Entering a brand-new classroom is nerve-wracking for most of our English speaking students. For our newcomer ELLs, it can be a very intense and scary experience. Providing them with a welcoming, thoughtful environment from the moment they enter your classroom is the key to breaking down their walls and making them feel comfortable exploring ...
ESL
5 Tips to Help Your ELLs Succeed in Your Content Area Class
Are you struggling to make content area instruction accessible to your ELLs? Here are five tips to help your ELLs be successful in your content area classroom. Any teacher that has had a beginning ELL student in front of them during a science, math, or social studies lesson, knows that it can be disheartening to see them stare at you during ...
Five Tips for Building ELLs’ Academic Vocabulary
As you have probably noticed with your ELLs, there is quite a difference in an ELLs' conversational vocabulary compared to their academic vocabulary. According to Jim Cummins (1984), BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) refers to ELLs' conversational, or social vocabulary, whereas CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) ...