Do you have students who are English Language Learners (ELLs) in your special education class? Working with these students can be a challenge. But, with some easy-to-implement strategies, you can support your ELLs and help them make academic gains!
Use Visuals
All students benefit from multiple means of representation! Pairing visuals with your verbal or written instruction helps ELLs to engage with the information being presented. I love using the Boardmaker Vocabulary units with my students. The picture support helps students understand the meaning of the words they are learning. I add a translation of the word to each card so that I can tell students the word in both English and their home language. (In my case, the majority of my ELLs speak Brazilian Portuguese.)
Utilizing visual schedules is beneficial for all special education students, but especially for those who are ELLs! ELLs who are receiving English as a Second Language (ESL) services are in and out of the classroom all day long. For that reason, portable visual schedules are super helpful! They let students know what they are doing and where they are going throughout the school day. Plus, as students become familiar with the visual symbols they will begin to associate them with English words!
Collaborate with ESL Teachers
In addition to core academic classes, English Language Learners are entitled to receive supplemental English as a Second Language services. It is important for the special education teacher to collaborate with the ESL teacher in order to ensure success for the ELL student! You are the expert on your student and their needs. Share any important information about student behaviors, accommodations, modifications, and goals with the ESL teacher. Likewise, the ESL teacher can offer you strategies, and can inform you on what things to reinforce in your classroom.
Communicate with Parents
Parents of ELLs should receive all school communications in their home language. Luckily, there are many tools that make that easy to accomplish! I send home Daily Home Communication Logs for my students each day. Because they are editable, I have copies in Portuguese ready to go for my English Language Learners.
ClassDojo is a great tool for parent communication! It is useful for ALL parents, but especially for parents of ELLs! ClassDojo allows translations back-and-forth between parents and teachers, and there are over 30 languages to choose from. Because it is app-based, it is quick and easy to communicate with parents who may be reluctant to reach out.
Every year, I send Back to School Forms home to all parents. These forms are a great way for parents to share info about their child with you! I always make sure to send home a translated version to parents of ELLs so I can learn more about all of my students!
Celebrate Diversity!
One of the coolest parts about teaching English Language Learners is the opportunity to learn more about other cultures! I like to incorporate aspects of students’ cultures into different lessons. For example, if my question of the day is “What type of bread do you like?” I include Brazilian bread, pao de queijo.
If possible, allow all of your students and their families to share aspects of their culture with the class. This will help everyone understand more about each other! These types of activities help to create your classroom a more welcoming, inclusive space.
Do you have experience working with ELLs in the self contained classroom? Share your ideas for supporting these students!
Check out these Spanish SSE Resources:
