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This resource lists four main strategies for teachers to incorporate within their classrooms to create a collaborative classroom environment.

This resource supports best practices as the strategies given are used to develop empathy between all students, encourages the maintenance of the students' identities, and encourages communication and collaboration between ELLs and English-Only students.

Scott, R. (2015). Practices to welcome and support ELLs. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/practices-to-welcome-and-support-ells-robyn-scott

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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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This resources compiles six instructional strategies that teachers have found effective within their classrooms when working with ELLs. The resource provides an explanation of the strategies as well as examples of how to implement them.

This resource aligns with best practices as the strategies included align with major theories of language acquisition. Additionally, the strategies focus on building meaning in the English language.

Ferlazzo, L. (2021). The six most effective instructional strategies for ELLs—According to teachers. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-the-six-most-effective-instructional-strategies-for-ells-according-to-teachers/2021/06

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The new question-of-the-week is:
What is the single most effective instructional strategy you have used to teach English-language learners?
This series is part of a longer series of questions and answers inviting educators from various disciplines to share their "single most effective instructional strategy."

There are many more to come!

Today, Valentina Gonzalez, Denita Harris, Cindy Garcia, and Deedy Camarena offer their responses.

Before we get to today's guest, I'd like to share my own answer.

Two that contributors to this series don't mention and are ones I like to use often are the Language Experience Approach (LEA) and Total Physical Response (TPR).

Two particularly useful posts that have not yet made it into that summary collection (I update them every summer) are Thirteen Instructional Strategies for Supporting ELL Newcomers and Ten Strategies for Teaching English-Language Learners Online.

Now, to responses from today's guests:

Picture Word Inductive Model
Valentina Gonzalez is a former classroom teacher with over 20 years in education serving also as a district facilitator for English-learners, a professional-development specialist for ELs, and as an educational consultant. Valentina delivers professional development and coaches teachers on sheltered instruction strategies. Her work can be found on Seidlitz Education and on MiddleWeb. You can reach her through her website or on Twitter @ValentinaESL:
Shifting the way we approach teaching English-learners can have a positive effect on their success in our schools. When we see our English-learners' assets first, we recognize everything they come with and value not only their culture but also the content and literacy they bring to the table.

I've found the Picture Word Inductive Model (Calhoun, 1998) to be one of the most effective instructional techniques in my experience teaching ELs. The benefits of using PWIM with English-learners are many. This literacy technique is quite flexible and can be used cross-curricularly no matter the grade level, language level, or content. PWIM leverages students' funds of knowledge and builds upon them. Through the PWIM, ELs are engaged in thinking and in all language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing with scaffolds and supports such as visuals and sentence stems or frames. This method can be used in all grade levels and cross-curricularly.

These are the steps I use to implement an adapted version of PWIM with English-learners and how each step benefits ELs:

This engaging instructional strategy helps to lower students' anxiety levels, which increases participation. After using the PWIM with numerous student groups, these are some tips I can offer to educators who haven't tried it before:

Carefully select images that are compelling to your age group of students.

Try color coding or chunking labeled words (ex.: all verbs in orange, adjectives in blue, etc.).

Keep in mind students' language-proficiency levels when creating sentence stems and frames. Students with advanced English proficiency will benefit from more sophisticated sentence structures.

Don't stress about doing it all in one day. Gage your students and make adjustments as needed.

On a subsequent day, use the generated words as a sorting activity. Ask students to work with a partner to put the words in groups and label the groups.

Co-create a sentence-patterning chart with the class. Some groups of students may need this level of support during Step 7.

Below is an example of a PWIM and sentence-patterning chart mash up. Combining these two techniques enhances ELs' listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English.

Sentence Frames
Denita Harris is a curriculum coordinator for the MSD of Wayne Township, Indianapolis. She has over 20 years of experience as a teacher, assistant principal, and district-level administrator. Harris is the recipient of the 2019 INTESOL (Indiana Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Best of the Best in K-12 Education, and the 2017 and 2020 African American Excellence in Education Award. Find her on Twitter @HarrisLeads:
The single most effective strategy I have used and would highly recommend when teaching English-language learners is the use of sentence frames for writing and speaking, the productive skills, accompanied with a word bank, word phrases, and/or pictures.

English-languagelearners possess a wealth of knowledge, and it is our obligation, as educators, to tap into their knowledge and continue to build upon what our students already know and can do. We must remember our students are in the process of learning a new language and are not in the process of learning a language; therefore, we can provide the words and the grammatical structures of the new language to help guide them in speaking and writing.

Here is an analogy to consider. English-language learners have the tools (vocabulary in their native language). They come to us with these tools; however, while learning English, they may not yet know the names of all the tools or how to use them properly to accomplish a task completely (speaking or writing in English). Our responsibility is to provide our students with the names of each tool (vocabulary in English) and demonstrate to them, through sentence frames, how they might utilize these tools to accomplish a complete task (express a complete thought or sentence in English). A sentence frame can be made up of only one sentence or several sentences to assist students in structuring paragraphs.

The use of sentence frames for writing and speaking not only give English-language learners a framework to communicate through both oral and written language, sentence frames also help build students' self-efficacy. When students have the language to contribute to classroom discussions and are able to express their thoughts on paper, they begin to feel a part of the classroom community, and that makes all the difference.

Comprehensible Input
Cindy Garcia has been a bilingual educator for 14 years and is currently a district instructional specialist for PK-6 bilingual/ESL mathematics. She is active onTwitter @CindyGarciaTX and on her blog:
The single most effective strategy that I used to teach English-language learners is comprehensible input. Comprehensible input means that the teacher speaks in such a way that students are able to understand what is being said even when they do not know or understand all of the words being stated. Below are some strategies to make input comprehensible:

Slow down rate of speech and enunciate clearly. As students are listening, they are also working to process what is being said and how that fits with what they already know. At the same time, ELLs are translanguaging and making sense of teachers' academic language. ELLs are developing their English language, and it is very important that they hear those initial and ending sounds of words in order to add them to their vocabulary. Sometimes when we speak too quickly, we drop important sounds such as "ing".

Avoid figurative language and idioms. While these phrases might make sense to you and emphasize a point, to ELLs they might break down their comprehension. Students will probably end up with a literal translation that makes no sense. For example, saying it was a piece of cake will be translated to it was a portion of a dessert, not it was easy! Not only that, but ELLs might stop listening as they try to figure what that idiom means.

