ESOL Tools
The use of edtech tools, especially for creative purposes, when combined with culturally responsive pedagogy, can honor the home language and culture of all students while simultaneously growing the English literacy and proficiency of those students.
Why Supporting ELL students is more critical than ever
Over 75% of the nation's classrooms have at least on English learning and the population is expected to grow (Calderon, et al. Breaking Down the Wall). According to the National Education Association, 25% of public school students will be ELLs by 2025. Finding new ways to engage our ELLs is extremely important to consider
Technology is engaging for students and teachers and consensus is growing that technology is an essential tool in schools. For ELLs, technology can be an especially useful tool for assisting in promoting language learning and lowering the stress associated with learning another language in a school environment. If teachers or students want any help accessing our digital tools, please do not hesitate to ask me or set up time for 1:1 work with your students.
Supporting English Learners
Sample Instructional Strategies That Work Well for ELLs
TOP 10 THINGS THE MAINSTREAM TEACHER CAN DO TODAY TO IMPROVE INSTRUCTION FOR ELL STUDENTS
1. Enunciate clearly, but do not raise your voice. Avoid idioms, slang words, and colloquial expressions that ELL students would not understand.
2. Whenever possible, support your words with visuals and gestures. Point directly to objects, dramatize concepts, and display pictures when appropriate. Visuals, gestures, and smiles help ELL students create meaning from a new environment.
3. Write clearly, legibly, and in print — ELL students may have difficulty reading cursive.
4. Develop and maintain regular routines. Use clear and consistent signals for classroom instructions.
5. Repeat information and review frequently. If a student does not understand, a teacher should try rephrasing or paraphrasing in shorter sentences and simpler syntax. Check often for understanding, but do not ask, “Do you understand?” Instead, have students demonstrate their learning in order to show comprehension.
6. Present new information in the context of known information.
7. Announce the lesson’s objectives and activities, and list instructions step-by-step in small “chunks.”
8. Present information using a variety of methods and delivery formats.
9. Provide frequent summations of the salient points of a lesson, and always emphasize key vocabulary words.
10. Recognize student success overtly and frequently. But, also be aware that in some cultures overt, individual praise is considered appropriate and can therefore be embarrassing or confusing to the student.
Source: Derrick-Mescua, M. General Principles for Teaching ELL Students quoted in Supporting ELL/Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students for Academic Achievement by International Center for Leadership in Education, 2011.
Twenty-Five Quick Tips for Classroom Teachers by Judie Haynes (Everything ESL link)
"Do you want to create an effective learning environment for your English language learners? Pick five ideas that you have never tried from the list below and implement them in your content area or mainstream classroom. You will be surprised to see how much the learning of ELLs improves."
Follow these links for a series on Teaching ELLs by Ed Week Teacher Larry Ferlazzo
Supporting ELL's with Technology
Reading and Writing
Google Translate:
Google Translate is a free service that instantly translates words, phrases and web pages between English and 100 other languages. It is available on the web, on iPhone and on Android. With the app, you can now use the Transcribe mode, which will continuously translate speech in near real-time. USe it with text, documents and websites. Using Google Translate Conversation mode on the mobile Google Translate. You can also use the Camera within the Google Translate App to translate text instantly.
See below two demo videos on how easy it is to use:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06olHmcJjS0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro-HfETpzhc
Google Translate App Camera
Use the camera within the Google Translate app to translate instantly.
Translate from English to another language within the Google Translate App
Voice Typing
Voice Typing is just one of the awesome free tools that ELLs and their teachers can use to access both writing and expressions.
Google Docs has Speech to Text: Change the input language so students can use their home language. Combine with Google Translate to allow students to change the word bank into English before turning it in.
Read & Write
Read&Write for Chrome is just one of the great tools that ELL and their teachers can use to access both verbal and written information. Students can have any text from a website read aloud to them or transcribed. Go to Settings/Translation and you can select a language that you'd like to use for translating. For more information on
Students can also record their own reading to practice reading aloud or to share with a teacher.
Insert Learning: This Chrome extensions allows you to insert instructional content to any page. Create your own differentiated assignments that are customized to individual students.
Speaking and Listening
Speaking and listening are often neglected standards in classrooms because they are not tested as often as reading and writing. In fact, some studies have shown that when it comes to academic conversation, EL students spend less than 10 minutes a day doing this, even though they benefit from it. But speaking and listening might be more important when viewed through a language department lens, afterall, we typical listen and speak about things before we read and write about them.
FlipGrid: FlipGrid is a great tool to engage and empower every voice in the classroom by recording and sharing using video and/or audio alone. Use it for students to practice speaking, for fellow students to comment on the videos or audios and more. With this model, ELLS can see and hear models before adding their own response. Applications like FlipGrid enables teachers to facilitate video discussions, empower ELLs to freely share their thoughts and ideas and also practice speaking and listening skills.
Screencastify: Screencastify is a simple Chrome extension that can be used to record video and/or audio. Students can record and send a shareable link of the recording to their teacher or embed the recording with a hyperlink in a Google Doc or slide or site. For students who aren't able to keep up with live instruction, teachers can prerecord their lessons on apps such as Screencastify or WeVideo or even Nearpod.
Mote: Mote is a simple Chrome extension that enables students to practice their language speaking skills, or add a quick audio comment in a Google Doc, Form, Slide or Sheet.
Icons/InfoGraphics
TheNounProject - Searchable icon library
Google AutoDraw - Artificial intelligence recognizes what you are trying to draw and offers icon suggestions
Icon Boards w/ Google Slides - templates you can use now
Working with Images in Docs & Slides - blog post w/ tutorial
Vocabulary Learning
Google Sheets Vocabulary Translation Template: Enter vocabulary words in English and they are automatically translated into other languages using formula
Read&Write: Create a vocabulary list and then translate right within Read&Write.
Flippity - Students can create their own via Google Spreadsheet
