Share the "Craziness" of the English Language With ELLs Through 4 Fun Videos

How often do students complain about the difficulties in trying to learn English?  Teachers try to be sympathetic, but there is no easy way to mastering the tongue.  Some of the "pain" can be dealt with by humor such as "i before e except after c" cartoon below:)

Other issues need repeated reinforcement such as "there, they're, their."  Of course, teachers post wall charts and posters throughout the room, but still, it takes time for students to fully internalize the many oddities of English.

Well, from time to time, teachers do find ways to ease the frustration.  One approach is through  videos on some of the fun facts about English.  In these clips from T.E.D-ED, teachers will be able to share fun facts such as why DOUBT has a B.  This can lead to bringing in backgrounds on other English words with bizarre spellings (ex. knight--silent K, G, and H).  Such information most students are intrigued by.  Examples such as these are proof positive that English is living language.  In fact, when time allows, teachers can explain that the English language has over 650,000 words in it due to the tendency of English speakers to take vocabulary directly from other languages (solo, rendez-vous, laissez faire, Arabic numerals, etc.). 

English spelling will also be addressed.  Here the structure of words are explored along with their history.  How did English become the language it is today?  Clip 3 addresses that.  And last, the question of who invented writing.

I hope your students enjoy the content.  I know I did:)

Denise
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Adjust English Language Instructional Activities With Ease Here

This site is one that has it all: grammar, word forms, reading comprehension, writing, editing/proofreading, spelling, and much more. ELLs need support in all areas here, but instructional delivery must be differentiated since most ELLs are at many different levels of English language proficiency in their classes. Adjusting assignments to meet every student's personal need can sometimes appear to be overwhelming; however, thanks to ENGLISH FOR EVERYONE, this need not be the case.

Here teachers will find a wide selection of English materials covering grades 1-12. Within many of those categories, activities are divided into beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. Such a breakdown benefits ELLs because assignments can be tailored to their specific language needs at any given time. If the assignment is too easy at the beginning level, the teacher can bump him/her up to the next level and vice versa. This site also offers practice in skills that most students are tested on annually in state academic performance assessments. The more practice the ELL especially receives here, the higher his/her self-confidence will be in taking the test! By the way, answer keys are provided with each assignment so no need to worry about creating them:)

The site is free (as is everything else I have in the blog) so add it to your instructional toolkit!

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS

PS The blog has been nominated for MOST FASCINATING BLOG OF 2012. If you like what I do here, please vote for me by clicking on VOTE FOR ME badge. Thanks!

English Spelling Drives Many of Us CRAZY!!!!

This Youtube video is a delightful look at some of the idiosyncrasies of English:) The video has a 102 year-old gentleman (Ed Rondthaler) showing only a few of them. Sit back and ponder the "joy" of English spelling:)

CRAZY ENGLISH

See if you can bring this in to your classes as a fun activity. I picture weaving into an editing session on their essays. It is at this point that kids whine about how difficult English spelling is. To be honest, even adult English speakers (here even teachers) grapple with it regularly.

Sit back and laugh along with Ed:)

Denise

ELL TEACHER PROS