Use gestures and total physical response (TPR). Language can sometimes be abstract and not precise. There can also be words that exist in English that do not exist in other languages. For example, toes do not have a Spanish equivalent. In Spanish, we have hand fingers and feet fingers. Using exaggerated gestures can help make the meaning of new vocabulary more clear to students. Using TPR, students also learn to associate a movement with a word, and that will make it more likely that they internalize that new vocabulary.

Collaborative Summarizing
Deedy Camarena is the coordinator for English-language development (ELD), dual and world languages, at the Santa Clara County Office of Education in California:
Second, students find one partner to dialogue with and " create a negotiated list that reflects their combined agreement on the three to six most important ideas." Once students have discussed the most important ideas, they turn them into one, collaborative 15-word summary. Teachers can strategically pair up students, or students can choose. Students must first determine the negotiating rules they will follow. For example, act respectively, cite evidence to prove your opinion, or use academic-language sentence frames, such as Kate Kinsella's, for discussing and collaboration. Students use these sentence frames to support the function of negotiating and intentionally use academically language correctly. The purpose of negotiating with their partner is to "identify who or what is the most important in the section, [and] identify what the subject is doing,"( English Learner Toolkit of Strategies).

Third, have each pair meet with another pair. One student from each pair reads their summary. Then, they dive in and renegotiate a common summary for their new group of four and add it to their graphic organizer.

Fourth, each group of four chooses another group of four to repeat the renegotiating process. Once again, the group will add this new summary to their graphic organizer.

Fifth, ask groups to edit their summaries for meaning, language, and word choice. As the focus of Collaborative Summarizing is utilizing purposeful dialogue to practice oracy, this could be an optional step.

Sixth, chose one student from the group to present the summary to the class. As ELLs have varying comfort levels of reading in front of a class, give the students time to practice in their group. Once a sufficient amount of time has passed, bring the class together to listen to the summaries.

Thanks to Valentina, Denita, Cindy, and Deedy for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.
Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email (The RSS feed for this blog, and for all Ed Week articles, has been changed by the new redesign-new ones are not yet available). And if you missed any of the highlights from the first nine years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below. I am also creating a Twitter list including all contributors to this column.

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The Six Most Effective Instructional Strategies for ELLs-According to Teachers (Opinion)

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Teachers share their "go-to" strategies for teaching English-language learners, including sentence starters and Total Physical Response.

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This resource contains 5 strategies for educators of ELLs to consider when providing instruction. Each strategy contains a short explanation and examples.

The strategies in the resource align with best practices as they align with major theories of language acquisition. The strategies also focus on increasing opportunities for communication between students and opportunities for higher-order thinking.

Innovative strategies for teaching English language learners. University of Massachusetts Global. https://www.umassglobal.edu/news-and-events/blog/innovative-strategies-for-english-language-learners

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If you've ever tried to master another language, you know just how challenging it can be. Perhaps you've ordered a meal at a restaurant and felt your face flush as you fumble over a simple phrase, sighing in relief when the server nods and doesn't ask a follow-up question.

Now imagine feeling like this all day, Monday through Friday, while trying to adapt to a new culture, make friends and learn the fundamentals of science, math, social studies, art and literature. This is the reality for millions of K-12 English language learners (ELLs) in the United States.

According to the National Education Association, ELL students will make up about 25 percent of the children in American classrooms by 2025. Teachers are tasked with helping these students develop English proficiency and meet the grade-level content requirements, in addition to all their other duties. Thankfully, there are many practical strategies for teaching English language learners that benefit the entire class.

To help you enhance your lessons, we created this guide based on a recent webinar presented by Dr. Nicole Schneider, associate professor at UMass Global. Keep reading to learn how to tailor instruction and ensure accessibility for English as a Second Language (ESL) scholars.

What is ESL/ESOL?

While the term "ESL" was the standard for years, many educators today prefer "ESOL", which stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages. This phrase is more inclusive and accurately represents the fact that for many ELLs, English is their third or even fourth language.

ESL and ESOL classes are designed to develop language and comprehension skills for non-native English speakers. In practice, this is very different from teaching students who grew up hearing and communicating English from the moment they were born.

Some ESL programs teach students separately until they reach a certain proficiency level and can join mainstream classes, while other schools integrate ELL into classrooms from the get-go. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that Spanish is by far the most common home language, representing 75 percent of all K-12 ELL students. Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese and Portuguese round out the top five languages spoken in American public schools.

5 effective ELL strategies teachers should consider

While there are many ways for educators to tailor classroom instruction and support toward English language learners, Dr. Schneider recommends starting with the following five tips.

1. Focus on academic language, literacy and vocabulary

Reading, writing and vocabulary exercises are essential building blocks for developing language fluency, but it is only part of what is needed. Students who appear fully fluent in English may nonetheless struggle to express themselves effectively in academic settings, as they lack the words and phrases needed to connect their ideas and discuss them with others.

Dr. Schneider emphasizes the importance of teaching students how to talk about what they know. This is called "academic language," and while some learners adopt this naturally over time, many students - native English speakers included - need reinforcement to develop this skill. She points out that,

If we teach our students the content but never provide them with the language scaffolding that they need to share about it, it's like we're giving them the bricks but we're not giving them the mortar to hold it all together.

This extra help could come in the form of semi-structured small group discussions, adding visuals to a lesson, having students keep a journal and providing instruction in their native language, when possible.

2. Link background knowledge and culture to learning

Numerous studies show that students perform better when their home culture and background knowledge are incorporated into the academic environment. When children and their families are represented and respected in the classroom, they are much more likely to be engaged and successful.

Allowing students to express themselves in a safe environment and learn from one another is also a wonderful social-emotional learning opportunity that benefits the entire class, especially students of color.

Educators should consider implementing the following tactics in their practice:

Become familiar with your students' backgrounds

Use examples that connect to their lives

Represent students' cultures with art, music and literature

Encourage students to tell stories in a variety of mediums: drawing, poetry, visual art, drama, essays, etc.

Ask students to speak and write about their lives regularly in casual, low-stress ways without forcing them to share

Allow students to use their native language and/or translation apps

Dr. Schneider acknowledges that some instructors, particularly high school teachers, may not have enough wiggle room in their schedule to allow for daily sharing in this way. "Think about maybe doing this once a week for 15 minutes," she suggests. "Even though it takes away instructional time, you get so much more from it, that I think it's worth it in the long run."

3. Increase comprehensible input and language output

English language learners learn both through the language they encounter (input) and the language they produce (output). Students should also be given ample opportunities to produce language, and they should receive direct feedback to increase their comprehension and improve their language skills.

