How to teach vocabulary to ELLs can be one of the biggest concerns for teachers that are new to working with English Language Learners. How do you teach a lesson when some of your students are unfamiliar with the words that you are using? Which words are the most important ones in a story? Which words are worth the time it will take to find visuals or preteach them? Here are some strategies to help you support your ELL’s vocabulary…
How to Prepare ELLs for Language Testing Each year ELLs take an annual language assessment. In many states, this is WIDA ACCESS. I am not an advocate of extensive test preparation, but I think that students should be exposed to the language of a test beforehand to be better prepared. WIDA has some tips on how to prepare for the ACCESS assessment. Here are some additional ways to help students become familiar with the language and formatting of language testing…
Academic language is the language of school. Tier 2 vocabulary words that are found across different subject areas are components of academic language. For English language Learners, it is particularly important to develop their academic language. For English Language Learners that are new to the country, it can take from seven to ten years for them to learn academic language. Johnson (2012) stats that “for ELL’s Academic language is a third language that they must learn.” For a student learning…