Resources for Teachers
Common Acronyms
ESL- English as a Second Language
ELL- English Language Learner
EL- English learner
LEP- Limited English Proficient
ESOL- English to Speakers of Other Languages
ELD- English Language Development
EAL- English as an Additional Language
ENL- English as a New Language
ELL- English Language Learner
EL- English learner
LEP- Limited English Proficient
ESOL- English to Speakers of Other Languages
ELD- English Language Development
EAL- English as an Additional Language
ENL- English as a New Language
Informational Resources
WIDA- English Language Development Standards, Can Do Descriptors, ACCESS testing information
Colorin Colorado- Many useful articles about instructing ELLs, working with their families, learning about language acquisition, and more
US Dept. of Education- Newcomer Toolkit and EL Toolkit
SIOP Model- Information about SIOP, a model of sheltered instruction used to help ELLs learn content as they develop language proficiency
Empowering ELLs- blog with tons of articles featuring different strategies
Colorin Colorado- Many useful articles about instructing ELLs, working with their families, learning about language acquisition, and more
US Dept. of Education- Newcomer Toolkit and EL Toolkit
SIOP Model- Information about SIOP, a model of sheltered instruction used to help ELLs learn content as they develop language proficiency
Empowering ELLs- blog with tons of articles featuring different strategies
Classroom Resources
Kids A-Z- audio, text, and comprehension question on leveled texts (English and Spanish), decodable texts, high frequency word books, vocabulary books, science texts, and more. Teacher username: jbauguess2
Duolingo- students can practice learning English from their native language- free app and website
Learning Chocolate- language learning site
ESL Games Plus- Interactive online language games
ESL Games World- online and printable language games
ESL Kids- printable flashcards and worksheets to help your kids practice basic vocabulary
Quizlet- flashcards, vocabulary review games and assessments. See ESL teacher for pre-made sets
Read Conmigo- Spanish/English Bilingual ebooks
Boggles World ESL- worksheets, flashcards, games and other handouts for ESL students
Google Translate- Translate written and spoken language
Abcya- educational games
Starfall
Readworks- leveled fiction and nonfiction passages with comprehension questions
See student resources for some additional sites!
Free Reading- passages and activities to support all components of reading
Rewordify- replaces the most difficult words in a text with simpler vocabulary, and you can print vocabulary activities to go along with it
Duolingo- students can practice learning English from their native language- free app and website
Learning Chocolate- language learning site
ESL Games Plus- Interactive online language games
ESL Games World- online and printable language games
ESL Kids- printable flashcards and worksheets to help your kids practice basic vocabulary
Quizlet- flashcards, vocabulary review games and assessments. See ESL teacher for pre-made sets
Read Conmigo- Spanish/English Bilingual ebooks
Boggles World ESL- worksheets, flashcards, games and other handouts for ESL students
Google Translate- Translate written and spoken language
Abcya- educational games
Starfall
Readworks- leveled fiction and nonfiction passages with comprehension questions
See student resources for some additional sites!
Free Reading- passages and activities to support all components of reading
Rewordify- replaces the most difficult words in a text with simpler vocabulary, and you can print vocabulary activities to go along with it
Ways to Support ELs in the Classroom
- Make it Visual- use pictures, videos, gestures, and paired oral and written instructions
- Use manipulatives and realia
- Use consistent language in your daily routines
- Use academic language in social settings
- Simplify your speech- be careful of your use of idioms and figurative language
- Respect the silent period- don't expect newcomers to produce language immediately
- Teach phonics in context- don't isolate phonics from vocabulary, and build upon any literacy skills in the native language
- Increase your wait time after questions
- Adjust your objectives when necessary
- Include language objectives alongside your content objectives
- Build background and preview materials
- Use sentence frames, sentence starters cloze sentences, and word banks
- Teach close reading skills with pictures or videos instead of text at first
- Group work
- Think-Pair-Share
- Choral Reading
- Reader's Theater
- Graphic Organizers
- Give meaningful feedback
- Don't directly correct errors
- Utilize journals, including interactive dialogue journals
- Give brain breaks- allow newcomers especially opportunities to read, write, or interact in their native language throughout the day
- Ask tiered/leveled questions- try to ask students with lower English proficiency higher level questions that don't require as much language