Dr. Schneider remarks that the increased use of digital technology in education has opened up many additional opportunities for teachers to supplement lesson plans. Strategies for increasing comprehensible input include:

Read out loud or play audio versions of texts

Front load vocabulary and key concepts before reading

Provide a similar text in the student's first language

Go beyond the textbook and include artwork, videos, guest speakers, stories

Slow down your speech

Use graphs and visuals when presenting

Give students an outline of the information

Use closed captioning for videos

10/2 rule: For every 10 minutes of lecture, stop for 2 minutes of student engagement

In order for students to deepen their understanding, and clarify and negotiate for meaning, they must talk about what they are learning. Strategies for increasing language output include:

Provide multiple opportunities for structured and unstructured talk

Opportunities for students to collaborate with each other

Include open-ended questions in your lessons

Provide daily low-stakes writing opportunities in all content areas

4. Promote classroom interaction

When teaching English language learners, keep in mind that vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation develop faster when there are opportunities for interaction in the classroom using the language being learned. But many new teachers make the mistake of simply presenting a lesson and then pairing students up to discuss without providing guidance, as was the case for Dr. Schneider.

She recommends that teachers explicitly model and practice academic language so that students can more fully engage with one another. This could take the form of question prompts, such as:

Teachers should also provide ample opportunities for more structured classroom interactions with a clear purpose and goal. There are hundreds of activities to consider, but here are a few ideas to get you started:

5. Stimulate higher-order thinking skills and use of learning strategies

Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) are essentially critical-thinking abilities that go beyond rote memorization, concept formation and reading comprehension. Mastering HOTS is the ultimate goal of the learning process, as these competencies are needed to become an independent and creative thinker.

Teachers can encourage the development of HOTS in their students by modeling and providing language scaffolding such as:

An example of a high school-level lesson plan that emphasizes HOTS might be having students learn about garment factory work in Cambodia, and then pairing them up to do the following:

Discuss what it might be like to sew their own clothes

Review a video about the experience of a Cambodian garment worker

Compose a list of the advantages and disadvantages based on the video

Embrace ELL strategies to maximize student achievement

As an educator, you work hard to make sure everyone in your class has what they need to learn and thrive. Implementing some of these innovative strategies for teaching English language learners is a great way to make content accessible for all students, regardless of language ability.

Looking for more information on how to make your classroom more welcoming for all students? Read our article "How to foster an inclusive classroom environment: Advice for educators. "

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Innovative strategies for teaching English language learners | UMass Global

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A guide to practical strategies for teaching English language learners in mainstream classrooms.

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This web page consists of a compilation of activities for the classroom, questions to ask students, and overall tips for how to create a welcoming environment for ELLs. The page also consists of videos for educators

These tips align with best practices as they are trauma-informed, asset-based, and encourage the educator to bring the students' cultures into the classroom.

How to create a welcoming classroom environment for ELLs. (2016). Colorin Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/how-create-welcoming-classroom-environment

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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

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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!

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This literature review provides insight into the benefits of incorporating technology when teaching ELLs. The review discusses best practices for utilizing technology and lays out evidence to support the use of technology.

The information in the literature review aligns with best practices as it provides explicit ways to implement technology in the classroom to align with language acquisition theories and curriculum.

Ahmadi, D. M. R. (2018). The use of technology in English language learning: A literature review. International Journal of Research in English Education, 3(2), 115-125.

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This webpage provides an explanation of social emotional learning (SEL) as it applies to all students. The resource then breaks down how to meet the needs of ELLs through SEL lessons.

The resource aligns with best practices as it focuses on building vocabulary and meaning through SEL lessons. It also offers information on the specific social-emotional needs of ELLs.

Breiseth, L. (2023). SEL for English language learners: What educators need to know. Colorin Colorado!. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/sel-english-language-learners-what-educators-need-know

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What is social and emotional learning (SEL)? And how can schools ensure that English language learners (ELLs) are fully included and supported through SEL activities in the school setting?

This article offers an introduction to SEL along with helpful resources from organizations such as the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). In addition, this article also shares ideas on how to ensure that ELLs are able to fully participate in SEL lessons and activities.

To highlight those examples, we have mapped a few ELL considerations and strategies to CASEL's SEL framework. These strategies represent just some of the ideas that educators can try and they also detail important considerations when introducing new initiatives or ideas in a classroom or school community.

You will also find relevant examples and strategies in Teaching and Supporting English Learners: A Guide to Welcoming and Engaging NewcomersbyEugenia Mora-Flores and Stephanie Dewing.

What is SEL?

SEL is a process by which students can develop skills that help them thrive skills such as such as the ability to regulate emotions, form healthy relationships, manage stress, and contribute to a community. While many educators have incorporated SEL into their instruction for a long time, it has gotten more attention in recent years as schools and families continue to navigate the impacts of the long-term disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and also look for ways to help students navigate other changes or challenges in their lives.

CASEL describes the big picture goal of SEL in the following way:
"SEL can help all young people and adults thrive personally and academically, develop and maintain positive relationships, become lifelong learners, and contribute to a more caring, just world."
How does it do that? The CASEL framework focuses on developing the following core competencies, which you can explore via CASEL's interactive SEL wheel:

1. self-awareness

2. self-management

3. social awareness

4. relationship skills

5. responsible decision-making

These are valuable skills that not only can help students today but set the stage for healthy and productive lives in the future.

Is SEL an "extra"?

While many schools may hesitate to "add on" SEL, the renewed focus on SEL offers an opportunity to reframe its role. In fact, schools who regularly incorporate SEL describe it as the foundation from which everything else grows. The more comfortable and secure students feel in the classroom, the more likely they are take risks, try new things, and contribute to the classroom.

For example, Principal Sue Stanley, whose elementary school has long prioritized SEL, writes, "We understand students cannot learn until they feel safe and connected." This is particularly true in schools where large numbers of students have experienced trauma, as in the case of her school where many students have experienced hardship and family separation due to the civil war in Yemen.

In addition, we have heard from multiple educators of ELLs in particular that the investment of time early on building relationships, getting to know students, and creating a welcoming culture and environment in the classroom pays off all year long.

Related resources

Related videos

SEL 101: What are the core competencies and key settings? (CASEL)

Looking at the whole child: Conversations with an award-winning social worker

Principal Sue Stanley: Why creating a calm, safe environment in schools matters

Teacher Christine Price: Showing students you care

SEL and ELLs: The CASEL Framework

What does all of this look like for ELLs? One way to share some concrete examples is by using the CASEL SEL framework. We have shared excerpts of the framework here and encourage you to look at the complete framework on CASEL's website. Please note that under "Examples," we have only highlighted a few skill sets that are particularly relevant for ELLs, but CASEL lists others as well.

