Essay on Instructional Strategies for ELL Classrooms

In chapter five, by Cris Tovani, “Why Am I Reading This” explains how educators need to establish a clear reading instructional plan. In order to accomplish understanding students need to concentrate on main ideas from the readings. Tovani explains that it is vital for teachers to model how students should hold their thinking or slow down their reading. Throughout the chapters she gives examples as question strategies, highlighting text, or summarizing key points. As this will benefit students in their reading assignment. Tovani also explains throughout the chapter that teachers should model thinking aloud. This strategy will benefit students on how to negotiate difficult text.

Today’s classrooms are becoming more and more diverse with students that have disabilities and those that come from different cultures. It is important for educators to ensure that their teaching strategies are appropriate for all of the children in their classroom. When it comes to the classroom there can be many cultural challenges that educators will have to address to ensure that all students are growing and developing appropriately. Educators need to make sure that they are capable of addressing each of their

The four effective practices are interdependent to one another. These concepts are the key points that provide a solution in helping English learners become fluent English speakers and be able to understand difficult lessons and high standards. The first strategy the article points out is Access, and it is used more frequently than the others. Echevarria and colleagues (2015) demonstrate that when teachers use differentiated teaching strategies, it will allow students to understand the concepts being taught more easily. For example, using multimedia to provide visual learning along with listening to the teacher can help with learning,

There are many different strategies that an instructor can use in ELL classrooms or in classrooms in which ELL students have been mainstreamed. As always, instructors are called upon to constantly modify their curriculum and instruction in order to meet the needs of each individual learner. This is made more possible if the instructor has more knowledge of different teaching methods and strategies. There are many possible research sources that offer ideas, methods and strategies for everyday use in an ELL classroom. Several of the more common or functional strategies will be discussed here.

Over the past 15 years, the number of ELL and ESL students has rapidly increased to nearly 5 million. These students come in significantly below those of their peers in nearly every aspect of academic performance. In order to ensure that these students’ needs are being met, you must have a significant amount of coordination and collaboration throughout the educational system. Under the law, each school district must show that the entire student body as a whole is meeting the same academic standards. These subgroups (ESL and ELL students) must be meeting the state proficiency goal as well.

The growth of the ELL student population has increased in all states over the last 20 years. However, ELL parents have difficulty obtaining information from their child's school or attempting to participate in school events. These barriers, which often include poor understanding of English, unfamiliarity with the school system, and differences in cultural norms and cultural capital, may limit parental communication and school participation. However, research shows that parents' participation in school events has a positive effect on improving student achievement and school attendance rate, regardless of socioeconomic background or ethnicity. It is, therefore, important to find practical ways to improve ELL parent involvement and student achievement.

Some of the students have a low level of English in this group however so I make sure that concepts are fully explained and groups are mixed so as the low level English speaking students do not group together.

Diversity encompasses numerous characteristics including socio-economic background, ethnicity, special needs, gender, and giftedness (Cazden, 2001). Today, classrooms are getting more varied and diverse with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and students with a disability. It appears that teachers must meet the needs of all students successfully and individually to effectively teach a classroom of diverse students. This paper will first identify three challenges involved with ensuring that teaching strategies are

Echevarina, J., Vogt, M., & Scott, D. (2013). Making content comprehesbie for english learners: the slop model. (Ex: 4th ed.). Allyn con& Ba. DOI: www.mygcu.edu

The learning environment that ELL students have in the classroom has been impacted by the history of laws and bills passed by the board of education. Many school districts all over the United States are experiencing an increase in the enrollment of students who cannot speak, read, or write English in order to fully participate in their education. Numerous pieces in history took action in order to prevent these learners from risking their loss of opportunities. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prevents discrimination based on a person’s race, color, or nationality. In Lau v. Nichols of 1974, the Supreme Court stated that school districts have to take steps in order to help ELL students conquer language barriers and to enable them to participate fully in the districts’ educational programs. The case of Plyler vs. Doe 1982 stated that no school or school district may have the ability to forbid immigrant children the access to public education. No Child Left Behind (2001): Accountability, AYP, and standardized tests for ELLs. The 1990 legal document is a “force that outlines the identification, services, and compliance of school districts to ensure equal and comprehensible instruction to ELLs.” The document was signed on August 14, 1990 into the District Court. This act was the result of a class action complaint filed on behalf of eight minority rights advocacy groups in Florida. They claimed that The State Board of Education had not complied with its obligations under federal and

Based on the studies and information regarding learning preferences, the question is then posed, does teaching strategy need to align with a students learning preference in order to be most effective for learning? The answer to this question according to studies is yes. Every student is different, and learns at a different pace, using different strategies, and have different levels of readiness, interest and motivation. (Gardner 2001) According to Howard Gardner, a Harvard educated developmental psychologist, as teachers, we need to employ multiple teaching modalities for optimal student learning. This includes the use of visual and audio media, verbal regurgitation of information processed, and written discussion of ideas learned.

The four effective practices are interdependent of one another. These concepts are the key points that provide a solution in helping English learners become fluent English speakers and be able to understand difficult lessons and high standards. The first strategy the article points out is Access, and it is used more frequently than the others. Echevarria and colleagues (2015) demonstrate that when teachers use differentiated teaching strategies, it will allow students to understand the concepts being taught more easily. For example, using multimedia to provide visual learning, or using sentence frames that will allow English Learners to be able to participate in oral

The strategies used by classroom teachers are based on the individual child, there is no golden ticket that works for every child. There are general guidelines to develop strategies that have proven effective for many. To start it suggested that well establish routines are important, the use of graphic organizers to aid in the gathering and odering of information, limit outside stimuli that may distract and consistent clear expectations are all highly recommended.

Comprehensible input is slightly beyond that of the current level of competence of the language learner. So, if the language learner’s current level of competence in the new language is i, then i+1 is the next immediate step along the development continuum. Therefore, if the goal is to assist the language learner progress in their task, it is essential to provide the student/learner with comprehensible input [i +1] (Cortes, K., 2010).

This is a way for the students to understand what they are reading and to be able to put what they are learning from this story and from their teachers into what they will learn later on in school.