Supporting Teachers of English Language Learners

TipsforSchoolAdministrators
Supporting Teachers of ELs
B Y : S H A J A I R A L Ó P E Z

76
Respondents
17
issues stood out
3
What are the questions, concerns,
and/or needs that you have as it
relates toyour jobteaching
English learners?
The
Survey

4
3
4
2
1
5
6
Teacher
Responses “Ineedmore
resources”
“HowcanIcontactparentsby
phonewhentheydon’tspeak
Englishandthere’snooneat
schooltotranslate?”
“Homelanguage
surveys areapoor
identificationtool”
“Weneedabetter
trackingsystemfor
ELLs’progress”
“Itisnoteasyto
identifygreatbook
titlesinminority
languagesintheU.S.”
“Weneedsmaller
classsizes”

5
9
1
0
8
7
11
12
Teacher
Responses
“Whatarethe
currenttrendsin
ESL/bilingual
education?”
“Ineedsupportteaching
academiccontent”
“ELLsshouldbe
giventhesame
attentionasSPED
students”
“Smallerclasssizes”
“WeneedanESL
curriculumthatisrelated
thegen.ed.contentandis
adaptabletomeetthe
needs ofvarying levels”
“It’sfrustrating
nothavingESL
pull-outservices
toofferstudents
moresupport”

6
Top 5
Concerns
& Tips to
Address Them

7
“I wish that
parents
would be
more
involved and
proactive…”
Concern #1

8
Tip #1
Build the
foundation for
parental
involvement

9
 Parent-teacherconferences
 Volunteeringintheschool
 Helpingwithhomework
 Readinglettersfromtheschool
 Returning/makingphonecalls
 Parentsmakingsuretheirchildrenmakeit
toschoolontime
 Providing breakfastfortheirchildren
 Purchasingschoolsupplies
Traditional
P A R E N T I N V O L M E N T
Non-Traditional
P A R E N T I N V O L V E M E N T

10
 Time constraints
 Lack of transportation
 Fear of the unknown
 Language barrier
 They do not feel welcomed
 Unfamiliar with mainstream
culture
Why are some
parents of ELs
not involved?
 Parental involvement is a
foreign concept
 Undocumented immigrant
 They don’t know what they
don’t know
 The importance of
parental involvement

Organize a general school orientation session
for parents of ELs
Use headsets and an interpreter
Use separate rooms
Connect with other parents
Teach crafts or dance
1.ArrangeaTouroftheSchool
3.HoldMeetingsinDifferentLanguages
4.RecruitParentVolunteers
Prepare for Parent
Involvement
11
2.ConnectParentstoBilingualStaff
Share list of names and phone numbers of
bilingual staff in the school and district
How your school works, teacher/school expectations
Parent nights
5.EducateParents

12
Parents and teachers interpret ACCESS scores
Engage in conversations about language
programs, language learning, and student
progress
Provide parents with a voice in decisions
impacting language instruction
Discover the families’ perspectives on
bilingualism
Discuss what role the home language plays in
English language acquisition
1.StudentDataNight
2.ProgramEvaluationTeams
3.HomeLanguageDiscussions
Parent
Involvement Ideas

13
“I would like to
learn strategies
that are more
up to date to
use in my
classroom”
Concern #2

14
Tip #2
Share
information
about teacher
professional
development
Professional
Development
 The Center: Resources for Teaching and
Learning—Illinois Resource Center (IRC)
 Illinois TESOL Bilingual Education (ITBE)
 Paridad
 Professional Learning Board (Online PD)
 WIDA Climbs
 Read en Español, Inc.
 Aurora University—Bilingual/ESL
Department
 Northern Illinois University—Bilingual and
ESL Department

15
Key Strategies
1. Create a friendly atmosphere
in the classroom, and
encourage students to
personalize the classroom
environment
2. Create situations in which
students feel accomplished
3. Encourage students to set
their own short-term goals
4. Develop students’ confidence with
pair and group activities
5. Connect language and learning to
students’ interest outside of the
classroom
6. Provide students with multiple
opportunities to practice language
(reading, writing, listening and
speaking)

16
“It really
bothers me
when
administration
says just use
manipulatives
or pictures”
Concern #3