You may also find it helpful to pull in free bilingual resources from Feel Your Best Self, a puppet-focused SEL program for children from the University of Connecticut that provides videos and related materials for educators and caregivers in English and Spanish.

Tips for lesson/activity planning

Before jumping in, we'd like to highlight some of the ELL recommendations that you will see throughout the rest of the article:

Look for opportunities to build relationships with students and get to know them.

Learn more about the unique experiences of special populations of students, such as refugees, unaccompanied minors, children in migrant farmworker families, and Indigenous students from Latin America.

Identify the key concepts and vocabulary words that will be the focus of your lesson or activity.

Pre-teach those concepts and vocabulary so that ELLs can engage meaningfully with the content.

Use visuals, hands-on objects, and other tools to make new concepts and words clear.

Look for connections to students' languages. For examples, English and Spanish share words that are similar called cognates. You can use these connections to support student understanding.

You can learn more tips from our article on lesson planning for ELLs.

1. Self-awareness

CASEL definition: "The abilities to understand one's own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts."

Identifying personal, cultural, and linguistic assets

Reflect on the following for your setting:

Welcome students' languages and cultures by:

Do ELLs' regularly hear the message that their languages, cultures, and experiences are assets and strengths?

Do teachers and peers respect ELLs' diverse perspectives and multilingual skills?

Identifying one's emotions

ELLs may still be learning:

Teach ELLs vocabulary words for different emotions. Ask them how to say those words in their language.

Give them lots of practice using emotion words, especially through check-ins like mood meters and feelings charts.

Ask colleagues who share students' cultures if there are cultural nuances you should be aware of.

Give young students or newcomers opportunities to draw pictures about how they are feeling.

Having a growth mindset

ELLs may be so focused on what they haven't learned yet that it can be easy to lose sight of what they have learned. It can be easy to become frustrated and feel behind and left out.

Focus on what students " can do" and also teach students targeted strategies for adopting a growth mindset.

Examining prejudices and biases

This complex topic can go both ways. Students may have experienced discrimination and bias against them based on a number of factors.

Look for ways to create safe spaces for talking about identity in your classroom.

If you note that additional support or communication is needed around these topics for your or your class, look for resources or colleagues that can support you in this work.

At the same time, students will likely have their own biases as well.

Principal Nathaniel Provencio: The gifts ELLs bring to school

CASEL definition: "The abilities to manage one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations."

Managing one's emotions

As noted above, a first step in helping ELLs manage their emotions effectively is identifying and naming emotions.

If you are introducing emotion management strategies, be sure to:

clearly name and identify the target emotions you are addressing

provide students with lots of different hands-on way to show and practice the strategies through puppets, role play, stories, and more

In addition, students will benefit from:

learning how to manage different emotions

practicing new strategies they learn

Identifying and using stress management strategies

Students may have a wide range of stressors during their days, whether at school or at home.

If you are introducing stress management strategies, be sure to:

You may wish to introduce the concept of stress and ask students:

Note: For students who have experienced trauma, these conversations may be triggering. Plan activities with care and stay attuned to the needs of your students. Stay flexible and seek additional support for students if needed.

Setting personal and collective goals

As noted above, ELLs may be overwhelmed by what can feel like mountains to climb in terms of learning a new language, acclimating to a new culture, and keeping up in their classes. Reaching some smaller goals, however, can build confidence over time, as can doing activities related to their strengths.

Help ELLs set small, specific goals that they can reach to build confidence.

Incorporate activities that connect to students' interests.

When talking with the class about goals, offer the options of "collective" goals along with individual goals and encourage creative thinking about how to reach those goals.

Share examples of success stories, such as immigrants, ELLs, or others your students may relate to.

In addition, keep in mind that many ELLs may come from "collectivist" cultures that focus on the well-being of the group over the individual. Use this to your benefit in planning group work and setting goals for the class.

Jorge Bermudez, High School Math Teacher: How advisory periods are helping my students

CASEL definition: "The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts."

Taking others' perspectives

ELLs bring a rich diversity of perspective to the classroom. The opportunity to learn from those perspectives can be lost if ELLs aren't encouraged to share their ideas as part of a respectful class community.

Give ELLs scaffolds to support their participation in class discussions, such as sentence frames and sentence starters (e.g., "I agree that...because...")

Give ELLs lots of practice discussing informal topics so that they can become comfortable with using these structures.

In addition, ELLs have the opportunity to learn from their peers when classroom communication is working well.

Recognizing strengths in others

ELLs have numerous strengths, interests, and talents that may be overlooked. Provide frequent opportunities for all students, including ELLs, to share their talents and interests with the class and in personal ways.

Ask students to share special talents or interests as part of icebreakers early in the year.

Look for ways to incorporate students' interests in the classroom.

Demonstrating empathy and compassion

There are many ways to develop empathy in the classroom. Keep in mind that some of ELLs' life experiences will be shared, universal experiences; others will be very different from what their peers have gone through.

Introduce the concept of empathy and help students understand it before any empathy-focused activities.

Teacher Paul Barnwell describes an activity in which students write three statements about themselves. The teacher then reads them anonymously to the class and students begin to get an idea of the "range of intense experiences and perspectives (the) classroom community contains."

Regularly using questions such as, "What do you think that was like?" or "How do you think she's feeling right now?" can also help strengthen empathy muscles!

Using culturally responsive materials that reflect students' experiences can also open opportunities for students to share and provide teachable moments that develop empathy in peers. While it's important not to put students on the spot or force a point, being mindful of how your students see themselves in the classroom can open valuable doors.

Understanding and expressing gratitude

There are so many ways to express and lift up gratitude in the classroom. Asking students to reflect on when and why they feel gratitude is a valuable opportunity for growth.

Introduce the concept of gratitude and help students understand it before any gratitude-focused activities.

Invite students to share how they say "Thank you" in their language and make a poster board with signs of all of their translations!

We have lots of other ideas in our article Making Space for Gratitude: 15 Ideas for Schools During Challenging Times, which include appreciation boards, thank you note campaigns, and writing prompts.

You may be surprised at who in the school community or their own life is making a difference!

Identifying diverse social norms, including unjust ones

When it comes to social and cultural norms, there are a few different layers. First and foremost, students' own norms may be different, such as a cultural norm in which looking away from an authority perspective is a sign of respect, rather disrepect.

