Equipping ELLs

There are so many important positions in every school but sometimes it can be challenging to understand just what each person does and does not do. As ESL teachers, we may have come across some misconceptions that other staff members have about us and our role. We all want to work together as best as possible so that we can help our ELL students be successful. In order to do that, we may need to h...

We know how important it is for us to make our new ELLs feel welcome and comfortable but how can we help their families feel supported? There can be so much confusion for families as they are adjusting to living in a new country, learning a new school system, and understanding different offerings and options that are available. Our guest, Janna Adams, is sharing ways that we can help our ELL famil...

Understanding where our students come from and who they are is so important to ensuring we are providing them with an environment where they feel welcome and respected. This may mean dismantling some assumptions we have about different countries and really trying to understand the countries they are coming from and the specific areas they are coming from. Margarita Pearce is joining us today to sh...

As ESL teachers, we are especially aware of how important it is for our ELL students to feel welcome, respected, and safe. Because of this, creating a culturally competent school environment is so important. Our guest today, Jocelynn Hubbard, is sharing how all teachers, admin, and staff play a huge role in creating this culturally competent environment for our students. Creating a culturally resp...

Have you been asked to provide training to the staff on supporting ELLs but have no idea what you could present on? I see people asking all the time what they can do to provide training or PD to their school staff on supporting ELLs. If you’ve been there, I’ve got you! I am sharing 12 ideas for PD training you can feel confident sharing with teachers. You may be thinking that you are still trying...

Do you ever feel like you are solely responsible for supporting your English language learners? That responsibility is NOT just yours. We are continuing our Small Steps to Success series by looking at what role administrators play in supporting ELLs. Today we are joined by Maria Montroni-Currais who is sharing her insights on how administrators can impact English language learners. In this episode...

Have you ever stopped to really think about what success looks like for your ELL students? Are you only gauging the success of your students based on if they are proficient in English or not? Defining what success looks like for your students is critical to ensuring your students experience successes and feel confident throughout their English language journey, not just when they are proficient or...

Coming back from winter break is the perfect time to restart and refresh things in order to make the most of the second half of the year. I know this year, and the past few years, have been incredibly stressful and exhausting and the thought of doing a refresh may be overwhelming. I totally get that! I want to help you finish the year strong so I am sharing five easy things for you to restart to m...

We all want to support our ELLs as best as possible but some of the things we are doing could actually be inhibiting their growth. As teachers, we are doing our best to figure out what our students need in order to be successful. Unfortunately, some of our efforts could be an unnecessary waste of time. If you’re confused about what ELLs actually need and what they don’t, you’re not alone! We want...

Are you trying everything you can think of and your ELLs still aren’t making progress? When I talk to teachers whose students aren’t making growth, there is one common thread across the board. Doubt. The good news is that doubt is a reflection of our mindset so if we can fix our mindset, we can help out ELLs make more growth. If you’ve ever doubted that you are doing what’s best for your ELL stude...

Does the thought of being observed by your admin make you panic a little bit? I think it’s safe to say most teachers don’t love observations. They cause extra stress and nervousness no matter how amazing of a teacher you are. If you’re dreading an upcoming observation, don’t worry! I am sharing five tips to help your observation lesson run smoothly so you can showcase just how lucky your students...

What do you do when you have a love/hate relationship with technology but you know there are amazing tools that will help your ELLs learn? You find simple tech tools! I am sharing 5 of my favorite tech tools that provide students amazing support that will help them succeed and soar. In this episode, we are covering really simple but powerful ways we can better support our ELL students through the...

Do you dread prepping your students for Access testing every year? I think it’s safe to say we all do. What if I told you there is a way to prep without taking precious time away from giving students the support they actually need? Toss the test prep packets because I am sharing 5 fun ways you can prepare for Access testing starting right now. We want to prepare our students for Access testing in...

Thanksgiving in the U.S. is right around the corner which means it’s the perfect time to look at why we should be thankful that we get the privilege to teach our English language learners. At this point in the year, you may be feeling tired and overwhelmed so I want to remind you why we are so fortunate to be able to work with amazing ELL students. Teaching is not easy and there are so many things...

Have you heard about the new, hot topic, translanguaging? If not, don’t worry! Today we are talking all about it! Tevia Tovares is joining us today to share her experience with translanguaging and how she encourages translanguaging in the classroom. We know how important it is to create a safe, comfortable, and inclusive atmosphere for our ELLs. In order to do this, we must allow our students oppo...

Do you know what stage of language acquisition your ELL students are in and how to support them in that stage? Understanding the stages and knowing where your students are at is so important in helping them successfully learn the English language. Cris Howard is joining us today to share her extensive knowledge on language acquisition and its importance. Keeping the stages of language acquisition...

Holiday season is upon us in the U.S. which means it’s a great opportunity to improve our ELLs’ English language using seasonal vocabulary. We can take advantage of the season and use the excitement of the holidays to engage our students and really work on their English skills. Today, I am sharing some activities I wish I would have done to take full advantage of the holidays with my ELLs. We’ve a...

Are you looking to create a culture of reading at your school and with your ELLs? We all know that reading opens so many doors for our students but getting them to read can be a struggle. Today I am joined by high school librarian Terrie Sharp, who is sharing how she helped create a culture of learning in her school. There can be many obstacles in getting ELL students and emergent bilingual studen...

I’m sure you’ve heard about the Science of Reading and maybe your school is pushing to incorporate it more into literacy lessons but you aren’t quite sure how to do that. You’re in luck! Today, we are continuing our conversation with Sara Marye about how to create skilled readers through literacy instruction and the Science of Reading. If you haven’t checked out last week’s episode , be sure to do...

The new “hot topic” in education this year is the Science of Reading. You may have heard about it or looked into it but aren’t sure how to incorporate it into your work with ELL students. Maybe you aren’t really sure what all the buzz is about. Sara Marye from The Stellar Teacher Company is joining us today to share her expertise about literacy and the Science of Reading. Sara has so much knowledg...

Disclaimer: the audio for this episode is not the best, but the content is so great that we still want you to hear it! There is a huge shift in how schools are teaching reading. They are moving away from Guided Reading and moving towards Science of Reading with a focus on phonics and phonemic awareness. Today, Aylin Claahsen is joining us to share her expertise on teaching younger students early l...

Reading can be a challenge for many students and it can be especially difficult for our ELL students. That’s why it is so important to systematically work on sight words with our students. Leslie Tomanovich is joining us today to share her experience and wisdom on teaching sight words to our ELL students. When it comes to reading, we want to find ways to reduce the cognitive load and frustration f...

Working with our ELL students on social emotional learning is so important now more than ever. Between virtual learning, the pandemic, and any traumatic experiences they may have been through, they may need help with coping skills and that is where SEL  comes in. Today, we are getting some wonderful insight about the importance of SEL from our guest, Rachel Davis. Rachel is sharing all about...

Have you ever thought about trying out a different lesson planning process? Planning units and lessons based on language forms and functions may be a method that could really benefit your ELLs! Today, I have special guest, Kristen Vibas, joining us to talk about how she plans her lessons around different language functions and forms. In this episode, Kristen is giving us an inside look at what her...

It seems like our ELL students are constantly taking assessments. They take them with us, for core classes, benchmarks, and the list goes on! But are these assessments helping to drive our instruction or are they just wasting time? Today, we are diving into how to better assess students authentically so that we can adjust our instruction to meet our students’ needs. We want our assessments to be m...