

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Knutson, J. (2023, December 12). How to use technology to support ells in your classroom. Common Sense Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/how-to-use-technology-to-support-ells-in-your-classroom

This resource gives teachers with ELL students ways to utilize technology to assist those students in the classroom. This resource gives general strategies for using technology with your learners, as well as specific websites/tools to implement the strategies.

Research has shown that technology, when used properly, can improve ELL student's literacy. The tools listed in this resource assist with those purposes.

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English-language learners (ELLs) come into our classrooms with a wide variety of specific and unique needs for language acquisition. It's hard to talk about them all as one group -- ELLs represent a diverse range of students in every sense. It's needless to say: Working with ELLs is often challenging and also highly rewarding.

Because there are so many apps and edtech tools available today, you might expect to find lots of them made specifically for English language development (ELD), bilingual, or dual-immersion classrooms. Unfortunately, this isn't the case: Tools designed specifically for English-language learners are few and far between (though there are definitely some out there).

There are, nevertheless, a lot of great edtech tools and strategies you can use with your ELLs, even if the tools themselves aren't ELL-specific. Some might even be tools you've already heard of or used -- with an ELL-specific use case that's been hiding in plain sight.

So, what's the best way to find and use great digital tools with your ELLs? A lot will depend on your students' specific needs, but here are a few things to think about when finding the best tools for your classroom.

1. Look for ELL-friendly supports in the tools you're already using.

Lots of online tools have built-in features to support differentiated instruction for a variety of learners. Newsela offers texts at five variable Lexile levels, many in both English and Spanish. ThinkCERCA offers leveled texts with scaffolding for students reading at different levels, including audio versions of texts. Though ELA-focused tools are most likely to have the best English-learning supports, plenty of other tools support ELLs' learning in other subject areas. Khan Academy is one popular example; the site offers a translated version of its curriculum in 12 languages. As you search, keep in mind that these tools are usually aimed at a more general student audience, so they may be better suited to intermediate or advanced ELLs, and beginning-level ELLs may need more robust support.

2. Build basic online resources and productivity tools into daily routines.

From basic translation to productivity tools for consumers, a lot of everyday apps and websites can be great for supporting ELL-centered learning activities. A note-taking tool with recording features like Microsoft OneNote offers opportunities for speaking and listening practice. Simple English Wikipedia is just like it sounds: an adapted version of the standard Wikipedia site but for ELLs, younger students, or anyone else who might struggle with reading. A translation tool is an obvious choice, and Google Translate is generally thought to be the most accessible free option around.

3. Get creative and repurpose a digital-storytelling tool.

Storytelling is an excellent, interactive learning activity for ELLs and bilingual learners of all ages and language abilities. Even though these apps tend to be aimed at younger kids (and not specifically at ELLs), they still offer opportunities for kids to express themselves while they build new language skills. Don't be afraid to age these tools up; they're great even for older ELLs. And for beginning-level English-language learners, creative projects tend to offer opportunities for low-stakes (yet still high-concept) communication-based activities. Also, keep in mind that lots of other digital-creation mediums can offer fun language-building practice, from video production to podcasting and digital design. Find something that suits your students' ages, language abilities, and interests.

4. Find tools that specifically address your ELLs' needs.

As mentioned earlier, tools designed only for ELLs are somewhat scarce, but there are definitely some options. These ELL-centric tools run the gamut. BrainPOP ELL offers a comprehensive online curriculum aimed at improving kids' language skills from beginning to advanced levels. Read&Write is a helpful text-to-speech app for students with a variety of literacy needs, including English-language learners. On the flip side, a platform like Ellevation is designed for teachers and uses robust data to track and monitor students' progress and language growth. As time goes on, we're bound to see more edtech solutions specifically for ELLs. It will be interesting to see what the future holds in this space.

5. Supplement instruction with an online language-learning tool.

Language-learning tools for travelers and consumers are everywhere and easy to find. Although these tools should never replace quality classroom instruction, for some students they could be a helpful option for extra practice or out-of-class enrichment. Because they're often aimed at a general -- mostly adult -- audience, these won't all be the best choice for kids' learning. Nevertheless, in certain situations, some language-learning apps could be appropriate depending on your students' needs. If you do go this route, look for free options that offer adaptive features that challenge students as their language skills grow. If recommending out-of-class use, keep your students' devices and level of network access in mind.