At the same time, different social norms may come up in classroom discussions. It is essential to create a culture of respect when discussing diverse experiences and perspectives. You may also need additional support if topics that relate to justice or differing expectations around concepts like human rights or women's rights are part of a discussion so that everyone feels safe within the discussion.

Teacher Omar Salem: My students' many talents

You Are Welcome Here: Preview

This preview of our award-winning film You Are Welcome Her e highlights what culturally responsive instruction can look like.

4. Relationship skills

CASEL definition: The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups.

Communicating effectively

Providing ELLs with lots of opportunities to interact in all kinds of situations and in different settings or group sizes will build their skills and confidence in communication.

Pay attention to whether ELLs are able to communicate their needs and ideas to you and to peers. Give them lots of practice to do so in both informal and formal settings.

When grouping students, you may sometimes wish to put students who speak the same language together so they can have an in-depth conversations and then summarize to the group in English.

Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving

Peer learning is a great opportunity to practice teamwork and problem-solving. Making sure that ELLs understand their role, the purpose of the activity, and the steps they need to complete to make these activities more successful.

You can learn more in our related article 6 Strategies to Help ELLs Succeed in Peer Learning and Collaboration.

Peer learning Problem solving

Encourage students to try lots of hands-on activities and clubs.

Make sure ELLs know about enrichment activities where they can focus on problem-solving, such as robotics clubs, Maker space, Odyssey of the Mind, quiz bowls, and games clubs.

Resolving conflicts constructively

Students will need practice not only with new conflict resolution strategies but also with the language they need to use those strategies.

Introduce the concept of "conflict resolution" and any related vocabulary as needed.

Show students models of any strategies you are using through videos, photos, or role playing.

Give students practice with new strategies through role play or stories.

Review the tips in 8 Tips to Protect ELLs from Bullying in Your Classroom and School.

There may also be some cultural nuances in how students approach conflict and you may wish to ask students for ideas of different conflict resolution strategies before introducing new strategies.

In addition, it's critical to make sure that all students and families have a shared understanding of what bullying is and why it is not acceptable under any circumstance.

Showing leadership in groups

ELLs often have hidden reserves of leadership potential. Many ELLs are resilient, resourceful, and creative students who have navigated many challenges in their life and bring a big picture view of the world to their classroom. If the teacher isn't looking for those qualities and experiences, however, they may remain hidden.

Encourage ELLs to take leadership roles in pair or group work once they feel comfortable doing so. (Some may be ready to try it even if they are newcomers, while others may want a lot more practice!)

Also ensure that ELLs have opportunity to participate in any clubs or activities that foster leadership. Don't limit their options by assuming they won't be interested!

Note: Every spring, we read about high school valedictorians who started off in U.S. schools as ELLs and have achieved great things in a short time within a supportive school environment.

5. Responsible decision-making

CASEL definition: The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations.

Identifying solutions for personal and social problems

As noted above, ELLs can show great resilience and resourcefulness when given the chance. They also understand the impacts of big social issues that may have touched their lives. For example, many ELLs were caregivers for younger siblings and relatives during school closures in the early months of the pandemic and continue those responsibilities now outside of school.

Give students choices to pursue topics that interest them where possible.

You may wish to try a project-based or inquiry-led approach where students can dive deep on a particular topic of interest.

Having lived through a range of situations (often in other countries) provides ELLs with different lens and perspectives that can enrich the class.

Anticipating and evaluating the consequences of one's actions

As with the other topics above, it's essential to ensure that students have the vocabulary and language they need to engage in conversations or activities related to sophisticated conversations about topics like consequences. Like their peers, ELLs will likely have meaningful examples to share when taking about the consequences of one's actions.

Note: An example of an English/Spanish cognate, or word that's related in two languages, is "consequence/ consecuencia."

Reflecting on one's role to promote personal, family, and community well-being

As noted above, ELLs may come from cultures that are focused on the well-being of the group, whether it's the family, community, culture, or country.

Be sure that students have opportunities to share how they are contributing to their families and community. Those activities and responsibilities may remain hidden otherwise.

Students may be caregiving, working for a family business, actively participating in a community or faith institution, and supporting their family through employment, translation help, and other ways.

Exploring these perspectives not only can provide interesting insights -- it can help your classroom run more smoothly and even improve family engagement, such as in the example of a teacher who switched to group parent teacher conferences with her ELL families and increased attendance dramatically.

Closing Thoughts

As you can from the examples above, considering ELLs' experiences and perspectives beforehand can go a long way in ensuring that they can fully participate in all classroom activities. Along the way, they and the rest of your class will also benefit from increased collaboration and communication around SEL and so much more!

Resources from Colorin Colorado

Resources from our partners

Resources collections

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SEL for English Language Learners: What Educators Need to Know

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What is social and emotional learning (SEL)? And how can schools ensure that English language learners (ELLs) are fully included and supported through SEL activities in the school setting? This article offers an introduction to SEL along with helpful resources from organizations such as the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL).

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This resource provides background information on social emotional learning as it relates to ELLs. The resource compiles research about specific problems facing ELLs  and how to best address them.

The resource aligns with best practices as it encourages a trauma-informed approach. Additionally, the article looks at the specific strengths of ELLs, which creates an asset-based lens.

Williams, C. (2019). Meeting the social and emotional learning needs of English learners. The Century Foundation. https://tcf.org/content/commentary/meeting-social-emotional-learning-needs-english-learners/

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Advocates of educational equity, access, and inclusion for historically underserved children have always struggled to highlight the challenges these children face without defining the children as themselves being those challenges. Indeed, the very term-"historically underserved"-stems from a correction of an older term, "underprivileged." This switch has been important, because "historically underserved" puts the onus on what adults can control (how systems serve these kids) instead of on the privileges that the kids lack.

This shift should not obscure the complexity within these terms. As the field of education devotes more attention to historically underserved children's social and emotional development, advocates must also account for ways that different forms of historical inequity influence children's social and emotional growth in different ways. This is particularly important for linguistically and culturally diverse children in U.S. schools.

An Under-Recognized Strength

The issue of accurate and equitable terminology extends even further for students who speak languages other than English when not in school. In the United States, they have been called everything from Limited English Proficient to English Learners, Dual Language Learners, Emergent Bilingual Learners, and Multilingual Learners, among other labels.

