Group items tagged

mprove comprehension

help all of your students grasp concepts better.

ELL students,

If you really want the kids to learn, they’ve got to be engaged.”

where students can practice language with their peers in a more personal, lower-risk setting

more small groups,

o the strong relationship she had with the regular classroom teachers

ESL teachers could regularly get copies of lesson plans or collaborate with regular classroom teachers to build solid back-and-forth support,

silent period,

Don’t force them to talk if they don’t want to,”

ill speak very little, if at all

pair him with other students who speak his native language

Letting them explain things or ask questions in their first language gets them to relax and feel like a part of the class.”

Allow them to write in their first language if they’re able.

llows them to still participate in journal writing or a math extended response, even if you can’t read what they write.”

consider the whole list of terms you’re going to teach for a unit,

Sentence frames

I disagree with what _________ said because…

Keep these posted in a highly visible spot in your classroom and require students to refer to them during discussions and while they write.

as to become a regular part of class

Pre-teach

The kids feel so empowered if they’ve had a chance to look at the material ahead of time.”

aking the time to learn the basics of where a child comes from — exactly, not ‘somewhere in the Middle East/South America/Asia/Africa’ — tells the

student that you respect her enough to bother.

learn

bout students’ religious and cultural practices. If

If you anticipate a theme coming up in your class that’s going to be relevant to one of your students, have a conversation with them in advance, or check with your ESL teacher to see if they think it’s appropriate for in-class discussion.

By modeling the risk-taking that’s required to learn a new language, you help students develop the courage to take their own risks, and to have a sense of humor about it.

ake a conscious effort to see past the accent and the mispronunciations and treat every interaction — every student — with the respect they deserve.