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How to Use Technology to Support ELLs in Your Classroom | Common Sense Education

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Quality edtech for ELLs isn't easy to find, but great options do exist.

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How to Use Technology to Help ELLs Achieve Language Mastery

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How to Use Technology to Help ELLs Achieve Language Mastery

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How to use technology to help ells achieve language mastery. Continental Educational Publisher. (2023a, September 8). https://www.continentalpress.com/blog/how-to-use-technology-to-help-ells/

This resource covers two really important areas for educators wanting to implement technology with their ELLs. The first is the reasoning that an educator would want to integrate technology with their lessons and the second is a listing of technology tools that teachers can use in their lessons.

The tools that are listed assist in student engagement, language development, and comprehension.

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How to Use Technology to Help ELLs Achieve Language Mastery | Continental Educational Publisher

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Struggling with how to use technology to help ELLs in your classroom? Check out these nine effective edtech tools for English learners!

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Cultural Challenges and Recommendations for Working with ELLs

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Cultural Challenges and Recommendations for Working with ELLs

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Cultural Challenges & Recommendations. Support English Language Learners. (2023, October 20). https://serc.carleton.edu/sage2yc/geo_ell/cultural_perspe.html

An area in which teachers often ask for professional development is learning the cultural challenges of our students, especially ELL students. Depending on the nation of origin, verbal and non-verbal cues can mean different things. This resource lists several areas of cultural needs for these students and ways to respond to those needs in the classroom.

The suggestions in this article come from research and sources documented.

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Jump Down To: Role of Silence | Class Participation Expectations | Concepts of Time | Narrative Styles | Science Teaching

Many everyday assumptions and expectations regarding human behavior stem from societal views that can vary from one culture to another. We respond to the behaviors of others in subconscious ways that are deeply ingrained. As a result, we fail to realize that such behaviors may reflect cultural values different from our own. Understanding students relies less on learning the traits of specific cultures and more on the awareness that our interpretation is always subject to some cultural bias. Mindful of this fact, we need to remain open to multiple interpretations based on the cultural backgrounds of our students (Trumbull and Pacheco, 2006).

Understanding Non-verbal Behaviors

American school children are explicitly taught the importance of eye contact in the classroom. They are encouraged to "follow the teacher" with their eyes, to smile slightly, and to occasionally nod their heads. All of these behaviors serve as non-verbal signals to the instructor that students are paying attention (eye contact), and that they comprehend the lesson being taught (head nods and/or slight smiles). American instructors have come to interpret these signals as confirmation that students are "on task," and they continue teaching, believing that the slight nodding also indicates comprehension of the material.

In other cultures, however, the same non-verbal behaviors may carry a very different meaning. For example, many cultures consider it appropriate for students to keep their eyes cast downward toward their desk, their notebook, or textbook. Viewed as a sign of respect for the instructor, the lack of direct eye contact is intended to convey attentiveness - that students are listening and taking note of what the teacher is saying. To make eye contact with an instructor may be seen as rude or disruptive behavior (Helmer and Eddy, 2012).

Head nods and smiles may simply indicate polite listening and are often not intended to convey comprehension or agreement. In some cultures, students who make eye contact with the instructor do so only as a sign of confusion (that they have not understood what was said).

RECOMMENDATIONS: In courses with students who are non-native speakers of English, instructors will need to refrain from drawing conclusions based on the body language of their ELL students. At the same time, they need to be explicit in how they would like students to convey their understanding or confusion regarding course content. Note that, for instructors and students alike, these cultural perspectives can be deeply ingrained and often difficult to modify.

Interpreting the Role of Silence

Mainstream American students and instructors are often uncomfortable with prolonged silence. There are several reasons why non-native speakers of English may exhibit a slightly longer period of silence when asked a question in class: (1) the student may need just a little longer to process what was said, to interpret the question, and to formulate an answer in English; (2) in some cultures, it is more respectful to pause before responding, rather than offering an immediate response, as a sign of respect for the individual who posed the question; (3) when a student does not know the answer to the question, some cultures consider the most appropriate response to be "no response" at all. It can be viewed as wasting time (the teacher's time, or other students' time) to speak when one doesn't know the answer (Helmer and Eddy, 2012).

