Teachers

Nothing robs students of their enthusiasm for school more than the inability to understand instructions. Schools become isolating and disempowering places when students are unable to participate in activities with their peers. No student should be stranded on an island of isolation surrounded by a sea of unfamiliar words.

As teachers, we can send life rafts their way. These life rafts are the strategies that make instructions understandable and content accessible. Every time we teach these strategies, ELs are less adrift in a sea of confusion. No matter how far an EL might seem from fully understanding English, we can light their way by making instruction comprehensible. (from www.empoweringells.com)