Part 4: 12 Ways to Support English Learners

I agree with the underlying theme of respecting and honoring students, as emphasized in Strategies 9-12 discussed by Gonzalez. Her quote at the end of the podcast: "They may appear to produce half as much as others, but they're actually doing twice the work," really stuck with me.  Whenever I have worked with my ELL students in class I try to imagine myself in your situation.  Moving to a foreign place and not knowing the language.  How incredibly difficult and terrifying that whole situation must be for them.  I never see their lack of work as a downfall... instead I try to focus on what they were able to do in spite of all the obstacles they are facing.  

As an art teacher, I am so incredibly fortunate that I am constantly working with visuals and using the workshop models where I can physically demo what I want them to do, and then they go off to their tables in groups of 4, and work on that skill on their own.  I do love that they sit in groups of 4 so that if they are confused about something they can ask a friend sitting near them if they don't feel comfortable asking me for help directly.  If I notice that one of my ELL students is struggling, I try to work one on one using visuals or demonstrating it so that they understand.

Yes, I can see how the quote Gonzalez cites can be relevant. Not only is the student expected to perform like all the other students in the classroom, but they may be also coming from a different country, educational background, where English is obviously not their first language or even second or third language. So this student ends up doing twice the amount of work, but with only half the results of the other students in the class... Some of the strategies I already use are the following: make it visual, building in more group work, communicate with the ENL teacher, pre-teach, learning about their cultural background. Especially as a social studies teacher, I love learning about the cultural background of my students... their history, religion, language, traditions and customs, even trying some of their food. I find this method very successful in regards to getting to know my students, making them feel comfortable, and building a relationship with them. I definitely want to get better with even more engagement and interaction with our ENL teachers regarding these students in my classroom. Any tips or strategies, etc. that they can offer me would of course be helpful. Also, the importance of pre-teaching information. Obviously not assuming that these students know what I'm talking about. Since for many of them United States history is brand new to them... I hope to get better and more comfortable and confident with these strategies in the future to make my classroom an even more welcoming environment than it already is! =)

In my very first year of teaching in 2000, I had 3 students in my first grade class who had virtually NO spoken English in September. They were from Malta, South Korea, and Latvia. I had NO idea how to help them or teach them. I did spend some time talking to our ESL teacher at the time, but that still didn't help me too much. I was surprised when all three of these students began to speak, read, and write English. It seemed like magic to me, and I don't think I helped them enough at that time.
These 12 strategies would have been helpful to me at the time I was beginning my career. The good news is that there is still time for me to learn, and I can keep these tips readily available for when I need them. Luckily, I already try to use visuals for teaching all students. Right now, we don't tend to have many beginning ELLs at our school. We do get kids from all over the world whose culture is different, but whose English seems strong. I try to learn about different cultures, and their beliefs, holidays, and lifestyles. I spend time reading and teaching about those cultures in all of my Library classes. I try to ask kids about their backgrounds when they feel comfortable sharing. For example, if I teach a lesson on Hanukkah, I ask the entire class if anyone knows about it or celebrates it. I try not to single out one person or make guesses about what a student might celebrate or practice. Many times, a student who was previously quiet and shy will become very proud to share their diverse experiences with me, and sometimes with the entire class. I think it is good for everyone when that happens.

Yes, I do agree with the statement that ELL's are doing two times the job of everyone in class.  They have to take the information being presented in English and try to process  the information and then complete the work.  Sometimes the students might not be able to come up with the words in English but rather in their own language.  I have had students say to me that they don't know how to say something in English when they are trying to express their thoughts which at times lead to some frustration.  I use sentence frames with all of my students.  It sets up a model for all the students to be successful. # 9 is to learn about the cultural background of my students.  I have one student who is muslim and and during parent teacher conferences I was talking with her mom about Ramadan because her daughter was talking about it in class.  Her mother was very happy to provide information about it.  I ordered a book to share with the class.  My student is so excited to share the upcoming holiday traditions with the class.  She talks about it frequently.  I am also excited to learn from her about her culture.  

Gonzalez cites, “They’re doing twice the job of everybody else in the class, even though the result looks like half as much.”  What do you think?  Absolutely these ELL students need to work twice as hard to understand the vocabulary and content.  It would help if we could give them the assignments a few days earlier so they can understand what is being asked from them.
I have not had ELL students the past 10 years, but when I did I had pictures on a ring for students that would help them understand what would be happening next in the day.  The pictures would be as simple as a book for reading,  a pencil for writing and numbers for math.  Once the student understand the daily routing I would add more pictures in their.  That system did work well for first graders.

As an elementary Math teacher, many of these methods are used regularly with in the math class for ALL students, just not ELL students. Math itself is like a foreign language to many students and there are so many concepts to understand and connect together. We try to make the learning as visual as possible. This is done with modeling and manipulatives. We want students to make sense of problems, therefore making drawings or using hands-on materials is a great way to have students make meaning. We often do partner or group work in order for students to talk to with each other about how they are solving problems. Many of our mathematical daily routines revolve around student noticings, wonderings and explanations of their math thinking. 
Many of our students struggle with language and concept words. Our math routines are a great way to reinforce, practice and share ideas. 