RECOMMENDATIONS: As instructors, allow a little longer wait time when directing questions to students who are non-native speakers of English; sometimes all it takes is just a little bit more time. It may be helpful to give all students a chance to write their response to a question, or to generate ideas with a partner before asking for answers. We can also be reassuring to our students that we value their responses - even when the answer may be wrong - and that we view trying to formulate an answer as part of the learning process. See topic of class participation below.

Addressing Class Participation Expectations

The concept of class participation and the expectations for student engagement vary from one culture to another. Beyond possible language issues, there are many cultural reasons why English Language Learners may be reluctant to respond to questions in class or to voice their opinions (Trumbull and Pacheco, 2006).

Asking Questions
In some cultures, pedagogical approaches do not include the interactive 'question/answer' format found in many American classrooms. It may even be considered selfish to take up class time (and the instructor's attention) by asking questions for clarification, or to confirm understanding. Individual students may feel that drawing attention to themselves in class runs counter to the strong cultural value of modesty that has been instilled in them from an early age

Giving Opinions or Offering Alternative Suggestions
If students come from " a culture in which respecting authority is highly valued, it may be difficult for them to challenge ideas and propose alternative hypotheses" (Deussen et al., 2008).

In some cultures, voicing an opinion or hazarding a guess in class may be viewed as inappropriate or out of place. Often these societies place great value on education and consider time in class with an instructor to be especially important. To make the most of such a learning opportunity, students will speak less in order to learn more from the expertise of the instructor.

Offering Critiques or Criticisms
In light of the preceding remarks, it is not surprising that students from other cultures may be reluctant to offer constructive "peer" criticism, or to respond to such questions as "What are the flaws in this hypothesis?"; "How would you counter this argument?"; "How might you improve upon this paper?" or "What should student X have done differently to get better results?". In many cultures, it is not acceptable to point out the weaknesses in another student's work. Thus, not only do such questions place ELLs in an awkward position of appearing to place themselves above their peers, but, in the process, they require students to offer a personal opinion. In some cultures, not only are students discouraged from giving personal opinions in class, they may be penalized with lower grades for doing so.

Collaborative Activities
Many English Language Learners are not familiar with some of the teaching strategies used in the U.S. educational system. They may be uncomfortable with group work and other types of collaborative learning activities. Without prior experience, they may be unsure what their role should be within the group setting and worry about how such activities will be graded.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Be explicit in the expectations for different types of assignments. We cannot assume that we share the same understanding of a student's role in the classroom. Use simple statements like: "I would like everyone to predict what will happen next. There is no penalty for a 'wrong' answer - I want to encourage everyone to speak." It may help to preface some discussions with "During this part of class, I want to hear your thoughts. There are no 'right' or 'wrong' answers to this question. I would like to hear a range of views and ideas."

Introduce collaborative class or homework assignments gradually. Clearly identify the different roles that students will have within the group, and clarify the outcomes that you expect to see at the end of the task or assignment (Deussen et al., 2008).

Managing Differing Concepts of Time

All cultures do not view the concept of 'time' in the same way. For example, there are important distinctions between "clock time" and "event time" (Brislin and Kim, 2003). In "clock" time, the day is divided into chunks that are then scheduled for different purposes. In mainstream U.S. culture, time is highly valued, measured and controlled. Note the common use of similar expressions to talk about time and money: we "spend" time, we "save" time, we "waste" time, we may "lose" time. In U.S. culture, we tend to view time in a linear, compartmentalized way.

"Event time" means that schedules are "determined by the natural course of events" (Brislin and Kim, 2003). Keeping to a schedule may not be as important as completing a task that has been started rather than stopping work early due to a predetermined schedule. Doing a good job may become more important than meeting a specific deadline, and this view is considered a culturally appropriate response to the situation (Matsumoto and Juang, 2013).

In such cultures, relationships take priority over schedules. A promise to help someone, especially a friend or family member, does not contain time limits. In U.S. culture, if a friend asks you to help them move from one house or apartment to another, you might reply with the following: " Sure, I'd be glad to help...I can give you a couple of hours on Saturday morning." Your friend would understand if you left by noon and the move was not yet completed. However, in other cultures, a promise to help a friend or family member is often made without time constraints. In the example above, by agreeing to help with the task of moving, it is understood that you'll provide support for however long it takes to complete the task. The promise corresponds to the task, not to a particular time frame.

Students from an "event time" culture may be late to appointments, or may miss them altogether. They may fail to meet important deadlines for assignments, not realizing that there are negative consequences for doing so (Brown, 2014). They may hold a belief that it is more important to hand in their best work than to meet an artificial deadline. Other variations in concepts of time include those cultures who think of being "on time" as being early and other cultures with a more fluid sense of time, arriving plus or minus 15 minutes of an appointed time.

RECOMMENDATIONS: It is important to recognize that our view of time schedules and deadlines is not universally recognized and that when ELL students miss appointments or deadlines, no disrespect is intended toward the instructor. As in other areas of potential misunderstanding, it is important to be clear when making an assignment to point out to students the importance of meeting the deadline and the consequences for missing the due date, as well as the appropriate steps to take to request an extension, and under which circumstances it might be appropriate to submit such a request.

Recognizing Different Narrative Styles

Written essays or papers may also reflect traditional cultural perspectives on an underlying level. The way in which a narrative is constructed can vary from one culture to another. What may appear, at first, to be a lack of organization, may in fact represent a faithful adherence to a culturally different narrative style (Connor, 1996).

The English narrative writing style is said to follow a straight linear path -- reflecting perhaps the cultural values of directness and getting quickly to the point. Each paragraph begins with a topic sentence, identifying a main idea, followed by elements designed to support that particular idea. A distinctly new idea requires the creation of a new paragraph.

Many Romance languages reflect a similar progression of narrative style, but along the way, there may be one or more digressions, which are considered culturally appropriate. Rather than a simple, straight arrow, one might visualize this style as a lightning bolt.

A carefully constructed narrative piece in Arabic may look quite different and include a series of elaborate parallel constructions, each one reinforcing the main idea but linked in a manner to reflect a specific relationship (e.g. cause and effect).

Many written narratives in Chinese reflect an indirect writing style. Rather than following a straight linear path to get quickly to the point, traditional Chinese writing styles often prefer to approach a topic gradually, gracefully turning to view it from multiple perspectives while growing ever closer to the main idea. This indirect writing style can be visualized as a spiral.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Assignments written in a culturally different style can lead the reader to interpret the piece as "lacking focus" or as "disorganized" when it might be more accurately described as "differently" organized. In assisting ELL students, it is helpful to offer one or more samples of writing that illustrate how English narratives are constructed in an academic setting. In addition to providing a clear model, it can be effective to talk about how the paper has been constructed and to elaborate on key features and formats that characterize strong academic writing.
Challenges for ELLs in Writing Tasks and Test-taking
Writing styles reveal much more than simply a form of personal expression. An academic writing sample reflects societal expectations and norms for the content to be included in a writing assignment as well as the appropriate presentation of the content to the readers. The direct or linear approach to writing in the US (as noted above) may be viewed as abrupt or rude in other cultures (Writing Across Borders, 2014). Our expectations for the appropriate format used to document sources and our shared understanding of which items require formal documentation (i.e. a footnote) stem from culturally-based assumptions. Writing and documenting academic research papers according to US standards can be especially challenging for non-native writers of English.

RECOMMENDATIONS: ELL students often need precise instructions of instructor expectations for writing assignments. When is personal opinion appropriate and when is it not? Sample papers or bibliographies from previous semesters can serve as guides for writing approaches and proper documentation format. Instructors need to decide to what extent the writing style or grammatical accuracy of a paper will count in the determination of the final grade for a writing assignment. Sometimes, the focus may be more on the concepts and content of the paper (especially for longer writing assignments), while at other times the structure and grammatical accuracy of an assignment may be of particular importance (for specific types of writing, e.g. book reviews, etc.).

It is also important not to overlook the challenges inherent in test-taking for ELL students. The multiple tasks of comprehending the test questions and then preparing a written response in English - take time. For ELL students, more of their test-taking time is likely to be spent interpreting the language used, and determining what type of answer is expected. In addition to the same stress and tension that all students encounter, ELL students often spend much more of their test-taking time trying to understand the language of the test questions and formulating a response in language that this not their first language. Allowing ELL students more time to take important tests will help to offset the foreign language testing issue that they face.

