Teaching Chat

Strategies for Working With English-Language Learners

In this free live chat, Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski, co-authors of the recently published The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide, discussed best practices and strategies for working with second-language students and answered your questions on specific issues and challenges in ELL instruction.

Strategies for Working With English-Language Learners

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, 4–5 p.m. ET
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Strategies for Working With English-Language Learners

(10/11/2012)

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9:56

Bryan Toporek:
Good morning, and welcome to today’s chat, “Strategies for Working With English-Language Learners.” I’ve just opened the chat for questions, so please start submitting yours below.

We’ll be back at 4 p.m. ET today with Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski -- we hope to see you then!

Thursday October 11, 2012 9:56 Bryan Toporek

3:48

Bryan Toporek:
Hello again, folks, and welcome to today’s free live chat, “Strategies for Working With English-Language Learners.” We’ll get underway with Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski in just a few minutes.

Until then, feel free to keep submitting your questions below. Thanks!

Thursday October 11, 2012 3:48 Bryan Toporek

4:00

Bryan Toporek:
Alright, folks, we’re ready to get started with today’s free live chat. I’m now handing it off to our moderator for the day, Francesca Duffy.

Take it away, Francesca!

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:00 Bryan Toporek

4:00

Francesca Duffy:
Welcome everyone! We’re here with Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski, co-authors of The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide. We look forward to hearing their advice. Larry and Katie, why don’t you introduce yourselves.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:00 Francesca Duffy

4:00

Larry Ferlazzo:
I’ve been teaching ELL and mainstream students at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento for nine years. Prior to that time, I was a community organizer for nineteen years. I write a fairly popular blog for educators at http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/ and write a teacher advice column for Education Week Teacher.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:00 Larry Ferlazzo

4:00

Larry Ferlazzo:
It’s great to be here!

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:00 Larry Ferlazzo

4:00

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
Hi I’m Katie Hull Sypnieski and I’ve been teaching mainstream English and ELD for the last 16 years in Sacramento, CA.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:00 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:01

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
Happy to be here!

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:01 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:01

Francesca Duffy:
Great, thanks Larry and Katie. Let’s get started with the first question.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:01 Francesca Duffy

4:01

Larry Ferlazzo:
Katie and I are at adjacent computers today, and hope that our antiquated school tech will not break down

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:01 Larry Ferlazzo

4:01

[Comment From Chitra KumariChitra Kumari: ]
I believe that teachers should not attempt to correct phonological and grammatical errors that ESL students make,so as to encourage them in speaking. Do you agree?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:01 Chitra Kumari

4:02

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
Hi Chitra,
Yes we agree that it is not a good idea to “correct” students’ grammar while they are speaking, but rather to model back to them the correct grammatical form. ELLs need to feel comfortable taking risks in order to grow and constant “grammar policing” can discourage this.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:02 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:02

Larry Ferlazzo:
Agreed!

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:02 Larry Ferlazzo

4:02

Francesca Duffy:
How about advice on this one:

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:02 Francesca Duffy

4:02

[Comment From CarolynCarolyn: ]
Can you offer me some specific activities to do in the classroom to help level 1 & 2 students acquire language. It seems that my teachers have them “repeat” things like parrots and I cannot see any “learning”.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:02 Carolyn

4:03

Larry Ferlazzo:
We’re big believers in the power of inductive learning for all students, including ELL’s. The Picture Word Inductive Model is great for Beginners, where students are shown a big image in front of the classroom and, then, during the week, go through a process of identifying words, categorizing them, adding new words into the categories, writing sentences about the picture, categorizing them, then turning them into paragraphs , and a title – in effect, an essay. Search for PWIM on my blog and you’ll find lots of information and examples.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:03 Larry Ferlazzo

4:03

Larry Ferlazzo:
“Back to the screen” is where students pair up and one side watches video and has to tell in English to their partner what they see, switch after a few minutes, and then they need to write in chronological what they saw; Language Experience Approach is where the class does an activity or watches a movie together and then, as a class, write sentences about what they did or saw.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:03 Larry Ferlazzo

