ELL Teacher Pros March 2016 Newsletter
With the start of March, students start the countdown to June:). All too
often, they need a gentle reminder that school continues for 3 more
months. At this point, ELLs need to be made aware of how much progress
they have made in acquiring English skills. How can this be done with
meaning? How can this be done in a personal way that sees the whole
student and not just the grade received?
20 Tips on Delivering Positive Feedback
includes many of the approaches I have used over the years. Though all
of these approaches are quality ones, I have my favorites (as any
educator would):
- Feedback
must be delivered in a timely manner.The longer it is delayed, the less
effective it will be in addressing the problem.This type of feedback
should be personal in nature keeping in mind that ELLs are trying to
demonstrate their understanding of the assignment in a language that is
new.The sooner the teacher and ELL have this conversation, the better.
(#2 and #3 in article)
- Focusing
on key questions (#4) is also a must.What can the ELL do, what can’t
s/he do, how does her/his work compare to the class overall, and how can
s/he do better?These are questions all teachers grapple with daily.For
ELLs to do well, all content teachers must tie those questions to all
assignments if ELLs are to successfully pass the class and be fully
prepared to move to more challenging work in the next school year.
- One-on-one
conferences (# 7) is a favorite of mine.ALL students love that time
with the teacher in this setting.I always tell mine though that they
must have a solid question to ask me on the work they produced (of
course, as a class, we practice what is a quality question and what
isn’t).Here, the risk of embarrassment is a non-issue
- Number
15 is an excellent one.Return tests and assignments at the beginning of
a class.This gives students time to ask questions.Assignments given out
at the end of class are generally crammed into backpacks.
Another great source on this same topic is found in Edutopia’s article entitled 5 Research-Based Tips for Providing Students with Meaningful Feedback.
- “Be
as specific as possible” (# 1).ELLs especially need to know what they
must correct and how.In delivering this information, teachers need also
to let ELLs know if the quality of their work is improving and
specifically how.This type of encouraging feedback boosts their
self-confidence.
- “Present
feedback carefully” (# 4).When corrections are offered, they must be
for every single issue.Over-correction leads to ELLs giving up.The “red
massacre” should never be used for any student since it kills any desire
to improve.
One last excellent source for supporting ELLs is found in TESOL’s Motivating Language Learners to Succeed. Several suggestions are very successful techniques in any classroom, but especially beneficial for ELLs.
- Teachers
should build pair and small group activities into classroom lessons on a
regular basis.Such learning environments build the ELLs confidence in
learning the content while building English skills (listening, speaking,
reading, and writing) in a low anxiety environment.
- Create
a friendly classroom environment.Basically, set up a classroom where
students help each other. Competition should take a back seat to
assisting fellow classmates in learning the content.Small group
activities are perfect tools for doing this.ELLs feel safer sharing
their insight in small settings than in front of the entire class.
Again, many of these tips probably cover approaches that are probably
already being used in most classrooms, but a refresher is good as the
school year is quickly coming to a close.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Denise, Marnie, and Cheryl
ELL TEACHER PROS
Visit our blog at TEACHING SUCCESSES WITH ELLS
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P.S. We will be presenting at CABE in San Francisco in March 24th. Come by and say hi:)
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