17
1. Use uniform rubrics with specific
examples of practice
2. Provide additional training for
evaluators in specific instructional
areas
3. Use pre-observation conferences
to share key information
4. Utilize experts with relevant
instructional knowledge to
support evaluation
Tip #3
Provide
ESL/bilingual
teachers with
valuable
feedback
Guidance on Building Teacher
Evaluation Systems for Teachers of
Students with Disabilities, English
Learners, and Early Childhood
Students (ISBE, 2014)

18
“Looking at the
data from
ACCESS,
PARCC, and
MAP is
incredibly
frustrating…”
Concern #4

19
Discuss the
purpose and
importance of
student
assessments
Tip #4

20
 Identify students that need
additional resources
 Determine student program
placement
 Evaluate programs
 Improve instructional practices
 Assess student learning
 Set school improvement goals
 Align curriculum
Purpose of
Assessments ACCESS
MAP
Only assesses English language proficiency
Provides a measure of students’ academic
content growth in reading and math
PARCC
Assesses academic content knowledge in
English language arts and math
 Searves as an “educationa GPS system”
assessing current performance and pointing
the way to what students need to learn in
order to be college and/or career ready

21
“ELLs are not
given specific
language
instruction by
all of their
teachers”
Concern #5

22
1. Build awareness on the unique
cultural characteristics of ELs
2. Describe the role that
ESL/bilingual teachers play
3. Set expectations for collaboration
between teachers
4. Incorporate language objectives
in every lesson plan
5. Provide co-teaching training
6. Get content teachers on board
with best practices
 WIDA Can Do Descriptors
Tips #5
Promote the idea
that every
teacher is a
teacher of the
English language
to ELs
Create a Plan

21
Support
Teachers of ELs! Build the foundation for parental
involvement
Share information about teacher
professional development
Provide ESL/bilingual teachers with
valuable feedback
Promote the idea that every teacher
isa teacher of the English language
toELs
Discuss the purpose and importance
of student assessments
5
4
3
2
1

Sources
• Calderón, M. E., & Minaya-Rowe, L. (2003). Designing and implementing two-way
bilingual programs. A step-by step guide for administrators, teachers and
parents. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
• Gottlieb, M. (2006). Assessing English language learners: Bridges from language
proficiency to academic development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
• ISBE Performance Evaluation Advisory Council. (2014, August). Guidance on
building teacher evaluation systems for teachers of students with disabilities,
English learners, and early childhood students. Retrieved from:
http://www.isbe.net/PEAC/pdf/guidance/14-3-teacher-eval-sped-ell-preschool.pdf
• Karaoglu, S. (2008, June) Motivating language learners to succeed. Retrieved
from: https://www.tesol.org/read-and-publish/journals/other-serial-
publications/compleat-links/compleat-links-volume-5-issue-2-(june-
2008)/motivating-language-learners-to-succeed
• Kilman, C. (2009, Spring) Lonely language learners? [Web log post]. Retrieved
from: http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-35-spring-2009/feature/lonely-
language-learners
• NWEA. (n.d.) Measure student progress with MAP. Retrieved from:
https://www.nwea.org/assessments/map/
• NYC Department of Education (2014, March). Specific considerations for teachers of
English language learners (Draft). Retrieved from:
http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/04D90E09-0E02-4EEE-9988-
C7B7CD81D676/0/SpecificConsiderationsforTeachersofELLs.pdf
• PARCC. (2015). Assessments. Retrieved from:
http://www.parcconline.org/assessments
• Wisconsin Center for Education Research. (2015, September) WIDA Focus on family
engagement. University of Wisconsin. Madison: WI. Retrieved from:
https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wida.us/get.aspx%3Fid%3D1861&sa=U&
ved=0ahUKEwj_6cm4wYTLAhUS5mMKHf6GCP8QFggFMAA&client=internal-uds-
cse&usg=AFQjCNEXUgQUJf_Y--xSRyB-k9FC6Uco7w
• Wong Fillmore, L. (1991). Second language learning in children: A model of
language learning in social context. In E. Bialystok (Ed.), Language processing in
bilingual children (pp. 49–69). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Sources
(630)844-4649
slopez@aurora.edu
www.linkedin.com/in/shajairalopez/
www.shajairalopez.com
www.facebook.com/dr.shajairalopez/
Shajaira P. López, Ed.D.
Chair & Assistant Professor
ESL/Bilingual Education Program
Aurora University
Technology Chair
Illinois TESOL-Bilingual Education

Supporting Teachers of English Language Learners

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