Are you making these common mistakes when teaching ELLs?

 Happy Monday everyone! This week my district has professional development days both Monday and Tuesday for all staff. We had many sessions meant to prepare us for starting a hybrid teaching model soon. It was a nice way to start the week!

This week I came across a very interesting article that came up in my google alerts. One article I read discussed common mistakes when working with ELLs and what teachers can do instead to fix them.  One common mistake mentioned in the article is that teachers often times have low expectations when it comes to English Language Learners. The article mentioned that many content teachers do not get creative when it comes to putting modifications and strategies in place to help ELLs. Some modifications and accommodations that teachers should put in place for ELLs are:

·         playing subtitles during videos

·          asking students to create a video instead of presenting in front of the class

·          finding out content using resources in the students’ native language

The article mentioned that ELLs can be better supported when content teachers and ESL teachers:

·         Share resources

·         Work together

·         Share strategies

·         Share lesson plans

According to the article, another common mistake when working with ELLs is assuming or expecting background knowledge and life experiences that many students do not have. For example, if a teacher was doing a unit on the ocean they might assume that all students have been to the ocean and therefore jump right into the unit. Some students may have never heard of the ocean or have been to the ocean. To prevent these issues, teachers can build as much background knowledge prior to starting a unit by:

·         Showing engaging videos

·         Virtual experiences

·         Explicit instruction with topic-specific vocabulary

·         Integrating images

·         Using picture stories

Lastly, another common mistake when working with ELLs is assuming that education is not important to immigrant families simply because they are not as involved in their child’s education as other students’ parents. This can be common assumption within teachers and something I have even assumed in the past. Here are ways to help fix this problem:

·         Find ways to communicate with the family

·         Incorporate communication apps such as Remind and Talking Points

·         Utilizing “Interpreter Mode” on Google Translate (allows real time communication to happen in different languages)

I think that these points are great to think about in the classroom. As teachers, we can often assume things about our students, especially ELLs. It is important to fix these common mistakes to better support our students in the classroom. I have made these mistakes in the past and I think that the ways to fix them mentioned in this article are great for educators to read about. I will definitely utilize the Interpreter Mode on Google Translate to communicate with some of parents of children I have. It is important to fix these assumptions we as teachers may have when we are working with ELLs. I hope that these tips are helpful for you all!

Source: https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2020/10/teachers_with_deficit_perspectives_do_not_help_ells.html