Beginning Proficiency Newcomer Students
Tools and Approaches to Support Beginning Proficiency
Newcomer or Refugee Students
A student arrives at your school with limited formal schooling and little to no skills in English, where do you start?
The most important thing to remember is that students are coming to you with language.
A learner's first language is:
- the foundation for second language learning;
- an important tool for learning;
- an important component of personal and cultural identity.
-Coelho, E. (2016). Adding English: A guide to teaching in multilingual classrooms (p. 167). University of Toronto Press.
Teaching Refugees with Limited Formal Schooling - Calgary Board of Education
This website hosts a wealth of information and resources to support teachers in their work with students who have limited formal schooling.
School staff may need to help students understand how to:
Communicate with adults about emergencies, illnesses, absences, etc.
Stay in one place for long periods of time (a desk, a classroom, a school building)
Use school devices such as doorknobs, switches telephones, locks
Handle classroom materials such as writing instruments, notebooks, laptops
The "Instruction" page includes links to programming ideas and classroom supports.
The "Young Learner" page includes a link to a list of strategies for teaching young EAL students.
The "Resources" page holds a collection of resources and links to teacher and student resources.
Click on the screenshot or here to access the entire site.
Newcomer Resources
From survival phrases and basic communication tools to developing math skills, click on the screenshot to access the newcomer resources compiled by Sheridan School District No. 2 in Colorado.
Ellii offers a host of resources and materials to support language development for beginning proficiency students of all ages. Pricing plans range from smaller class sizes to district plans.
Key takeaways from Larry Ferlazzo's blog on ways a mainstream teacher can support an EAL Newcomer in class:
Remember your newcomer student is as intelligent as any native-English speaker in your classroom. They are just new to the English language.
Learn their story either through an interpreter or Google Translate.
Help them develop basic English communication skills.
If they are literate in their home language, provide access to online materials in their language comparable to what you are teaching in English to the rest of your students.
Prioritize - choose two or three concepts from the unit you are teaching and work hard to get those across to your newcomers.
Provide a peer mentor.
LessonPix learning materials offer countless visuals to support beginning English proficiency students learn basic functional English skills. Create storyboards, sorting mats, small picture books, flashcards, seasonal bingo cards, pragmatic language materials and more.
In this article, Reading 101 for English Language Learners, Kristina Robertson highlights ELL instructional strategies based on key reading components and skills. In addition, educators will learn more about the role of students' home language and oral language.
Information and resources also include:
Video on how to pronounce the 44 phonemes in English
Phonics, Vocabulary, Oral language and Comprehension strategies
There are so many ways to use PWIM. Color coding the four word classes (nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs) helps students understand how they function in a sentence.
Language Experience Approach
The central principle behind the Language Experience Approach (LEA) is to use student's own vocabulary, language patterns, and background of experiences to create reading texts, making reading an especially meaningful and enjoyable process.
"The beginner’s program focuses on learning those English words and sentences orally that will be immediately useful for conducting conversations, making requests, responding to directions, asking and answering questions, and for functioning in daily life in other ways." (Nessel and Dixon, p. 21)
Using the Language Experience Approach with ELLs.pdf
BOOSTING ACHIEVEMENT: REACHING STUDENTS WITH INTERRUPTED OR MINIMAL EDUCATION is a guide to help educators and school districts navigate the challenges and learning opportunities unique to SIFE (Students with Interrupted Formal Education). Circumstances such as upheaval due to war and political turmoil in their native countries may have contributed to minimal education experiences, thus prompting current educators to adopt an innovative approach in meeting students' cognitive, affective, and linguistic needs.
In the pages of this teacher-friendly framework, educators will explore interactive and engaging learning strategies which maximize English language development as students learn academic content. A distinctive thread woven through the pages is the growth mindset belief that with effort and targeted strategies, students are able to accelerate their learning despite challenges they may have faced. Boosting Achievement encourages a practical approach to instruction that incorporates authentic learning experiences while leveraging students' unique backgrounds and perspectives to enrich our classrooms and learning environments.