ELL/ESL/ESOL

Building Academic Language for ESOL

Embracing diversity and helping students to be biliterate Across the United States, general education classrooms are receiving non-English speaking students at an increasing rate. In comparison, the number of educators who are bilingual or multicultural is on the decline. In many cases, general educators do not have the pre-service training or resources to meet the

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Tag It—”Graffiti” in the Classroom

Graffiti murals promote comprehension and student voice. Some see graffiti as vandalism; others see it as a work of art. Urban artists use graffiti to send political messages—as a form of meaning making in the larger society. Indiana University Professor David Hanauer suggests that graffiti offers marginal groups the opportunity to express themselves publicly. In the middle

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Discovering Treasure: Adapting Instructional Strategies to Meet Student Needs

Understanding student needs is only part of the teaching expedition. I started the group discussion with what I believed to be a rather easy question: “How does the article, ‘Rise of the Machines,’ connect with your life experiences?” After all, students interact with technology each day, smartphones are glued to their hands. After I posed

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How can I offer language support to the English Language Learners in my classroom if I don’t speak their native language?

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to support ELL students’ language acquisition by adapting strategies already in use. These small things may make a big difference to ELLs. Here are a few ideas. 1. Create a language-rich environment. English language learners will benefit from increased exposure to print and language. A print-rich environment will include

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