What Should They Read? Motivation and Readability for ELLs in the Common Core
Presenter: Dr. Andrea Hellman
Do you struggle with how to motivate English learners to read? Are your students frustrated with leveled readers? Are you puzzled by grade level readability metrics? Choosing the right books to read is the key to motivating readers and guiding them to reach the Common Core Standards. Readability for a language learner is surprisingly complex and confusing for teachers because a host of variables contribute to it. This workshop will hand you practical tools to select the right text for specific reading tasks, so you can boost your learners’ motivation and self-efficacy with reading. You will also learn techniques language learners should know to choose authentic books that are just right to propel them to read on and achieve grade level standards.
When: Friday, October 24, 2:00-4:30PM
Dr. Andrea Hellman is a teacher educator and applied linguist at Missouri State University College of Education, where she is engaged in leading teacher inquiry and preparing all teachers to support English language learners in the mainstream classroom. Previously, she served as principal TESOL faculty and research associate for Project SPEAK, a Title III National Professional Development grant. She received her doctorate from Boston University and earned the Christopher Brumfit award for dissertation of the year in language education from Cambridge University Press. Andrea is a frequent presenter at various regional and international conferences; she is a Hungarian-English bilingual and adult immigrant to the United States.