SPEAK, LEARN, SUCCEED: ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING TOOLKIT
English Learning Made Easy
Educator Resources
Here, you'll find a variety of tools, strategies, and support designed to help you create an inclusive, engaging, and effective learning environment for ELs.
Whether you're looking for classroom tips, assessment resources, or ways to better connect with families, we've got you covered.
Dive in and explore resources tailored to empower both you and your students on their language learning journey!
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
- Benjamin Franklin
Instructional Strategies
Focused on building strong partnerships with families of ELLs, this article offers practical tips for engaging parents in the educational process. It discusses the value of two-way communication and culturally responsive approaches to involving families in their children's learning.
The article aligns with the TESOL 2d standard by fostering collaboration between educators and families.
This article provides strategies for establishing strong relationships with ELL families. It emphasizes the importance of trust, ongoing communication, and involving families in school activities.
By adhering to TESOL 2d, this resource helps educators create meaningful partnerships with families, which supports ELLs’ overall academic and social success.
The article highlights the benefits of collaborative learning for ELLs, focusing on peer interaction to improve language skills. It discusses strategies like pair work and small group activities, which foster a sense of community and provide opportunities for meaningful language practice.
This aligns with TESOL Standard 5b, which emphasizes the importance of involving families and communities in the education of ELLs and Standard 2c which includes strategies that encourage educators to integrate students' cultural backgrounds into collaborative activities, creating an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued and respected.
This article emphasizes the importance of leveraging ELLs existing knowledge to improve their comprehension and engagement. Strategies like using culturally relevant materials, activating background knowledge before introducing new topics, and connecting lessons to students’ personal experiences are key methods for building bridges between what students already know and new content.
This supports TESOL Standard 2c by promoting culturally responsive instruction and Standard 3a through strategic learning scaffolding to enhance language acquisition.
This article discusses how text reconstruction exercises help MLs develop critical reading and writing skills. This method encourages collaborative learning, allows for deeper understanding of sentence structure, and helps learners with various proficiency levels engage with the content.
This aligns with Standard 3e, fostering interactive communication and cooperative learning, and Standard 2d, which promotes instructional practices that target students’ diverse language proficiency levels.
This resource offers a wide range of techniques that educators can use to create meaningful, engaging classroom discussions and promote critical thinking, collaboration, and active participation among students. By providing multiple methods for structuring discussions, this resource helps teachers tailor discussions to meet diverse learning needs and create an inclusive environment. This is beneficial for English Language Learners (ELLs) as it encourages participation and allows for scaffolding through peer interactions and teacher support.
By adhering to TESOL 2018 Standards 2c and 2d, the strategies promote culturally responsive teaching and the integration of language development in content instruction. Furthermore, the emphasis on collaborative learning aligns with Standards 3e and 5b, supporting effective classroom management and fostering a supportive learning environment where all students can thrive. Overall, the list serves as a practical guide for educators seeking to enhance their instructional practices and create an inclusive classroom atmosphere.
This resource focuses on best practices for assessing ELLs, highlighting the need for formative assessments that inform instruction. It explains how to use assessments to guide instruction and monitor ELL progress in language acquisition and content understanding.
The article supports TESOL 3e by emphasizing the creation of learning environments that are responsive to assessment data.
“Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.”
- Aristotle
This article provides strategies for establishing strong relationships with ELL families. It emphasizes the importance of trust, ongoing communication, and involving families in school activities.
By adhering to TESOL 2d, this resource helps educators create meaningful partnerships with families, which supports ELLs’ overall academic and social success.
This article provides strategies for establishing strong relationships with ELL families. It emphasizes the importance of trust, ongoing communication, and involving families in school activities.
By adhering to TESOL 2d, this resource helps educators create meaningful partnerships with families, which supports ELLs’ overall academic and social success.
Standards and Frameworks
The Missouri English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards provide a framework for educators to support English Language Learners (ELLs) in developing essential language skills necessary for academic success, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. These standards emphasize the integration of language and content learning, enabling teachers to create targeted instructional strategies that meet the diverse needs of ELLs and encourage culturally relevant materials. By aligning classroom practices with the ELP Standards, educators can foster a collaborative and inclusive learning environment, ensuring that ELLs thrive both academically and socially.
The standards also support TESOL Standards 2c, 2d, 3a, 3e, and 5b by encouraging culturally responsive practices, family engagement, differentiated instruction, high-quality learning environments, and collaborative opportunities in the classroom.
This resource highlights the essential changes in educational practices brought about by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and their implications for English Language Learners (ELLs). The article equips educators with the tools to effectively support ELLs in meeting academic challenges while also fostering their language development. It emphasizes the need for educators to adopt strategies that support ELLs in navigating the increased complexity of texts and the higher expectations for reading and writing skills. By providing specific recommendations for implementing these shifts, such as fostering collaborative learning environments and integrating culturally relevant content, the article serves as a valuable resource for teachers seeking to enhance their instructional approaches for ELLs.