1. REFLECT:  Gonzalez cites, “They’re doing twice the job of everybody else in the class, even though the result looks like half as much.”  What do you think?

1.  I agree! ELL's come from many different countries, cultures, religious and/or social backgrounds. A lot of the time, they have to slow down to translate something in their head before speaking or writing it down. It may seem like they are slow or less capable, but they're doing more work than their American peers. I find that allowing them to use both their "home" language and English helps them understand the content and form their answers to questions.

2. Now What? I have one specific Arabic speaking student, form Syria, who is learning Biology. I translate lessons and assignments into Arabic for her and allow her to write her answers in Arabic and then practice speaking her answers in English with me. I find that this helps her understand scientific content/concepts while learning the English language. I know that she appreciates my efforts and she works hard to get the work "right". I also allow her to teach me some Arabic terms. I think that allowing her to teach me Arabic while I teach her science makes her feel heard and valued.

Some of the methods I'm already using are: make it visual, communicate with ENL teacher, allow some scaffolding, and learn about the background. The piece about students doing twice the work really opened my eyes and reminded me about one of my graduate classes where we talked about some of the brain functions necessary to "code switch" or to be able to switch between languages. For kids learning a new language, they have to be able to listen to English instruction in real time, engage in some sort of translation, and make use of the information. When kids are surrounded by multiple directions and expectations and a new culture and language, I imagine it can be so overwhelming to also learn and retain academic information. I think the idea of pre-teaching/visuals and including the student in discussions on culture as much as possible is important. I feel that I will know these are successful by communicating with the student regularly to get their input on their learning. It'll be important to celebrate their efforts and be mindful of the mental drain that this process can have on students.

The idea that ENL students put in twice the efforts but may have less of an outcome holds so true for me. I see how hard they work in class and the time they take to figure out and disect things, with sometimes not getting the "results" they desire. I imagine it is very frustrating to do "extra" work, and not get always stellar results. 
As a teacher, I do know the importance of pre-teaching, and giving them context to help them relate/connect. Any thing that helps them will also help the rest of the class- and when tailoring lessons to ALL learners, everyone can benefit. 

I agree just as in many things, the "wait time" is sometimes awkward but it just means they are thinking, and attempting to get it "right." We want to help them, but sometimes, not giving enough time for them to really figure it out on their own can hurt more, and in some cases, make them feel "less than" or that they aren't getting it. 

I am so impressed with how Google Translate can be used not only to help them, but to help us as teachers too- and how easy it can be. Similar to the name pronounciation, but taking the extra time, it simply shows students you care. 

I agree that these students are doing a lot of extra work, often times more work than their peers around them. I had a PD last year that focused on this idea and we discussed all of the things that could potentially be going through the students head when trying to complete their work. After discussing, the individual leading the PD taught us a lesson, but the lesson was not in our native language. We were put in the shoes of our ENL students. This was extremely eye opening, and allowed me to see/ feel what it was like to be in their shoes on a day to day basis. 

There are many strategies that were offered that I agree with. I think the most important are taking these students seriously, and communicating with your ENL teachers on how you can provide your very best to these students. If you are able to do these two, the rest will follow. Feeling confident with your resources and tools in your "teacher tool box" will be extremely beneficial for these students.

Jennifer Gonzalez's podcast on helping out English Language Learners (ELLs) in the regular classroom really got me thinking. She's totally right that most of us classroom teachers, me included, don't get much training on how to best work with ELLs, and that's a real problem in our schools.
Out of the 12 strategies she talked about, I've got a soft spot for numbers 9 through 12. They all boil down to respecting and honoring ELL students, and that just makes sense to me. Gonzalez mentioned how ELL students often put in twice the effort, even though it might not always show in their results. Here's how I see these strategies:
Strategy 9: Learn about your students' cultural backgrounds: I'm already on board with this one. Getting to know where my students are coming from culturally helps me connect with them better. Plus, it helps me tweak my teaching to suit their needs. Every student's got their own unique perspective, and that's something special.
Strategy 10: Don't put a kid on the spot for their whole culture: This one really hits home. While it's cool to appreciate cultural diversity, I get it that we shouldn't stick a kid with the responsibility of representing their entire culture. Every student's an individual with their own experiences.
Strategy 11: Show them it's okay to goof around: I'm all about this. Making a relaxed and safe classroom where it's okay to make mistakes is key. It creates a positive learning vibe where students can speak up without worrying about being judged.
Strategy 12: Always take them seriously: While I'm all for a laid-back atmosphere, I know it's just as important to take my students seriously. ELL students often work extra hard to understand stuff and communicate in a new language. So, even the little things they do deserve respect and recognition.
Looking ahead, I'm really feeling strategies 10 and 12, and I plan to put more emphasis on them. To see if I'm making a difference, I'll keep an eye on how engaged, participative, and academically successful my ELL students are. And, of course, I'll chat with them to make sure these strategies are helping them learn better and feel like valued members of our classroom gang. My goal is to give ELL students the confidence to succeed and make sure they know they're an essential part of our class crew.