Strategies of ELL Instruction

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2013/10/25/strategies-for-ell-instruction/

One of the challenges of being a successful teacher in the classroom environment is to properly instruct English Language Leaner Students in tandem with the regular curriculum. For a newer teacher, figuring out such concepts on the fly can be very difficult, not to mention actually applying these concepts. Therefore the article "5 Key Strategies for ELL Instruction" can act as a good support for teachers who need a general refresher or base to build instruction ideas off of.

1. Scaffolding Understanding: A good concept to understand off the bat is that ELL Students are not totally helpless. While they may need increased help understanding the language at first, it will not be the case later on. Keeping this in mind, lesson plans involving a class with ELL students in it should design themselves to increase their autonomy over time, with projects and assignments that provide this freedom with slightly more advanced materials as their understanding progresses.

2. Grouping: Learning a language usually requires some sort of exposure to the native speakers whose language you are gaining an understanding of. By placing ELL students in groups of others with varying degrees of proficiency in the English, they gain a better range of vocabulary and applicable vernacular.

3. Background Knowledge: This method works for just about any group of students, and ELL is no exception. Providing the student with some easily understood context or background information of the subject they are studying will not only ease them into it better (like explaining an American cultural subject to someone who has never experienced it before), it may also improve their interest int he subject as well.

4. Extended Discussion: Allow them to talk with their classmates and with you about the subject you are teaching. They will not only get an opportunity to communicate but may also pick up on new vocabulary.

5 Value Linguistic Difference: Figure out what cultural backgrounds your ELL students come from, and treat those backgrounds and differences as something to be discussed and respected. The student learning ELL is the challenge, and their background is a valuable resource to understanding what needs to be done to properly educate them.

Source: 5 Key Strategies For ELL Instruction. (2015, March 31). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2013/10/25/strategies-for-ell-instruction/