Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners

							                  Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners

Pioneer Technology Charter School will meet all requirements of federal law as it
pertains to providing equal educational opportunities for English language learners.
The Pioneer application for admission will request information regarding the home
language. Each student whose home language is one other than English will be evaluated
to determine his or her level of English proficiency. The instrument will be the English
Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA). ELPA will also be used as the annual
assessment instrument to determine each student’s ELD level. Writing samples will be
evaluated holistically using an internally developed rubric following standard protocols.
When the assessment results indicate that a student could benefit from additional
academic and linguistic support, Pioneer will provide qualified bilingual instructors,
tutors, part-time specialists, and/or trained volunteers on as needed basis according to
ELL population.
Pioneer chooses to use bilingual aides to facilitate bilingualism and academic
achievement for all students.
For students whose home language is one other than English, the instructional program at
Pioneer is designed to promote oral language learning and literacy provided by qualified
instructors. Such students will benefit from the following opportunities:
   Cooperative learning activities, conducted in English, in all classes that serve to
immerse students in the language while giving them opportunities to practice listening,
comprehension, and speaking skills.

   Frequent writing assignments in all classes that give students opportunities to practice
writing and edition in English.

   Collaborative learning experiences through club projects.

   Bilingual aides and tutors.

   After-school programs and tutoring.

Teachers will need to adapt how they teach to accommodate the needs of their students
who are English language learners. It is important to prepare lessons in advance so that
suitable accommodations can be made, and to understand how much English students


ELL Strategies                                                                              1
actually understand. Teachers will employ the following strategies to help their students,
and also adjust the class structure and assignments.


Strategies
   Simplify the language of instruction and not the concept being taught.
    Use simple sentence structure (verb-subject-object). Avoid the passive tense and
    compound and/or complex sentences. Avoid negative phrasing in questions, such as
    "which answer is not?" and “all of the above …except.”
   Provide instructions and messages in written and verbal form.
   Build background knowledge before teaching a lesson.
   Write homework assignments on the board.
   If necessary, ask another student to take notes for the English language learner.
   Modify assignments for new students so that they can be successful doing a part of
    the class assignment.
   Work toward depth, not breadth of information, presenting materials in a clear,
    concise, comprehensible manner, eliminating all nonessential information.
   Impart information through several learning modalities: oral, visual, auditory, and
    kinesthetic.
   Use graphic organizers such as webs, Venn diagrams, and charts, to make
    information more accessible. Textual material is usually too dense for second
    language learners.
   Present content area vocabulary and concepts using pictures, objects and hands-on
    activities.
   Provide concrete examples of words using flashcards, pictures and objects.
   Employ a variety of questioning strategies in order to determine students’ level of
    comprehension. Structure questions to students’ level of language understanding.




Class Structure
Classes may be structured to help students who are English language learners.



ELL Strategies                                                                          2
   Have students work in teams. English language learners can then be active
    participants instead of simply observers.
   Pair the English language learner with a student who is a native English speaker and
    of the same age.
   Pair a student who is an English language learner with a student “buddy” in another
    grade.


Designing Assessments
English language learners should not be assessed in the same way or with the same
testing materials as mainstream students. Students with limited English should be graded
on whether or not they are making a sincere attempt to understand the content at their
current level of English language ability. Suitable assignments may need to be created for
these students.


Testing accommodations include the following:
   Provide a version of the test with simplified language
   Choose key or main ideas for assessment
   Simplify directions
   Read test questions aloud
   Supply word banks for tests
   Provide matching activities
   Extend the time to complete the tests
   Use peer interpreters
   Allow the student to respond orally rather than in written form
   Use portfolios to assess student progress.




ELL Strategies                                                                          3