4:04

[Comment From Scott NyaryScott Nyary: ]
The great majority of us who work with ELL students in our nation’s schools, like so many of our general education colleagues, see ourselves as strong advocates for our students. Supported by the “Plyler vs. Doe” decision of the U.S. Supreme Court and the FERPA law (in addition to state compulsory school attendance laws), we encourage our ELLs to attend school and defend their right to an education regardless of whatever we may know about their legal status in the U.S. Nevertheless, in the midst of our nation’s polarized politics surrounding immigration, a number of state legislatures and governors are trying to compel ELL families to reveal to schools their legal status within the U.S., information which educators are supposedly forbidden to ask for due to the civil rights protections previously mentioned. As teachers of ELLs, do we comply with our employers (state governments) and request legal status information, potentially violating the civil rights of our students and damaging the rapport we’ve built over the years with our ELL families, or do we continue to defend our students’ civil rights, potentially putting our jobs at risk?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:04 Scott Nyary

4:04

Larry Ferlazzo:
As far as I know, and I may be wrong on this, Alabama is the only state that made it a requirement for schools to identify immigration status. My understanding, and it may also be wrong, is the courts have put that requirement on hold. It’s difficult for me to believe that the courts are going to uphold this requirement.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:04 Larry Ferlazzo

4:05

Larry Ferlazzo:
Ed Week’s blog, Learning The Language, is great for updating on legal issues like these.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:05 Larry Ferlazzo

4:06

Francesca Duffy:
And here is a question from Amy:

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:06 Francesca Duffy

4:06

[Comment From AmyAmy: ]
Given a class of ELLs and native English-speakers, how do you implement ESL strategies without watering down the content?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:06 Amy

4:06

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
Hi Amy,
We face this challenge everyday at our school. We find that it helps all of our students, ELL and English-only students, to teach the academic language necessary to access whatever content is being taught. For example, in my 9th grade English class I have a mix of students and I focus on the reading strategies that help readers access text—questioning, predicting, visualizing, summarizing, etc. I can modify the level of text for various students, but all students can employ these strategies to improve comprehension.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:06 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:07

Larry Ferlazzo:
We believe that good ELL teaching is good teaching for everyone.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:07 Larry Ferlazzo

4:07

Larry Ferlazzo:
The key is scaffolding.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:07 Larry Ferlazzo

4:08

Larry Ferlazzo:
I’d suggest another key is having relationships with students and knowing their goals, hopes and dreams.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:08 Larry Ferlazzo

4:08

Larry Ferlazzo:
By knowing these, we can help them see how our lessons connect to their lives.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:08 Larry Ferlazzo

4:09

Larry Ferlazzo:
And get ideas on future lessons we can do.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:09 Larry Ferlazzo

4:09

Francesca Duffy:
And here is a question from Valerie about her ELL student:

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:09 Francesca Duffy

4:09

[Comment From Valerie PowellValerie Powell: ]
What can I do with a non English speaker that is 14 and never been to school. She’s been in the country for 2 months and doesn’t speak any language we are familiar with - from Guatemala.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:09 Valerie Powell

4:11

Larry Ferlazzo:
I taught a class of pre-literate refugees for two years, and learned a lot about teaching during that time. In fact, I have accumulated specific resources for students facing these challenges at http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/12/06/the-best-online-resources-for-teachers-of-pre-literate-ells/

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:11 Larry Ferlazzo

4:11

Larry Ferlazzo:
Many of the same ELL strategies we have already discussed can be applied.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:11 Larry Ferlazzo

4:12

Larry Ferlazzo:
The PWIM, Language Experience Approach, Back to the Screen. In addition, we’re big believers in having students become better readers by reading high interest texts

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:12 Larry Ferlazzo

4:12

Larry Ferlazzo:
For ELL’s, there are literally thousands of online audio visual texts that provide tons of support that make these accessible to even Beginners.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:12 Larry Ferlazzo

4:13

Larry Ferlazzo:
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2009/01/16/the-best-sites-for-k-12-beginning-english-language-learners/

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:13 Larry Ferlazzo

4:14

Larry Ferlazzo:
Oops, I gave a link to a somewhat outdated list. Here’s the most recent one: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2011/09/19/the-best-beginner-intermediate-advanced-english-language-learner-sites/

