https://padlet.com/michele_renner/8du9ksqseywd Made with an aura of mystery en-us 2019-08-12 18:38:31 UTC 2019-08-12 23:58:31 UTC hello@padlet.com michele_renner https://padlet.com/michele_renner/8du9ksqseywd/wish/374171129 2010
Most of my teaching career has involved language learning and teaching students who are learning English. I began my career teaching London, England with a 3-month LTO in a highly multicultural part of the city with many language needs in the classroom. At this very new point in my career, I was not equipped with the knowledge needed to provide proper support to those students, however, I had amazing support from other teachers in the school.  It was a great learning experience, and I had to quickly come up with strategies in order to support the high language demands in the classroom. 

2013
My second experience teaching English Language Learners was when I moved to Abu Dhabi. The language demands were even greater than my previous experience as nearly every child was a step 1 or 2 on the continua. At this point in my career, I still had no formal training on teaching ELLs, so again, I did what I could with what I had. It was in these early years of teaching that I gained most of my experience with ELLs and developed many strategies to best support and engage my students struggling with learning English. For example, Using visuals! I quickly realized that on top of catering to many different learning styles, I needed everyone in the class to be engaged, and the easiest way I found to accomplish that was by using visuals for everything. 

2015
By this point, I had been teaching ELLs for two years in a classroom setting. I was getting better at it through my experiences and PD's. My class in 2015 was the first class I had where most kids spoke English fluently and I quickly realized it was easier to have a class full of learners at step 1-2 rather than only a handful of kids at that stage. 

2018
After a couple more years of teaching in Abu Dhabi, It was time to come back to Canada. I knew I wanted to take an AQ course and I was very interested in taking Teaching ELLs because of my experience, but also because I knew I had so much to learn on the topic and I wanted to be better for my students in future situations. ]]> 2019-08-12 18:41:55 UTC https://padlet.com/michele_renner/8du9ksqseywd/wish/374171129 michele_renner https://padlet.com/michele_renner/8du9ksqseywd/wish/374178271 As educators, we have such an impact on our students social well being. On top of supporting ELLs in learning a new language, in many cases, we are also responsible for helping these students adapt to a new culture.
Unfortunately, students who do not speak English as a first language, especially here in North America, are sometimes subject to many stereotypes and misjudgments.  I believe teachers are essential in helping all students overcome these prejudices so everyone has a safe environment to learn in every day.  In the reading Content Based Sencond Language Teaching and Learning, it is pointed out that by being prepared for ELLs, we can help encourage better cross-cultural interactions and help develop tolerance, understanding, and respect between cultures. Teachers can help by making the cultures in the classroom visible in various ways, allowing ample opportunity for students to use their first language in the classroom, and having high expectations while providing appropriate additional supports. 

]]> 2019-08-12 19:20:11 UTC https://padlet.com/michele_renner/8du9ksqseywd/wish/374178271 michele_renner https://padlet.com/michele_renner/8du9ksqseywd/wish/374191036

Ways to incorporate differentiation and individual student scaffolding for ELLs in a larger classroom

Assessment strategies for ELLs - Ensuring I am testing knowledge and not language

How to properly assess ELLs without losing the point of the assessment

Gather resources! 

More ways to ensure various cultures within the classroom community are represented

Ways to include parents of ELLs in their learning journey and how to support those parents who do not speak english

]]> 2019-08-12 20:53:36 UTC https://padlet.com/michele_renner/8du9ksqseywd/wish/374191036 michele_renner https://padlet.com/michele_renner/8du9ksqseywd/wish/374195938 Haley, M. & Austin, T. (2014). Content Based Second Language Teaching and Learning (2nd Edition). Pearson Education Inc. 1-8]]> 2019-08-12 21:40:42 UTC https://padlet.com/michele_renner/8du9ksqseywd/wish/374195938