Classroom Instruction That Works With English Language Learners: Facilitators Guide

What can teachers do to ensure that English language learners (ELLs) understand academic content while developing their English language skills? To answer this question, authors Jane Hill and Cynthia Björk have created this workshop facilitator s guide based on recommendations from the 2006 book Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners. Educators can use the guide to create and conduct two-day workshops for mainstream ELL instructors at all levels. The guide includes in-depth discussions of such vital classroom strategies as homework and practice, summarization and note taking, and use of nonlinguistic representations, among many others. For each strategy, the authors provide a summary of the research, detailed examples of how to modify the strategy for use with ELLs at different levels of language acquisition, and activities and worksheets to help teachers fully understand the reasoning behind the strategy. An accompanying PowerPoint presentation for use in workshops can be accessed online at the McREL Web site and is reprinted in the guide.

Accommodating English language learners is one of the greatest challenges educators face today. Just as different levels of fluency require different approaches, so too do different backgrounds and languages. This practical, research-based guide gives teachers the support they need to help ELLs thrive alongside their English-dominant peers.