Each of these terms is inadequate in its own way. All define students-who are children in all their diversity and complexity-solely in terms of their languages, and most emphasize the English skills they have not yet fully developed. These kids are more than their linguistic profiles: classifying them so narrowly risks leaving out their other strengths, goals, and needs.

For instance, research often shows that these students score higher on measures of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills than do their monolingual peers. Social and emotional learning includes things like relationship-building skills, emotional self-regulation, and abilities related to the understanding and management of social cues. These are not separate from children's academic development. A growing research consensus suggests that social and emotional skills have significant academic, health, and long-term social benefits. In its 2017 meta-analysis of the state of research on English Learner (EL) students, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine found that "Evidence indicates that [ELs] have comparable or better social-emotional competencies relative to their monolingual English peers." Specifically, ELs appear to score high on self-regulation and interpersonal skills.

New Enthusiasm for Holistic Approaches Child Development-but More Caution Needed

Competencies like those that fall under the umbrella of SEL are sometimes called "non-cognitive" or "non-academic" skills. Whichever term you prefer, there's no question that it is very much in vogue to discuss them in progressive education circles today. The 2015 passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) opened the door to converting this interest into firm policy. It allowed states to include a "non-academic" indicator in their systems for rating schools in their accountability systems. However, states have thus far avoided using this opportunity to directly measure students' SEL skills as part of their ESSA accountability systems.

There are understandable reasons for this. Even those who want U.S. schools to prioritize SEL development are concerned about measuring SEL metrics at scale, and with accountability stakes attached. Schools and teachers are a long way from being ready to implement SEL-focused programming at scale, and it can be difficult to get valid, reliable data on young students' SEL development with existing tools. As SEL advocate Tim Shriver told Education Week during the time when states were drafting their ESSA plans, interest in SEL was "booming," but while "Someone might say, 'Why aren't you holding states accountable for teaching it?' The answer to that is we are not ready for it yet."

Shriver's implication, however, was clear enough: interest in SEL competencies will eventually move educating for those competencies into systems for measuring school quality.

Designing for Inclusion and Diversity

When social and emotional learning measurement becomes widespread, this availability will offer a considerable opportunity for English-learning students. It could help schools think more capaciously about their English learners. Since ELs, on aggregate, tend to score well on these measures, it could help schools recognize these students in terms of their strengths, not just their still-developing language skills.

Since ELs, on aggregate, tend to score well on these measures, it could help schools recognize these students in terms of their strengths, not just their still-developing language skills.

However, a more precise view of ELs' social and emotional learning skills won't arrive automatically. Given how difficult it is to gather solid SEL data for any student, gathering it for ELs will require a high degree of intentionality to avoid duplicating schools' all-too-common blind spots regarding these students' diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Any efforts to incorporate these metrics into school ratings and accountability systems must be valid and reliable for multilingual and multicultural students as well.

A study published in Child Development in 2012 shows the limitations of even well-meaning metric design. The study found significant variation in the SEL caregiving practices of Latinx mothers, native-born white mothers, and Asian-heritage mothers. However, it characterizes these variations in terms of "strengths" and "weaknesses." Latinx households, it found, had similar "social-emotional functioning" levels as the households of native-born white mothers. By contrast, households of Asian-heritage mothers had "weaker social functioning." It bears noting that the SEL metrics driving this analysis drew upon a relatively limited set of specific questions around conflict (and resolutions) between parents, as well as symptoms of depression. SEL metrics like these are not sufficient to deliver on the modality's potential, and especially not for EL students.

Later studies have connected these sorts of in-home SEL practices with child outcomes. One found that Latinx children tend to score well on SEL but not as well on early academic and linguistic benchmarks. But it also noted the challenge of limited SEL assessment tools: "Stronger measurement would enrich our understanding of how Latino children grow within particular cultural contexts." Our yardsticks are still far from adequately calibrated for the job.

This lack of firm data can't be ignored as enthusiasm for SEL metrics-and linked accountability provisions-grows. Researchers and policymakers need to be cautious about imposing culturally specific norms on children's SEL development. Indeed, a 2013 review of research on ELs and SEL found "social-emotional benefits to fluent bilingualism," but also "no consistent pattern with respect to the social-emotional development of [ELs] in comparison to that of non-[ELs]." This may be due to diversity within the group of students that U.S. schools label as ELs. That is, EL students from particular cultural backgrounds may be more likely to perform well on some SEL metrics than on others.

Any efforts to measure students' SEL competencies-and schools' effects on them-could highlight English learning students' assets, but only if their linguistic and cultural diversities are taken seriously in the design and implementation processes.

Perhaps this uncertainty about the intersection of SEL measures and multilingual children's development reflects the myriad ways to be a healthy, productive human adult. As such, it would follow that there should be myriad healthy paths through childhood; and accordingly, any efforts to measure students' SEL competencies-and schools' effects on them-could highlight English learning students' assets, but only if their linguistic and cultural diversities are taken seriously in the design and implementation processes.

Tags: ELL, English Language Learners, Social and Emotional Learning

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Meeting the Social and Emotional Learning Needs of English Learners

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Advocates of educational equity, access, and inclusion for historically underserved children have always struggled to highlight the challenges these

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This webpage compiles resources for implementing technology when working with ELLs. Resources include videos from veteran teachers, research reports, examples of applications to use, and more!

The information aligns with best practices as the resources align with theories of language acquisition. Additionally, the resources provided focus on meeting students of all levels with varying needs.

Technology in the classroom. (2023). Colorin Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/teaching-ells/technology-ells/technology-classroom

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These articles, blog posts, and videos feature ideas from veteran ELL educators who have experience using technology with students of varying backgrounds and proficiency levels.

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These articles, blog posts, and videos feature ideas from veteran ELL educators who have experience using technology with students of varying backgrounds and proficiency levels.

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This resource provides information on effective collaboration between stakeholders who work with ELLs with disabilities. The resource provides information on the importance of collaboration as well as guideline for effective collaboration.

Collaboration amongst stakeholders is a best practice when it comes to working with ELLs and students with disabilities as it ensure every person is aware of their responsibilities and allows for improved instruction.

Robertson, P. (2016). Serving English learners with disabilities: How ESL/bilingual specialists can collaborate for student success. Colorin Colorado!. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/serving-english-learners-disabilities-how-eslbilingual-specialists-can-collaborate-student

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Appropriately serving English Learners (ELs) with disabilities requires a team effort involving professionals from multiple disciplines to ensure that instruction is provided to support both the language-learning and disability-related needs of the students. Critical to this endeavor are bilingual and English as a second language (ESL) teachers who have the skills needed to assess students' proficiency in the native language and/or English and to design instruction that is both linguistically and culturally relevant.