This aligns with TESOL Standards 2c and 2d, which focus on culturally responsive teaching and family engagement, as well as standards 3a and 3e, which promote differentiated instruction and supportive learning environments.
This article provides educators with strategies for interpreting and utilizing ACCESS for ELLs assessment scores to inform instructional practices for English Language Learners. It emphasizes the importance of understanding individual student performance data to set appropriate learning goals and tailor instruction to meet specific language development needs.
By aligning with TESOL Standard 3a, which focuses on the use of assessment data to inform instructional practices, and Standard 3e, which emphasizes the need for continuous monitoring of student progress. Educators can implement these strategies in the classroom by regularly reviewing ACCESS scores, adjusting lesson plans based on students' proficiency levels, and fostering an environment that promotes continuous language growth.
The ELD Standards Framework outlines important components for supporting multilingual learners by setting high expectations and ensuring equitable opportunities in education. It emphasizes the importance of integrating language development into content instruction and promotes the implementation of culturally responsive practices. Educators can apply this framework in their classrooms by incorporating culturally relevant materials, differentiating instruction based on student needs, and engaging families in the learning process to create a supportive and inclusive educational environment for all students.
This framework emphasizes culturally responsive teaching practices, which align with TESOL Standard 2c, as it advocates for the recognition of students' diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds in instructional planning. By promoting equity, this framework also aligns with Standard 2d, focusing on family engagement and collaboration with communities. Standard 5b is also represented, addressing the need for creating supportive and inclusive learning environments.
“The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without a teacher.”
- Elbert Hubbard
Advocacy and Support
This resource highlights the role of educators in promoting policies that support the educational needs of English Language Learners and links of supporting rationale and research. The article emphasizes the importance of advocacy at multiple levels—local, state, and federal—to create equitable educational environments that facilitate language acquisition and academic success for ELLs.
This aligns with TESOL 2018 Standard 5b, which encourages educators to advocate for the needs of ELLs by influencing policy and decision-making processes. Educators can utilize the strategies outlined in this article by actively engaging in advocacy efforts (locally and statewide), participate n discussions regarding policy changes, and collaborating with colleagues to promote ELL-friendly practices within their schools. Teachers can incorporate advocacy training into their professional development, empowering them to become informed advocates for ELLs and to effectively communicate the importance of supportive policies to stakeholders. By aligning their classroom practices with advocacy initiatives, educators can create a more inclusive environment that supports the diverse needs of English Language Learners.
PowerMyLearning's Framework for Teachers focuses on enhancing student learning through personalized, culturally responsive, and collaborative practices. For teachers, it provides strategies to differentiate instruction and foster student agency, while administrators can utilize it to guide professional development and evaluate instructional practices. Additionally, the framework empowers parents/guardians by encouraging their active participation in the learning process, ultimately supporting student achievement through open communication and collaboration between home and school. Overall, it serves as a valuable resource for promoting an inclusive educational environment.
It aligns with TESOL 2018 Standards such as 2d (Engagement of Families), emphasizing the importance of collaboration between educators and families to support student success. The framework also supports 3a (Planning for Instruction) and 3e (Culturally Responsive Instruction) by encouraging teachers to create lesson plans that reflect students' diverse backgrounds and experiences.
The Culturally Responsive Curriculum Scorecards were developed collaboratively by NYC parents, students, educators, and researchers to assess the extent to which English Language Arts and STEAM curricula are culturally responsive. Spearheaded by Black and Latinx parents in the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice, the Scorecard helps identify biases or perpetuation of racism in curricula, providing a tool for schools to customize and evaluate their materials for cultural relevance.
Students, parents/guardians, and educators can use this tool to work together in creating more inclusive, supportive learning environments by assessing curriculum diversity and making informed improvements to benefit all learners.
It aligns with TESOL 2018 Standard 2d by promoting family engagement and collaborative decision-making in education, ensuring that the curriculum reflects diverse perspectives and fosters inclusivity.
“The teacher’s primary responsibility is response-ability.”
- Peter Wilberg
Assessment Tools and Modifications
Helpful PDFs
The Accommodations and Modifications Checklist for ESL Students is a practical tool for teachers to ensure that ELLs receive the necessary supports to succeed in the classroom. It promotes a more inclusive learning environment by addressing the unique linguistic needs of ELLs, allowing them to engage with content while continuing their language development.
The Selecting Accommodations for English Learners Toolkit provides educators with comprehensive guidance on selecting appropriate accommodations for ELLs during assessments and classroom activities. The toolkit helps create a more inclusive environment that promotes academic success for ELLs.