Strategies for ELL Success
Wed, Nov 30, 2016 11:27 PM
Review of "Strategies for ELL Success"
“Strategies for ELL Success” by Laurie Hansen suggests simple strategies to incorporate into inquiry science for English Language Learners (ELLs). My classroom consists of 98% English Language Learners so great teaching strategies are very necessary to effectively meet the needs of my students. Teachers of English Language Learners must use a targeted approach to help ELLs meet language needs so that they can understand the content being taught. The author believes that in order for instructional strategies to be most effective, they must be strategically fit into the learning cycle.
The following strategies provide support for ELLs to become excited about concepts and motivated to learn. Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) strategies help ELLs understand content while developing in the English language. They include speaking clearly and at a slower pace; using gestures and facial expressions; using concrete materials and visuals; avoiding idiomatic expressions; and using student-centered activities. The use of a language buddy who is fluent in the learner’s native language, but who can speak English fairly well can help students learning the language become more engaged in the lesson. Other strategies like cooperative groupings, previewing key concepts and vocabulary, multiple avenues of communication; and the use of technology were all very familiar and effective strategies for ELLs.
A Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) that I did not know about prior to reading the article, but will like to try is the Farmer in the Dell Chart. In this strategy, teacher and students create a chart and then students choose words from the chart to create sentences to sing to the tune of “Farmer in the Dell.” I like this strategy because with it ELLs are encouraged to SWRL: speak, write, read, and listen which are the domains of language that ELLs should practice every day. This article was chock full of proven strategies for teachers of ELLs. It can be a useful resource for both novice and experienced teachers of ELLs, but teachers of English proficient students can also find the teaching strategies to be useful as they make science content more accessible to every student.