The experience of having multiple sensory inputs in a foreign culture and language is downright exhausting. 

• Be sure to include many brain breaks during the day and at the end of a circle.

https://www.edutopia.org/video/science-behind-brain-breaks 

• Find ways to incorporate their home languages and "cultural artifacts" into learning and circles to increase confidence and comfort. 

• Do Circles early in the day (or at the beginning) to have fresh minds

• Language Learners typically have been taught with a deficit-driven approach. Instead, begin by collecting information about special skills or understandings that they bring with them. Even if they have missed formal education, they have filled this gap with years of learning in other ways.

• Use student preferences and interests to motivate and engage them

• Use first language whenever possible to include their knowledge in the circle.

• The class community should consider it a responsibility to learn words and phrases in the first language of their peers and to learn about where they are coming from. Only when committing to each other can true relationships be created.

• Create question prompts that encourage sharing from alternative perspectives. For example, instead of asking, "What are the three forms of matter?" you can ask, "Can you tell me about different ways you have seen water instead of in a glass?" 

• There is a great deal of trust and vulnerability involved in Circle discussions and rje. It is important to start slow. Begin with fun and light activities. As the year progresses, allow language learner/newcomer students to engage at their own pace. Let them observe circles and find ways (in this website) to participate without conversation.

• Be prepared to know how to respond when trauma resurfaces. Engage in trauma-informed learning workshops or materials before difficult topics. Even when discussing something relatively benign, traumatic memories may be brought up as the student finds ways to share. If this experience becomes ignored to create more comfort for others, newcomer students learn that their experiences are unimportant or shameful.

• Refer:  Prepare a relationship with a counsellor ahead of time in case this work may trigger responses you are not prepared for. You do not have to do this alone, and the larger community should be involved in your work.

• Refer to this document on trauma-informed rje practices for more tools and information. ELLs can reflect these needs due to many life experiences. 

• An additional resource is Joe Brummer's book Building a Trauma-Informed Restorative School: Skills and Approaches for Improving Culture and Behavior. His webinar about this book is very informative and can help us to understand trauma responses in our students. 

• Expressive arts and storytelling (through various methods) have proven very effective in ELL learning. (Stewart and Martin, 2018) 

• Listening is key- In circles we listen, and this should be equally true for ELLs. Find new ways for them to express and spend time listening from a different perspective

• There could be potential conflict between newcomer students who arrive from different countries. Their cultures have long histories and there could be issues between them that extend past the borders of the land. Students arrive with worldviews shaped by family, experience, cultural history, and national memories. This conflict cannot be 'solved' in your classroom, but building authentic relationships in the Circle can create more connections and similarities between students.

• Be flexible- change the plan for the Circle if you need to. The most important thing is that newcomers feel safe. If you recognize that the plan could cause harm or disengagement, feel free to stop and do an energizer and refocus the work. 

• ELL engagement extends beyond your Circle and further than your classroom. It is important that your school fosters culturally responsive education. If this is  a struggle, ask students how they could lead this themselves when relationships become stronger. 

ELLs are no different- they want to engage, form relationships, and be honoured. Some tips for providing engagement opportunities: 

• prepare Circle questions in advance so ELLs can prepare their responses and spend time in Rounds to listen to their peers instead of anxiously preparing what they will say (or end up passing due to insecurity of saying the wrong thing)

• provide ample opportunities for everyone- ELLs and English speakers- to share without language. This could be through art, drawing, gestures, expressions, acting, or silence. 

• encourage ELLs to share in their home languages. If you have the opportunity for translation- digitally or through another participant- use this. If not, let the language speak for itself and listen. This can help everyone appreciate the effort that the ELL is making when they all speak

• Most importantly, budget time appropriately. Giving someone the time they need to understand and express themselves is more important than covering too much in one session.