English Language Learners (ELL)

1. The Role of the Teacher

1.1. •  Build a strong relationship with students and families. It is essential to continue learning from and with them. •  Be culturally responsive by building on the students' prior knowledge, creating a safe classroom environment, and "facilitate respect and empathy among students as members of a diverse society.” (Glaze, Mattingley & Levin, 2012). •  Understand the student's home-life by understanding their experiences and preferences. •  Co-create learning goals and success criteria with the students. •  Creating a safe and welcoming classroom so that ELL students share their experiences, understandings, and knowledge. •  Supporting ALL of the students' identities so that a vision can be created and ELL learners can begin developing how they can become citizens within the global economy (Ministry of Education, p. 7).

2. The Classroom Environment

2.1. •  Creating and posting alphabet lists •  Brainstorm a list of words together and go through what they mean. •  Encourage the students to brainstorm questions. •  Have the students interview each other, which can allow students to practice their oral communication skills. •  Have students record their partners' answers in a chart.

2.2. A Classroom Environment that Promotes Practicing the English Language • Bring the outside world into the classroom, to allow for text-to-world connections to take place. • Use dialogue (i.e., think, pair, shares, jigsaws).

3. ESL Qualifications and Professional Development

3.1. •  Supporting ALL academic success for ALL students. •  School boards offer PD sessions for English Language Learners. •  ELL have become more present in the classroom. •  Important for educators to understand the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the students. •  Adapting to programming (i.e., accommodations to the teaching and assessment strategies). •  Modify learning expectations. •  Working alongside parents and school communities (colleagues).

4. ESL Programs

4.1. •  These programs are offered to students whose first language is not English and offered to students K-12. •  "Students in these programs have had educational opportunities to develop age-appropriate first-language literacy skills" (Ministry of Education, p.22, 2007).

5. ELD Programs

5.1. •  These programs are offered to students whose first language is not English and begins in grade three. •  These students are from other countries, and it has been harder to have access to education and harder to develop language and literacy skills. •  Individual assistance (tutorial basis) •  Core programs (English, social studies, history, geography, science and math). •  Integration into the mainstream classrooms.

6. What is ELL?

6.1. Canadian-born ELLs may be...

6.1.1. •  "First Nations, Métis and Inuit students whose first language is other than English. •  Children born in Canadian communities where a distinct cultural and linguistic tradition has been maintained. •  Children born in immigrant communities where languages other than English are primarily spoken at home" (Ontario Ministry of Education, p. 2, 2013).

6.2. Benefit for promoting the use an development of ELLs' first languages...

6.2.1. •  Helps build a confident learner. •  They can then be more efficient when learning other languages. •  They can also develop problem-solving skills, mental flexibility, career opportunities, and awareness for global issues. •  Communicate with others (i.e., educators, classmates, and families) •  Experience a sense of cultural continuity (Ministry of Education, p. 8).