Appreciating Approaches to the Teaching of Science

" The rules of science inquiry (...) may be incongruent with the values and norms of cultures favoring social consensus, shared responsibility and authority" (Fradd and Lee, 1999)

There are cultures that view the study of science, especially at the undergraduate level, to be most appropriately focused on acquiring a body of knowledge, or facts to be learned. Introductory science courses may be seen as foundation courses in which students learn important information about science, but not necessarily the "process" of conducting scientific inquiry - of identifying one or more hypotheses and conducting studies to confirm, reject, or modify these hypotheses.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Be explicit about the norms and expectations for science courses, including labs. Clarity about how we will approach the study of science in our courses and what we expect from our students will enable ELL students to know, from the start, how we want them to proceed.

References

Brislin, R. and E. Kim. (2003). Cultural Diversity in People's Understanding and Uses of Time. Applied Psychology, 52 (3), 363-382.

Brown, D. (2014). "Language, Culture and Identity" in Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, (6th Ed). Pearson.

Connor, U. (1996). Contrastive Rhetoric: Cross-cultural aspects of second-language writing. Cambridge University Press.

Deussen, T., E. Autio, B. Miller, A. Lockwood, and V. Stewart (2008). What Teachers Should Know About Instruction for English Language Learners: A Report to Washington State.

Fradd, S.H. and O. Lee. (1999) Teachers' roles in promoting science inquiry with students from diverse language backgrounds. Educational Researcher, 28 (5), 4-20, 42.

Helmer, S. and C. Eddy (2012). Look at Me When I Talk to You: EAL Learners in Non-EAL Classrooms. Pippin Publishing.

Matsumoto, D. and I. Juang (2013). Culture and Psychology (5th Ed). Wadsworth Publishing.

Neuliep, J. (Ed) (2009). Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach, 4th Ed, Sage Publications.

Lustig, M. and J. Koester (1999). Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Communication Across Cultures, 3rd Ed, Longman Publishing.

Trumbull, E. and M. Pacheco (2006). Leading With Diversity: Cultural Competencies for Teacher Preparation and Professional Development, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning.

Writing Center at Oregon State University (2014). Writing Across Borders.

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teach the earth teaching environments two-year colleges

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Jump Down To: Role of Silence | Class Participation Expectations | Concepts of Time | Narrative Styles | Science Teaching Many everyday assumptions and expectations regarding human behavior stem from societal ...

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Culturally Responsive Teaching - A 50-State Survey of Teaching Standards

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Culturally Responsive Teaching - A 50-State Survey of Teaching Standards

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Muñiz , J. (2019, March 28). Culturally responsive teaching. New America. https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/culturally-responsive-teaching/

This resource gives an analysis of the state standards for culturally responsive teaching. This toolkit allows teachers to maintain compliance with their state standards.

Knowing your state standards helps teachers implement research-based strategies in their classrooms. Teachers who know the state expectations can then align them with research-based strategies.

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An analysis of teaching standards in all 50 states to better understand whether states incorporate culturally responsive teaching.

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How to Develop a Lesson Plan that Includes ELLs

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How to Develop a Lesson Plan that Includes ELLs

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How to develop a lesson plan that includes ells. Colorín Colorado. (2021, June 30). https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/how-develop-lesson-plan-includes-ells

This resource gives a step by step set of directions for creating a lesson plan that is inclusive of ELL students. From planning objectives to implementation of instruction, all aspects of planning your ELL inclusive lesson are included in this resource.

This resource uses researched based strategies that help improve skills in vocabulary, building background knowledge, and language development.

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In content-area classes, English language learners (ELLs) face a double challenge: they must learn language and content at the same time. In order to succeed in these classes, ELLs need the literacy, language skills, and background knowledge necessary to master that new content knowledge.

One way to address that challenge is through effective lesson planning. Depending on their different stages of English proficiency and literacy, ELLs will benefit from the skills that a well-designed lesson can address. For additional tips on language instruction, see our tips for mainstream teachers.

This video showcases a 5 th-grade team planning a science lesson. ESOL specialist Katy Padilla plays a key role in advocating for ELLs throughout the lesson planning process.

Lesson planning for the ELLs: Step by step

Effective lesson planning requires a number of steps from initial preparation to the final review of material. This blog post on lesson planning with sheltered instruction offers a general roadmap for that process.

