English Language Learners

Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences with Bilingual Families

By: Kristina Robertson (2008)

Educators may wonder how to hold an effective parent-teacher conference with the parents of English language learners if they can't communicate comfortably in English. Here we provide a number of tips that will help you bridge the language gap, take cultural expectations about education into account, and provide your students' parents with the information they need about their children's progress in school.

Accessing Students' Background Knowledge in the ELL Classroom

By: Kristina Robertson (2008)

As you teach content areas to ELLs of diverse backgrounds, you may find that they struggle to grasp the content, and that they approach the content from very different perspectives. Drawing on your students' background knowledge and experiences, can be an effective way to bridge those gaps and to make the content more accessible. This article offers a number of suggestions to classroom teachers as they find ways to tap into the background knowledge that students bring with them.

Developing Academic Language: Got Words?

By: E. Sutton Flynt and William G. Brozo (2008)

Concerns about how to build academic vocabulary and weave its instruction into curricula are common among classroom teachers. This article reviews the research, and offers some practical suggestions for teachers.

Pre-K and Latinos

By: Pre-K Now (2008)

Latino children make up the largest and most rapidly growing racial/ethnic minority population in the U.S. Find out how pre-K programs can play a key role in helping these children in school readiness and educational achievement.

Second Language Acquisition

By: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2008)

Anyone at any age can learn a second language after a first language is already established, but it takes a lot of practice. Second language acquisition often happens when a child who speaks a language other than English goes to school for the first time. This American Speech-Language-Hearing Association brief looks at the best way to teach a second language and how speech professionals can help.

Learning Two Languages

By: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2008)

Learning to speak two languages is like learning any other skill. To do it well, children need lots of practice, which parents can help provide. This American Speech-Language-Hearing Association brief gives information and tips for parents.

Interactivity Seen as Key

By: Mary Ann Zehr (2007)

Technology that encourages interactive learning can be an effective tool for teaching English language learners, even if the technology is not specifically designed particularly for ELLs.

Best Practice for ELLs: Peer-Assisted Learning

By: U.S. Department of Education (2007)

Teachers of English learners should devote approximately 90 minutes a week to instructional activities in which pairs of students at different ability levels or proficiencies work together on academic tasks in a structured fashion.

Best Practice for ELLs: Vocabulary Instruction

By: U.S. Department of Education (2007)

One way to create effective literacy instruction for English learners in the elementary grades is to provide extensive and varied vocabulary instruction.

Best Practice for ELLs: Small-Group Interventions

By: U.S. Department of Education (2007)

Providing small-group reading instruction in five core reading elements (phonological awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) can really help English language learners in the elementary grades.

Academic Language and ELLs

By: U.S. Department of Education (2007)

Most scholars believe that instruction in academic English — done early, consistently, and simultaneously across content areas — can make a difference in English learners’ ability to understand the core curriculum.

Best Practice for ELLs: Screening

By: U.S. Department of Education (2007)

Studies show that screening English language learners for abilities in phonological processing, letter knowledge, and word and text reading will help identify those who are progressing well and/or who require additional instructional support.

What Does Research Tell Us About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners?

By: Suzanne Irujo (2007)

In this article, a seasoned ELL teacher synthesizes her own classroom experience and the findings of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth to make recommendations for effective literacy instruction of ELL students.

Communication Strategies for All Classrooms: Focusing on English Language Learners and Students with Learning Disabilities

By: Dale S. Brown and Karen Ford (2007)

Here are some concrete suggestions for teachers who want to communicate well with all of their students, especially English language learners and students with learning disabilities. Incorporate these suggestions and you will reach many more students.

How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment

By: Colorín Colorado (2007)

Chances are that your English language learners (ELLs) come from a culture with traditions and family values that differ from mainstream American culture.

Extending English Language Learners' Classroom Interactions Using the Response Protocol

By: Kathleen A.J. Mohr and Eric S. Mohr (2007)

Despite the need to use and develop their English-language proficiency, English-language learners (ELLs) are often quiet during classroom discussions. The Response Protocol was developed to help teachers elicit and support the oral interactions of ELL students.

School Counselors and School Psychologists: Collaborating to Ensure Minority Students Receive Appropriate Consideration for Special Educational Programs

By: Andres Barona and Maryann Santos de Barona (2006)

This article discusses the challenges in providing psychoeducational services to the rapidly increasing minority populations in the U.S. and offers a brief elaboration of the role and function of school counselors and school psychologists and how they can meet the mental health and educational needs of this large and growing population.

Children and Bilingualism

By: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2005)

Children pick up languages much more easily than adults. This article answers some common questions about raising bilingual children.

What's 'Normal,' What's Not: Acquiring English as a Second Language

By: Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin and Alejandro Brice (2005)

How can you tell when a student has a language-learning disability and when he or she is merely in the normal process of acquiring a second language?

Simple Ways to Encourage Learning

By: Colorín Colorado (2004)

The following tips explain simple things you can do to help encourage your child to read, learn, and succeed!