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:14 Larry Ferlazzo

4:14

Francesca Duffy:
This actually leads into the next question:

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:14 Francesca Duffy

4:14

[Comment From KathleenKathleen: ]
Many of our ELL’s have electronic translators on which they depend greatly. How long should we allow them to use them. and how can we wean them away from them?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:14 Kathleen

4:16

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
We try to talk with our students about the use of translators and how it will help or hinder their learning. We try not to be restrictive, but we encourage them to think about using the translator as a secondary aid (after they’ve tried to guess a word based on context).

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:16 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:16

Larry Ferlazzo:
The key is to minimize arbitrary rules and restrictions, and maximize trust and helping students see what is in their long-term self interest.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:16 Larry Ferlazzo

4:17

[Comment From GuestGuest: ]
Any suggestions for best practices when teaching ELL students on a SMART Board?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:17 Guest

4:18

Larry Ferlazzo:
My post last week in my Ed Week Teacher advice column was all about Interactive White Boards. We’re not big fans of them, and prefer our own versions of IWB’s -- small hand held whiteboards that all students have along with markers and erasers.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:18 Larry Ferlazzo

4:19

Bryan Toporek:
Here’s a link to that post, for anyone who’s curious: http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2012/10/response_the_best_ways_to_use_interactive_white_boards.html

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:19 Bryan Toporek

4:19

Larry Ferlazzo:
We’re able to use them to assess understanding, to have all students thinking at all times, in games, etc. In addition, students can learn from other students by seeing what they have written on their boards. Two excerpts from our book were recently published by Ed Week Teacher on how we use these IWB’s in games for ELL’s.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:19 Larry Ferlazzo

4:20

Larry Ferlazzo:
However, of course, many teachers already have high tech IWB’s. That link shared by Bryan offers practical ideas for them.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:20 Larry Ferlazzo

4:21

Francesca Duffy:
Here’s a question about engaging young ELLs

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:21 Francesca Duffy

4:21

[Comment From CPengCPeng: ]
Are there specific strategies/classroom practices that help engage young (pre-K-2) ELLs in classroom discussion/small group discussion?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:21 CPeng

4:23

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
Neither of us have experience directly with this age group, but the best way for people to learn is by connecting old knowledge to new knowledge.
It is important for students of any age to share their stories and then for teachers to help connect new knowledge to these experiences.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:23 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:24

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
They can share their stories by drawing or acting them out.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:24 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:24

Larry Ferlazzo:
Sentence starters are also a good way to encourage participation.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:24 Larry Ferlazzo

4:25

[Comment From T.T.: ]
As a teacher what do you do to teach a non-English speaker when I have a class that is predominently native english speakers. Where do I start?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:25 T.

4:27

Larry Ferlazzo:
It certainly depends on the English level of the non-English speaker. If he/she is an Intermediate level, then a carefully scaffolded lesson plan should work. If the student is a Beginner, then it’s a whole different story. In that situation, an aide or a computer can be a huge asset

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:27 Larry Ferlazzo

4:27

[Comment From Ernest ZamoraErnest Zamora: ]
May I ask about how you address the needs of recent immigrants (ELLers), some with prior learning experiences as opposed to ELL students who were born in the U.S.?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:27 Ernest Zamora

4:31

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
We suspect you mean little prior school experience? If that is the case, we don’t necessarily change our teaching strategies--these students have different stories and so we must connect the content to their experiences.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:31 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:32

[Comment From L. GonzalezL. Gonzalez: ]
Supporting students home language is crucial to their English development. What are some specific recommendations for doing so in English-only instruction environments?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:32 L. Gonzalez

4:33

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
Hi L. Gonzalez,
We encourage our students to continue learning in their home language by reading books in their L1 at home. There are also countless multilingual online sites available for students to continue to develop literacy skills in their L1.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:33 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:34

Larry Ferlazzo:
In addition, these multilingual sites are great for entire families to be able to get a sense of what is being taught in the classroom. Here are a couple of links to multilingual resources for content areas, for example:

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/10/03/the-best-multilingual-bilingual-sites-for-math-social-studies-science/

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:34 Larry Ferlazzo

4:35

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
If students share a home language we encourage them to use it primarily to learn English

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:35 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:36

Larry Ferlazzo:
Once again, it’s emphasizing student self interest, not teacher enforced restrictions

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:36 Larry Ferlazzo

4:36

Francesca Duffy:
Here’s our next question from Renni:

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:36 Francesca Duffy

4:36

[Comment From RenniRenni: ]
Regarding children who are demonstrating difficulties learning to read in English - any indications regarding how to differentiate between ESL related issues and LD issues?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:36 Renni

4:37

Larry Ferlazzo:
That’s such a tricky issue, especially since for so long and for so many students, they have been designated learning disabled when in fact it was just a language issue.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:37 Larry Ferlazzo

4:38

Larry Ferlazzo:
In our situation, thankfully, our district finally has multilingual psychologists who can participate in student assessment

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:38 Larry Ferlazzo

4:39

Larry Ferlazzo:
We have generally found that students who are not making English progress comparable to their peers over a period of time indicate that a student study assessment is warranted.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:39 Larry Ferlazzo

4:40

[Comment From GuestGuest: ]
I’ve been an ESL teacher for 30 years. I love to teach grammar. I try to teach it in the context of reading. Even so, many students do not “get it.” What is your recommendation on the teaching of grammar?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:40 Guest

4:41

Larry Ferlazzo:
We are very clear in believing that concept attainment is the most effective and engaging process to help any student develop grammar skills. We write about it in our book but, simply, it’s a matter of taking examples from student writing and dividing it into “Yes’ and “No” columns and having students figure out why they are in each column.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:41 Larry Ferlazzo

4:42

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
I also think it is hard for us to see students “get it” in the short time we have them in our classroom because it takes years to acquire the grammatical forms in a second language.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:42 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:42

Larry Ferlazzo:
It turns learning grammar into a puzzle instead of a chore.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:42 Larry Ferlazzo

4:42

Larry Ferlazzo:
Which is what inductive learning generally does.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:42 Larry Ferlazzo

4:44

Francesca Duffy:
Here is a question on teaching math and science to ELLs:

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:44 Francesca Duffy

4:44

[Comment From BriannaBrianna: ]
When doing inductive math and science hands on activities with ELLs, I struggle to support them in using language to name/describe a science/math concept (for example a positive correlation between 2 variables- not naming it a correlation, but simply constructing a sentence that communicates the relationship they’ve discovered) without actually giving them the words. What do you suggest to scaffold this work?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:44 Brianna

4:46

Larry Ferlazzo:
Sometimes we’d just give them the words in English and have them translate it. We often pre-teach vocabulary and have students also create a visual representing the concept. We’re all for inductive learning, but were not dogmatic about it. We live in the world as it is, not as we’d like it to be :)

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:46 Larry Ferlazzo

4:47

Francesca Duffy:
Here is another math related question:

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:47 Francesca Duffy

4:47

[Comment From JimJim: ]
Do you know of any high school level math programs designed for ELL students?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:47 Jim

4:48

Larry Ferlazzo:
We’re not familiar with any specific math programs, though we have math and science chapters in our book that were written by one of the best, if not the best, person experienced in teaching math and science to ELL’s.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:48 Larry Ferlazzo

4:49

Larry Ferlazzo:
We’re also big believers in using science as a language acquisition tool. Experiments are engaging, fun, and promote higher order thinking.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:49 Larry Ferlazzo

4:50

[Comment From RicardoRicardo: ]
Given the time constraints teacher face, how do you incorporate ESL-language geared strategies to the teaching of content?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:50 Ricardo

4:52

Larry Ferlazzo:
I teach all kinds of Social Studies classes to ELL’s and have found that using the strategies of inductive learning -- for example, through the use of “data sets” (short excerpts from various texts that students have to categorize and add to) very helpful for both ELL’s and non-Ell’s

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:52 Larry Ferlazzo

4:52

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
It’s also important to keep in mind the basics-- modeling, checking for understanding, using visuals, written and verbal instructions, etc.