Identify standards and objectives

First, identify your goals for the lesson. What are your target standards? It is helpful to post these clearly so that students know what they will be focused on learning and eliminate unnecessary information that does not meet your objective.

Next, identify your content objectives and language objectives:

The content objectives focus on the content you will be teaching, such as a math, Science, Social Studies, or language arts objective.

The language objectives focus on the academic language functions that students need to master in order to access grade-level content.

It is critical to teach language objectives explicitly so that ELLs (and their peers) can learn the content and language they need.

For example, Jennifer Himmel shares the following examples in her popular article about how to write language objectives for content-area lessons:

3rd grade Science, States of Matter

Content Area Standard

Content Objective

Language Objective

California: Students know that matter has three forms: solid, liquid, and gas.

Students will be able to distinguish between liquids, solids, and gases and provide an example of each.

Students will be able to orally describe characteristics of liquids, solids, and gases to a partner.

Build background knowledge

Background knowledge is the hook that students hang new information on. When planning lessons for ELLs, it is important to both:

access students' existing background knowledge

build background knowledge that students.

To start this process, you need to:

1. Identify key background knowledge needed for the lesson

2. Identify students' existing background knowledge

3. Build background knowledge students need

Teach key vocabulary

Selecting words to teach

Select key vocabulary that students need to understand the content. Dr. Diane August notes that there are different kinds of vocabulary words that may need to be taught across different content areas:

words that are critical to the meaning of the lesson or text

words with multiple meanings ("plot," "table," "key," and "yard")

homonyms ("son"/"sun")

general academic words

academic vocabulary in a particular content area.

You can see additional recommendations on how to choose which vocabulary words to teach in this overview of the ACCELL project that Dr. August led at the American Institutes for Research.

Strategies for instruction

Write an ELL-friendly definition for each and post them where students can see them throughout the lesson.

Try different strategies to teach each word. If there are five words to be pre-taught, use different ways of engaging the students to hear and produce each word in context.

Give students ample opportunities to practice each new word both in oral and written languages.

Look for cognates, or words from different languages that are related. For example, Spanish and English have many cognates ("information" /"información") and they are particularly common in terms related to academic content. Learning how to use cognates can bolster Spanish-speaking ELLs' comprehension significantly.

Discuss word families and how different forms of words are used. ELLs may need explicit instruction in which form of a word to use. Help students look for spelling and usage patterns, such as past tense verbs ending in "-ed." Since English has so many exceptions, this isn't always a foolproof strategy, but a basic knowledge of these patterns, rules, and spellings will help.

Related resources

Support academic language development

Academic language, or the language of schooling, is the language that students need to succeed in their content-area classes. It is important for educators and students alike to understand the differences between social and academic language and why textbooks, tests, assignments, or class presentations may be more challenging for students than social conversations.

There are a number of ways to support academic language development, such as:

previewing the text

teaching grammatical structures relevant to a particular content area ("greater than" and "less than" in math class)

showing how the targeted academic language is used in reading, writing, speaking, and listening in your content area.

For example, what is the difference between the language students use to write a science report vs. the language used in a class message board? Sharing examples and teaching specific phrases or structures, especially when they related to a specific content area, can be a helpful way to help students feel comfortable in multiple settings.

Dr. August also encourages educators to familiarize themselves with some features of academic language that may present challenges such as the following:

visual presenations of information, such as graphs, charts, diagrams, maps, and equations

figurative language

syntax, such as passive voice and complex sentences

nominalization, which refers to using a word that is not a noun as a noun or noun phrase (i.e., "the rich").

Collaborating with an ESL specialist can be a helpful way to start identifying areas of academic language where additional support would be helpful.

Related resources

Video: Instruction of Key Academic Vocabulary with High School ELLs

Video: Pre-teaching concepts and vocabulary before a lesson

ESOL specialist Katy Padilla shares more in-depth information about her "Super Secret Science Club," an informal lunch activity for 5th-grade ELLs where they see a preview of the afternoon's lesson.

Video: Bricks and mortar in language instruction

Dr. Cindy Lundgren discusses the concept of "bricks and mortar" when thinking about effective vocabulary instruction for ELLs.

Learn some additional strategies for scaffolding and differentiating instruction.

Scaffolding instruction means to put in place some supports that can help students access grade-level content. In addition, your students may be at varying levels of English language proficiency, and some differentiation might be necessary. It's ok to start small -- and remember that this is an area where an ESL teacher can provide some helpful ideas!

