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The following is a list of modifications that can be used in the classroom with Bilingual/ESL students:

Speak slowly, clearly, and use gestures

Simplify language; avoid idioms, slang, and sarcasm

Pair student with a buddy

Give preferential seating

Maintain routines with consistent signals

Write clearly and legibly (most ELL's cannot read cursive)

Give both oral AND written directions

Encourage student to participate, do not force

Accept participation at any level, even one word

Limit content objectives and expectations

Use reduced text, so that print is not dense

Use story and direction retelling to assess comprehension of text and instructions

Provide a graphic organizer in advance of a new topic/vocabulary/chapter

Present information in a variety of ways (pictures, videos, manipulatives)

Preview vocabulary and/or content using online sources (BrainPOP/YouTube/Storia/Classworks)

Limit the amount of vocabulary words; avoid similar words (soluble and solvent are similar and thus confusing to an ELL)

Highlight key vocabulary using a 3x5 index card to cover words above or below

Allow a bilingual dictionary

Allow extended time to answer questions, and permit drawing as an explanation

Use ESL materials

Use books on tape/CD

Stress importance of finding the key words

Limit the amount of content reading; select 3-5 of the most important concepts and do task analysis

Provide key word/chart resources on desk or on desktop (tablet)

Provide summaries of text or study guides and/or outlines and word banks

Reduce multiple choices to two

Use group projects rather than individual work

Rephrase questions, directions, and explanations

Have tests read orally

Provide native language support to students in the classroom

Explicitly teach study skills/habits, as well as, effective ways of using educational resources and materials

Homework Modifications:

Highlight or bold key words in classwork, homework, and tests

Reword homework questions

Adapt homework assignments to reflect language proficiency (limit amount of questions or choices, reword, provide alternate assignment)

Testing Modifications:

Allow student to answer questions orally, in writing, or with a picture

Allow extra time for assignments

Allow open book tests

For each question, indicate page number in textbook where answer is found

Alternate assessments (oral tests, project based, teacher read tests)

Add a word bank to tests/quizzes

Read tests aloud

Reword test questions to ensure understanding

Reduce number of answer choices on tests/quizzes

Do not give any true/false questions or trick questions

Use anecdotal records as a form of assessment

Keep portfolio of work as a form of assessment

Grade responses based on content, not spelling or grammar

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The following is a list of modifications that can be used in the classroom with Bilingual/ESL students: Speak slowly, clearly, and use gestures Simplify language; avoid idioms, slang, and sarcasm Pair student with a buddy Give preferential seating Maintain routines with consistent signals Write clearly and legibly (most ELL's cannot

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Ideas and Resources for Teachers of MLLs (all linked!)

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Ideas and Resources for Teachers of MLLs (all linked!)

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Supporting ESL Students in Learning the Language of Science

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Supporting ESL Students in Learning the Language of Science

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Colorín Colorado is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs). Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation’s capital, and receives major funding from our founding partner, the AFT, and the National Education Association. © Copyright 2023 WETA Public Broadcasting.

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Reading and Understanding Written Math Problems

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Reading and Understanding Written Math Problems

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Word problems in mathematics often pose a challenge because they require that students read and comprehend the text of the problem, identify the question that needs to be answered, and finally create and solve a numerical equation. Many ELLs may have difficulty reading and understanding the written content in a word problem. If a student is learning English as a second language, he might not yet know key terminology needed to solve the equation. In other words, ELLs who have had formal education in their home countries generally do not have mathematical difficulties; hence, their struggles begin when they encounter word problems in a second language that they have not yet mastered (Bernardo, 2005). For this reason it is recommended that students learn key terminology prior to attempting to solve mathematical word problems.

Key Benefits

Once English language learners know the key terminology used in mathematical word problems, it will be easier to learn how to write numerical equations. It is important for teachers to provide ELLs with opportunities to learn and practice key vocabulary words.

While key words are very important, they are only part of the process. Understanding the language in word problems is critical for all students. They need to know the meaning of words. But because words are often used differently and problems are set up differently, there are some cautionary messages. Here is an example of problem that uses "fewer than" to set up a subtraction equation.

Maria has 24 marbles which is 8 fewer than Paolo has. How many marbles does Paolo have? If we were to only focus on using key words, "fewer than" is a signal to pick out the numbers and subtract. The student may immediately make the conclusion that the answer is 16, but that is not what the problem is asking, and the child would be wrong. (The correct answer, by the way, is 32).

What research has found is that if we ask students to only rely on knowing that certain key words signal specific operations, we can actually lead them away from trying to understand the problems. They will tend to look only for those words and whatever numbers are in the problem, even if they are not relevant to the answer. This will not help them be mathematically proficient later, even when they are proficient with English.