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:52 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:54

Larry Ferlazzo:
The bell has rung and I have to go teach a class now. However, Katie will remain, and, as I always tell people, she’s really the better teacher. People can easily contact me on Twitter at @larryferlazzo or at my blog contact form if you have further questions. Thanks! http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/contact-me/

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:54 Larry Ferlazzo

4:54

Francesca Duffy:
Thanks Larry! Katie, can you address this question:

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:54 Francesca Duffy

4:54

[Comment From DebbieDebbie: ]
What interventions have proven to be the most effective when working with English-Language Learners?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:54 Debbie

4:57

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
Language Experience Approach, inductive learning, word charts, academic language practice, modeling, using nonlinguistic cues, and of course building relationships with students and their families!

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:57 Katie Hull Sypnieski

4:58

Francesca Duffy:
I think we have time for one more question. Here’s one from Lisa:

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:58 Francesca Duffy

4:58

[Comment From LisaLisa: ]
Mono-lingual teachers often struggle to develop meaningful relationships with children who speak a language the teacher is not familiar with at the beginning of the year. This process takes time and patience. What are some tips to make those important connections?

Thursday October 11, 2012 4:58 Lisa

5:01

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
At the beginning of the year, we find that doing simple things like checking in with a student and asking how they are doing can go a long way in building a relationship of trust.

Thursday October 11, 2012 5:01 Katie Hull Sypnieski

5:01

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
We also have our students write weekly in reflective journals . . .

Thursday October 11, 2012 5:01 Katie Hull Sypnieski

5:03

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
This allows us to learn about our students’ feelings, goals, problems, successes and we can address these ideas by writing a quick note back or by talking to the student.

Thursday October 11, 2012 5:03 Katie Hull Sypnieski

5:03

Francesca Duffy:
Thank you for all of your advice, Katie! And thanks to all of you who submitted questions and participated in this chat.

Thursday October 11, 2012 5:03 Francesca Duffy

5:04

Katie Hull Sypnieski:
Thanks so much for the opportunity!

Thursday October 11, 2012 5:04 Katie Hull Sypnieski

5:04

Bryan Toporek:
Thanks, Francesca! That’s all the time we have today.

Thursday October 11, 2012 5:04 Bryan Toporek

5:04

Bryan Toporek:
Thanks to all of you who joined us today and submitted questions, and a special thanks to our moderator Francesca and our two great guests, Katie and Larry.

Thursday October 11, 2012 5:04 Bryan Toporek

5:05

Bryan Toporek:
We’ll have a transcript of today’s chat posted on this same page in about 30 minutes. You’ll also be able to find the transcript via this link: http://bit.ly/ELLStrategy

Thursday October 11, 2012 5:05 Bryan Toporek

5:05

Bryan Toporek:
Thanks again, folks, and have a great rest of the day!

Thursday October 11, 2012 5:05 Bryan Toporek

5:05

Strategies for Working With English-Language Learners

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, 4–5 p.m. ET
Sign up here to receive an email reminder for this chat.

The number of English-language learners in U.S. schools continues to grow rapidly, posing pedagogical, linguistic, and logistical challenges for teachers. In this free live chat, Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski, co-authors of the recently published The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide: Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools, and Activities for Teaching English Language Learners of All Levels, discussed best practices and strategies for working with second-language students and answered your questions on specific issues and challenges in ELL instruction. They also talked about ways to improve your practice and create greater learning opportunities for all your students.

Guests:
Larry Ferlazzo is an award-winning English and social studies teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, Calif., and the author of several books on teaching. He writes Education Week Teacher‘s Classroom Q&A blog, as well as the popular Websites of the Day blog on his own site.

Katie Hull Sypnieski is an English and English-language development teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, Calif. In her 15 years as an educator, she has taught English-language learning at all grade levels. She has also served as a teaching consultant in writing for the University of California-Davis School of Education and as a district lead trainer for the WRITE Institute.

Francesca Duffy, Education Week Teacher, moderated this chat.

Related Stories:

• Using Games in the ELL Classroom, Part II (September 25, 2012)
• Using Games in the ELL Classroom, Part I (September 19, 2012)