Even though these unique skills may not always be well understood or valued by teachers, administrators, and professionals in other disciplines, they are absolutely essential to ensuring that ELs who experience academic or behavioral difficulties receive appropriate early intervention supports, that cultural and linguistic differences are not mistaken for disabilities, and that Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for those students who do need special education services address students' multiple needs.

While school districts should put appropriate structures in places to support collaboration across disciplines, as a bilingual/ESL educator you must be prepared to share (and often explain) your expertise and advocate for your students when those structures are not provided. This article will give you some guidance for getting started!

The Need for Collaboration

The necessity for collaborative teaming cannot be overstated because so few educators have been adequately prepared to meet the needs of ELs with disabilities. As a long-time teacher educator, I am quite familiar with programs that prepare teachers in separate tracks with limited opportunities to collaborate across disciplines. Consider that:

Bilingual/ESL teachers are typically taught to provide instruction that addresses language-learning needs, usually with limited preparation in working with students with disabilities.

Special educators are prepared to design programs that address needs associated with a disability but often have limited coursework or skills in native language instruction, second language acquisition, ESL strategies, and other techniques designed to improve outcomes for ELs.

General educators may be well versed in standards-based curriculum and instruction but may have had limited opportunities to learn about special populations.

Although the research evidence is limited, it appears that as educators we rely on our discipline specific knowledge when we design and deliver instruction, instead of focusing on the interaction between culture, language, and disability (García & Ortiz, 2008). As a result, ELs with disabilities may receive:

instruction designed for ELs without disabilities from bilingual/ESL teachers

instruction designed for monolingual English speakers with disabilities from special educators

instruction designed for monolingual English-speaking students without disabilities from general education teachers.

This likely results in fragmented and ineffective instructional programming and a lack of ownership among teachers for those students who receive services from multiple programs and service providers.

Friend & Cook (2010) define collaboration as "a style for direct interaction between at least two coequal parties voluntarily engaged in shared decision making as they work towards a common goal" (p. 7). The focus on the common goal of instruction that addresses a student's cultural, linguistic and disability-related needs provides a framework for bilingual/ESL educators to work collaboratively with general educators, special educators, family members and others, and to share information and responsibility for the design of programs and services for ELs with (and at risk for) disabilities. Such collaborative efforts can provide us with opportunities to build meaningful relationships with the families of the children we serve, to learn from one another, and to ensure that our students reach their maximum potential by designing and implementing IEPs that reflect research-based assessment and instructional practices (Hart, 2009; Hoover, Klingner, Baca & Patton, 2008).

Guidelines for Collaborating Effectively

Being an effective teammate or collaborator requires that bilingual/ESL educators develop the knowledge and skills needed to work with other adults as we share mutual goals, responsibilities, and resources (Friend & Cook, 2010). As professionals who have been prepared to work with children, we often need structured opportunities and practice to acquire the expertise needed to be an effective teammate.

What follows are suggestions for enhancing collaborative practice. They are geared toward bilingual/ESL teachers but also offer sound guidelines for all educators involved in supporting ELs who may have disabilities. These suggestions generally assume that a collaborative structure is in place at your school or district but also includes strategies you can use when working on your own. If a formal structure isn't provided for you, begin by establishing relationships with the teachers with whom you share responsibilities for individual students. Then suggest to the leadership on your campus that you would like to share the results of your efforts with others.

Remember that meetings in which IEPs are developed are by their very nature collaborative (as defined in legal statute) and provide opportunities for establishing meaningful relationships and sharing resources and expertise.

Build partnerships with families

Recognize that families are their children's first teachers and value their funds of knowledge (Gonzales, Moll, & Amanti, 2005).

Encourage family members to share important information about their student's development including strengths, needs, exposure to and use of the native language and English, cultural norms, school and social history, etc.

Provide the supports needed to ensure that family members can actively participate in meaningful ways (e.g., flexible scheduling, interpreters).

Seek input from family members to determine what structures works best for them.

Learn from One Another

Recognize that all collaborators have important information to share and add value to collaborative planning and problem solving.

Work to develop a common philosophy and shared knowledge base that reflects high expectations for ELs, including those with disabilities, and joint responsibility for their success.

Identify specific areas of expertise among collaborators representing different disciplines. Be prepared to communicate your own unique knowledge and skills and specify the ways in which you are prepared to support others in meeting students' needs. As a bilingual/ESL educator you could share information regarding:

the influence of language and culture on student learning and behavior;

the stages of second language acquisition;

the types of language assessments you utilize, the ways in which you interpret them, and how you use that information to inform instructional planning;

the resources that can be provided to support development of the native language and/or English while simultaneously building academic knowledge and skills.

You should also be prepared to discuss resources you find particularly valuable in serving your students and their families. It can also be helpful to identify the areas in which you would value the input of your colleagues. Consider and expand upon the following examples:

General educators: grade and subject-level curriculum; benchmark and end-of-year expectations for performance; the provision of instructional and behavioral supports to students in large group settings.

Special educators: the influence of disability on student learning and behavior; adapting and modifying materials, instruction, and assessment to address the unique strengths and needs of the learner.

Administrators: instructional leadership; scheduling; resource allocation; responsibility for professional development.

Related Service Providers: specific supports students need in order to benefit from special education services (e.g., speech language pathology, counseling, assistive technology); ways in which teachers can reinforce and utilize those supports in the classroom environment.

Interpreters: proficiency in multiple languages, intercultural communication. (It is important to remember that while interpreters are valuable team members, they must receive adequate preparation and training in order to understand their unique role and participate effectively.)

Develop a shared understanding of the impact of language, culture, and disability on the development of academic and behavioral skills.

Clarify and define the roles and responsibilities of all teachers toward all learners.

Establish a Structure for Collaboration and Evaluate the Results of Your Efforts

Schedule a time and format for collaborative planning, including a description of the responsibilities of each team member.

Establish ground rules that address effective communication and respect for all participants.

Seek the support of school administrators for the collaborative process, and ask for their assistance in providing the time and resources needed.

Work with others to create and maintain a culture of collaboration, including support for new faculty.

Develop a system for maintaining accurate records that is shared across all programs and personnel who serve ELs with disabilities.

As your capacity to serve ELs with disabilities increases, consider what is working effectively and determine areas for improvement.

Share your successes with others.

