Learn from your peers with insights into classroom activities, tips for working with ELLs, product reviews, and more.
by Jeanne Beck Recently the Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA) conducted a survey of certified teacher members to determine the extent to which national trends in teacher attrition were affecting teachers statewide. With 2,212 responses, the survey revealed that “six out of 10 Missouri teachers have seriously considered leaving the profession in the last three…
by Kaylene Powell In Part 1, I introduced the idea of using TEDEd video lessons to help ESL students build vocabulary, listening fluency, and critical thinking skills with inviting input. Today, I want to focus on another source of authentic input I like to use with my college-aged and adult students. While building my program…
by Kaylene Powell While building and revising curriculum for an updated ESL program at Bellevue University, I’ve faced this challenge: how do I design and run courses in a way that will help students improve their daily fluency and confidence while also preparing them with EAP knowledge/skills they will need in other university courses down…
by Sharon Henslee In the summer of 2018, I had the opportunity to travel to Greece, specifically to the island of Lesvos, to volunteer with a non-governmental organization (NGO) that serves Syrian, Iraqi, and Pakistani refugees fleeing the violence in Syria. Lesvos, being the easternmost Greek island, is only about 10 km from the Turkish…
by Jan McClellan Boosting Achievement by Carol Salva is a much-needed resource for any person working with SIFE/SLIFE students. SIFE/SLIFE are Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education. Ms. Salva takes an asset-based approach to what our English Language Learners (ELLs) can bring into our classrooms even if they are SIFE/SLIFE. The culture and language…
by Cynthia Lamas It isn’t too late to jump in and take part in the #ELLCHAT_BKCLUB 12.0 book discussion which started this past Saturday, June 16, 2018, with their second fiction novel Refugee by Alan Gratz. This book chat will last four weeks and is divided accordingly: Week 1: June 16 – June 22: pages…
by Jan McClellan Four Things Every Principal Should Know about English Language Learners by Persida and William Himmele is a quick and easy read that introduces basic language information as well program models for principals and administrators. This book is less than 100 pages and concisely gives administrators the beginning foundation of what having English…
by Zachary Smith One of the struggles I have had during my professional career as an ELL teacher is assisting my ELLs with finding activities to become involved in. We all know that our students need engagement and interaction with other students in order to more quickly and effectively pick up on social language (BICS).…
by Zachary Smith Tips for those who didn’t attend the TESOL Convention: 1. Check the online resources that are shared by the presenters at TESOL. Each year for the conference, TESOL does a wonderful job of vetting and finding the best presenters who are experts in their research and teaching areas. Most of the presenters…
by Zachary Smith A couple years ago, I wrote the article, “Seven Tips for Successful Home Visits.” This topic is still so important today that I am writing a follow up with an update on ways to help improve the outcome of home visits. In addition to the seven tips that I provided in the…