Although the finding on key words was done with regular students, the consequences for ELL students of relying on them is the same. They would not be able to solve the problem above. However, if teachers follow the suggested process of reading a problem several times (at lower as well as upper grades) and discussing what it means, students will understand. Another good tool is to teach them to draw or model the problems. To illustrate the problem above, you could state: "Here's Maria's 24." Then, draw 24 units, figures, shapes, etc. to represent 24. "Here's Paolo's; he has more because Maria has fewer than he does". Draw 24 units, figures, shapes, etc. to represent 24 and add 8 more. "So Paolo's has to come to more than 24. How many more? 8. So what is Paolo's total?"

The difference is between knowing the meaning of the words "fewer than" and using "fewer than" as a key to an operation. We want students to know the meaning of the words, but also to see them in the context of the whole problem.

Suggested Activities

Lower Grades

Practice problem solving daily by simply asking more questions. For example:

How many students brought their homework today?

How many more children brought their homework yesterday?

We had 8 markers on the board, but now we only have 3. How many did we take away?

How many animals are there in this magazine? How many are mammals? How many are birds? (introduction to fractions and percentages)

Continue to use key terminology daily and put it in context (e.g., less than, more than, difference, times, each, etc.). Show students how easy it might be to misunderstand the problem.

Upper Grades

Read word problems slowly and carefully several times so that all students comprehend.

If possible, break up the problem into smaller segments.

Allow students to act out the word problems to better comprehend what they are being asked to solve.

Provide manipulatives to help students visualize the problem.

Take field or walking trips to figure out distances, speed, area covered, etc.

Ask students to do surveys, interviews, hands-on research in real-world situations to figure out percentages, differences, and higher-order math skills.

Allow students to make drawings or diagrams to help them understand problems.

For more ideas that can be used to support math instruction in the ELL classroom, take a look at Math Instruction for English Language Learners and this related resource section.
National Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners
The National Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners (CREATE) is a research program designed to improve educational outcomes for ELLs by using a combination of strategies focused on readers in Grades 4-8 and teacher professional development. The CREATE Web site includes webcast seminars hosted by CREATE researchers, and listings of CREATE conferences and presentations around the country.
TeacherVision: Word Problem Resources for Teachers
TeacherVision offers lessons, printables, and quizzes to support math word problem instruction for grades K-12.
Translating Word Problems
This is a great site for teachers in the elementary levels, as it provides a list of keywords you can teach your ELLs to look for as they read word problems. Also included are useful ideas and tricks to better prepare students to understand written math problems.

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Reading and Understanding Written Math Problems

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Word problems in mathematics often pose a challenge because they require that students read and comprehend the text of the problem, identify the question that needs to be answered, and finally create and solve a numerical equation. Many ELLs may have difficulty reading and understanding the written content in a word problem.

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How Vocabulary Can Get in the Way of Solving a Math Word Problem

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How Vocabulary Can Get in the Way of Solving a Math Word Problem

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Teacher Anne Formato: How vocabulary can get in the way of a solving a math word problem

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These glossaries are to provide permitted testing accommodations of ELL/MLL students. They should also be used for instruction during the school year. These glossaries may be downloaded, printed and disseminated to educators, parents and ELLs/MLLs.

Bilingual glossaries are an essential and expected test accommodation for ELLs/MLLs in the State of New York. The languages of these glossaries cover the top 10 languages at the state level, with new languages added based on changing language populations in the NY State student demographic data.

Schools should provide testing accommodations to ELLs/MLLs, as needed, on all NYS ELA and content-area assessments (i.e., Mathematics, Science and Social Studies). Districts/schools must make all necessary arrangements to make these accommodations available for ELLs/MLLs who need them. Please click here for the New York State Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages Webpage on "Assessment and Testing Accommodations".

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These glossaries are to provide permitted testing accommodations of ELL/MLL students. They should also be used for instruction during the school year.

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Math and ELA Resources from English Learners Success Forum

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Math and ELA Resources from English Learners Success Forum

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Math & ELA Resources for Educators & Content Developers

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Browse our free resources designed to help you implement the English Learners Success Forum Guidelines. Help English Learners (ELs) succeed. Resources are available for Math and ELA (English Language Arts).

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Math and ELA Resources from English Learners Success Forum

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Math and ELA Resources from English Learners Success Forum

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Math & ELA Resources for Educators & Content Developers

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Browse our free resources designed to help you implement the English Learners Success Forum Guidelines. Help English Learners (ELs) succeed. Resources are available for Math and ELA (English Language Arts).

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Resources in Understanding Language from Stanford Graduate School of Education

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Resources in Understanding Language from Stanford Graduate School of Education

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States, districts, and schools have asked for help with gathering information on student progress, given the shift to distance learning. In response, Understanding Language created two one-hour virtual sessions focused on strengthening Formative Assessment practices in remote and non-remote environments.

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SOS Instructional Strategies for English Language Learners (Discovery Education)

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SOS Instructional Strategies for English Language Learners (Discovery Education)

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DIY Professional Learning for Teachers of MLS

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DIY Professional Learning for Teachers of MLS

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DIY Professional Learning for Teachers of EBs/ELs Anywhere! Anytime!

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Learn a Language - Share a Language - LanguageGuide.org

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Increasing Accessability in Secondary Education