What Kind of ELL Teacher Are You?
Check off each of the items you are doing in your classroom:
_____ Scaffold with native language.
_____ Make an effort to learn about ELL students’ cultures
_____ Incorporate student cultures into the class
_____ Understand that ELL students contribute their own knowledge and experiences to the classroom
_____ Respect ELL students’ silent period.
_____ Use pre-teaching techniques
_____ Add visual elements to the lesson
_____ Integrate group assignments into classwork
_____ Show your students that they should take themselves less seriously,
_____ But always take your students seriously
_____ Understand that parent support is not always immediately apparent. (More information on this in
Chapter 1 of Academic Success for English Language Learners by Patricia A. Richard-Amato and
Marguerite Ann Snow)
_____ Incorporate local culture that all students will understand
_____ Don’t focus on the students’ mastery of grammar
_____ Help students understand that they don’t need to give up their old culture to mesh with the new
environment they are entering (Chapter 7 from Academic Success for English Language Learners is
a good resource)
_____ Encourage ELL students to speak native language at home
_____ Use topics that students find interesting
_____ Show patience if students do not show appropriate classroom behavior as they might come from a
culture that has different norms (Chapter 7 of Academic Success for English Language Learners has more on this)
_____ When teaching writing, just let students begin writing even if they do not have extensive
knowledge on writing.
_____ Speak slowly and clearly when communicating with your students
_____ Students have time to practice all modalities of language
0-5 Bad
You really are not helping your ELL students effectively, but do not panic. Being bad at something is the first step to being sort of good at something. If you have the motivation, you will be better.
6-10 Getting somewhere
You do some stuff to help your ELL students, but you need to be doing more. Incorporate some of the above tips and you will be a much better teacher.
11-15 Good
You are doing a good job. Keep doing what your doing, but you can still improve on some things. Always look to improve your teaching style to help not only ELL students but also all your students.
15-20
You are doing an amazing job. Your students are benefiting immensely from the tactics that you are using. Keep up the good work. The work you are putting in will help all of your students.