Some strategies for scaffolding and differentiating include:

If students are having trouble with an activity, try to identify whether a new concept, set of directions, vocabulary word, or other element is causing the difficulty. Identify some different ways that you can help students move beyond those obstacles. These might include providing a book about the topic in the student's native language or reviewing new vocabulary words together.

Video: Pre-teaching concepts and vocabulary before a lesson

Video: Using "realia" to build background

Use peer review and cooperative learning strategies

Using peer learning can be a powerful way to help students master content. Here are some ways to get students working together:

Use graphic organizers. Have students work in collaborative groups and use a graphic organizer as a scaffold for specific tasks, such as identifying main ideas or relationships between information, etc. It gives a purpose while reading while interacting and using the language.

Assign reading partners. Pair ELLs with friendly fluent readers. Ask partners to read aloud to each other, alternating sentences or pages. After partner reading, ask them to summarize what they read. For variety, use choral reading once in a while. Assign different sections to each team, ask them to rehearse, and then ask teams to read chorally.

Use Think-Pair-Share (TPS). TPS is a collaborative learning strategy in which students work together to solve a problem or answer a question about an assigned reading. This technique requires students to (1) think individually about a topic or answer to a question; and (2) share ideas with classmates. Discussing an answer with a partner serves to maximize participation, focus attention and engage students in comprehending the reading material. Read more in the following articles:

1. Increase Student Interaction with "Think-Pair-Shares" and "Circle Chats"

2. AdLit.org Classroom Strategy: Think-Pair-Share

You may also wish to look for ways to engage students through hands-on learning and project-based learning. Learn about other ways to effectively using cooperative learning strategies in these articles:

Consider how to incorporate different language skills into the lesson

When learning a new language, students need to master four key skills:

(Drs. Andrea Honigsfeld and Maria Dove note that they like the acronym SWIRL, which includes "interaction" in the list.)

You can learn more about these skills in What Language Skills Do ELLs Need?, as well as ideas for teaching these skills both in person and online in Teaching ELLs Online: How to Develop Students' Language Skills.

For example, you can support ELLs' writing skills by modeling the kinds of writing used frequently in your particular content area, such as lab reports in chemistry class, or a persuasive essay in social studies. Help students understand what the purpose of different kinds of writing are, and review vocabulary that would be typically used in these kinds of assignments. Be sure to provide examples of the different kinds of writing to your students so they can learn and compare models.

Review and assess what students have learned

There are many ways to review and assess content following instruction. For example, graphic organizers are a helpful way for students to demonstrate that they understood the concepts and content, even if they only use a symbol or write one or two words for each category. Graphic organizers can also be used as a pre-teaching or post-teaching strategy for introducing or reinforcing key concepts and how they are related. The more connections ELLs make to the overall content and organization of the content before reading, the easier it will be to focus on and understand what is important. When teachers and/or students use graphic organizers at the end of a lesson, this helps to reinforce and synthesize lesson content.

For example:

Related resources

Video: Using informal assessment with ELLs

In this video, Ms. Samantha Kirch demonstrates the ways she uses informal assessment to gauge student understanding, as well as the kinds of support offered to ELLs who need some extra practice with the concept of drawing conclusions.

Examples from the Content Areas

For examples of content-related lesson plans and strategies for ELLs, take a look at the following:

Closing Thoughts

Finally, we want to close with some thoughts from expert ELL educator and administrator Kristina Robertson. First, she encourages educators to only introduce one new thing at a time when teaching ELLs. And she reminds educators not to be afraid to go back to the drawing board if it doesn't go well the first time! While your lesson planning process may involve some trial and error, you will start to see positive results when you take ELLs into account in your planning. You will soon be on your way to planning lessons that engage, include, and support the ELLs in your class.

Video: Try one new thing at a time

Video: When new things don't work

Kristina Robertson shares her advice for dealing with strategies that just don't work.

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How to Develop a Lesson Plan that Includes ELLs

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In content-area classes, English language learners (ELLs) face a double challenge: they must learn language and content at the same time. In order to succeed in these classes, ELLs need the literacy, language skills, and background knowledge necessary to master that new content knowledge. One way to address that challenge is through effective lesson planning.