English Learners

• IES Meeting the Needs of English Learners in an Online Environment: Institute of Education Sciences provides a document with frequently asked questions regarding the needs of ELs learning in an online environment.

• Practical Strategies and Resources to Teach K-12 ELs Online: This video supports educators in how to intentionally plan for the appropriate support of ELs in an online instructional environment in both synchronous and asynchronous platforms. This is a link to the Accompanying Padlet mentioned in the video.

Families of ELs have a Civil Right to the same information that their native speaking English family counterparts can access in a format that is accessible for them. It is easy to head toward thinking that the best way to communicate with families of ELs is just to translate resources. However, educators can also consider a variety of other methods of communicating with families at this time. The following resources can be useful for creative thinking while engaging the community and using different media outlets:

• Colorin Colorado: EL and Immigrant Considerations

• Engaging Immigrant and EL Families During Coronavirus

There are several free resources that LEAs can utilize to ensure that families are receiving up to date communications. Below are a few suggestions that utilize software to translate. Keep in mind these products are not acceptable for the use of formal communication or when parents are asked to sign a document. However, they can be used for simple update, newsletters, and classroom communication.

• Google Translate for Google Docs - easy to follow steps that show you how to translate any Google Doc.

• Microsoft Translator - a Microsoft compatible document translator.

• Immersive Reader - a Microsoft compatible download that translates documents and reads aloud

• List of communication resources regarding translation for parents' home languages: commonly used LEA communication tools that automatically translate a number of languages. Parents must select their preferred language during setup for the automatic feature to be enabled.