Use Collaboration to Develop Appropriate IEPs for ELs with Disabilities

In addition to following the state and federal guidelines for IEP development, special considerations are needed to develop plans that address student's linguistic, cultural, and disability-related needs.

Ensure that family members' voices are heard by providing opportunities to share their desires and concerns. Consider their language preferences and cultural communication styles in your efforts.

Include representatives of all programs that serve ELs with disabilities in IEP development. Be sure that those representative have knowledge and skills regarding research-based instruction in their individual disciplines.

Identify data sources and share current formal and informal assessment results gathered by all service providers. The following examples can get you started:

Bilingual/ESL educators: formal and informal measures of conversational and academic language proficiency; the impact of language supports provided to enhance academic success.

General Educators: performance on daily assignments, results of curriculum-based assessment, benchmark measures, standardized assessments, measures of effectiveness of specific instructional activities and strategies.

Special educators: individualized assessments of academic, behavioral and functional performance; the impact of adaptations and modifications to instruction and/or daily assignments.

Review and discuss the data gathered over time to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the student's strengths, needs, and responses to various instructional supports.

Identify appropriate annual goals based upon present levels of academic achievement and functional performance.

Develop a language use plan that specifies the language(s) of instruction for each goal and the nature of ESL supports (García & Malkin, 1992). Remember, all students are entitled to services that address both their language development and disability-related needs regardless of the severity of their disability. In fact, instruction in the native language and/or the use of ESL strategies are extremely important considerations for students with the most severe disabilities.

Identify strategies for ensuring that the instruction provided is culturally relevant and builds upon the student's prior knowledge.

Specify the ways in which service providers will collaborate to meet each goal and identify areas of individual responsibility.

Discuss strategies for monitoring progress that are sensitive to the student's background characteristics and will enable educators to track progress over time in all areas of student performance in the native language and/or English as appropriate.

Support one another as you implement and evaluate the plan. Share strategies and materials, assessment information, concerns and most importantly success stories.

Final Thoughts

While the research on the impact of collaboration is limited, there are studies that have found collaboration to be important in improving schools and increasing student outcomes (Friend & Cook, 2010). There is no doubt - collaboration takes time and there is hard work involved. However, working collaboratively has the potential to reduce isolation and increase the effectiveness of all educators, and it can make our work more interesting, rewarding and fun.

The complete interviews with these experts are available in our Meet the Experts section.

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Serving English Learners with Disabilities: How ESL/Bilingual Specialists Can Collaborate for Student Success

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Appropriately serving English Learners (ELs) with disabilities requires a team effort involving professionals from multiple disciplines to ensure that instruction is provided to support both the language-learning and disability-related needs of the students.

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This resource outlines demographic information of dually identified students (ELLs with disabilities) and emphasizes their unique needs. The webpage provides a sample lesson outline to meet needs as well as specific strategies for working with ELLs with disabilities.

The resource aligns with best practices as strategies focus on collaboration, utilizing multisensory modes of instruction, and scaffolding supports.

Farr, W. (2019). Working with dually classified learners. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/working-dually-classified-learners/

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English Language Learners

A group of educators has developed an instructional model to support English language learners with special needs.

©iStock/monkeybusinessimages

Many students in special education struggle with language. Those diagnosed with special needs who are also English language learners (ELLs) have specific, unique needs. These dually classified learners are identified with a disability and are eligible for both special education and English as a second language or bilingual services. As teachers, we are often underprepared to work with this population in our classrooms.

The U.S. Department of Education estimated in 2015 that 184,000 of the nation's 2.9 million students enrolled in programs for ELLs had disabilities. Only 63 percent of ELLs graduate from high school, compared to the national rate of 82 percent. The discrepancy is most likely even larger for students who are dually classified, though getting exact numbers is difficult. Providing these students with the support they may need in our classrooms is a real challenge for teachers.

Problem-Based Enhanced Language Learning

To help support these learners, a new instructional model called Problem-Based Enhanced Language Learning (PBELL) was developed by the iTeachELLs team at Arizona State University. I'm the project director of iTeachELLs, and we had heard from graduating teachers that they needed help-we were not fully preparing them to work with this population.

The PBELL model we developed combines elements of problem-based learning with the key principles of English language learning methods. PBELL is designed to raise student achievement through integration of instructional approaches in lessons that support acquisition of both content and language skills.

Meaningful problem development: Students work collaboratively to solve a meaningful problem.

Language and content in tandem: To help students master both instructional content and language, we must be intentional.

Assessment of content and language: We need to assess both the instructional content and the acquisition and use of language.

Specific support and strategies: Our lessons must include scaffolds and strategies that provide access to both the language and the content.

In PBELL experiences, a student utilizes language collaboratively in order to access prior knowledge, research new topics, brainstorm and discuss potential solutions, and present new findings to an audience. In a classroom using PBELL, all language is considered an asset in supporting rigorous learning opportunities.

A PBELL lesson has four basic components:

These lessons should be fun and student driven-involving students is key. There are plenty of free example lessons from experts in the field as well as teacher-created lessons available for use and adaptation on the iTeachELLs website. For a deeper look at these elements, take a look at the suite of short modules, complete with classroom footage.

Strategies for Working With Dually Classified Learners

Within PBELL lessons, teachers implement specific strategies to allow further access to content and provide strategic support on an individual basis.

Collaboration: Students are placed together in the inquiry process to support one another's learning. This can include small groups, pairs, or partners intentionally grouped together based on their primary language. Students may read and gather information together or pair up after the inquiry process to share the new learning they have discovered.

Graphic organization of learning: Charts, tables, or graphic organizers are used to help students understand new ideas and organize their new learning.

During the inquiry phase, for example, students may use a KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learn) graphic organizer to help process their new learning. They can brainstorm what they already know about a topic related to the meaningful problem, and then as a class they may form questions to represent what they want to know. These questions then drive the inquiry experience, and students complete the graphic organizer by noting the new learning they discover related to those questions.

Sensory strategies: Manipulatives, visuals, video, and real-world objects are used throughout the inquiry process to ensure that all students have access to new learning. Teachers can bring in real-world items to support student learning and understanding.

We know that teachers have heavy workloads and that adding new approaches is often time-consuming and challenging. If you don't have time to undertake a large PBELL project right now, it is possible to start small. We've found two basic components of lesson planning that can have immediate impact on student success: Ground learning in real-life, relevant experiences of the students, and recognize that language is a tool that needs to be specifically taught and modeled in all learning.

Starting with these small steps, we can help our dually classified learners make progress.

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A group of educators has developed an instructional model to support English language learners with special needs.