"Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day…" - 5 new articles

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Readers may or may not know that I post two-or-three times a month at another blog called Engaging Parents In Schools.

They are mainly resources, and I also have a collection of related parent engagement “Best” lists (some which I need to update).

I started the blog years ago to support my first book, Building Parent Engagement In Schools.

     

We’ve submitted the manuscript for the third edition of The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide!

Look for it early next year.

The first two editions have sold over 50,000 copies, which seems pretty wild to me (The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox has sold over 70,000 copies, which is even wilder).

The second edition was about forty percent different from the first one, and this third edition will be about thirty percent different from the second one.

I think teachers will find it very helpful!

You can access tons of free resources from the previous editions, including hundreds of student hand-outs, here.

     

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There’s often discussion about if English Language Learners are best served through being taught in separate classes or being integrated into predominantly English-proficient classes.

Like many questions in education, there isn’t really one correct answer.

Much of the research suggests that elementary age ELLs should be integrated into English-proficient classes and provided extra support, and that older Newcomers and Intermediates should be supported in separate classes for a year or two, and then transitioned into English-proficient classes.

I can’t speak much to what’s happening in the elementary grades, other than a fair number of teachers tell me their schools don’t provide much extra support.

In my high school experience, since so many of our students had interrupted schooling, staying in ELL classes for two, three, and, sometimes, four years worked best for them (especially since high schools have a legal obligation to provide them with a path to graduation), though they always also had at least some integrated classes (PE, Spanish, Art, Theater).

Of course, with the Trump administration immigration policies, fewer schools are likely to have the critical mass necessary to have separate classes.  So I suspect more and more newcomers will be parachuted into English-proficient ones without much support.

Here are some resources sharing what research suggests:

Is Grouping English Learners the Right Approach? What New Research Says is from Ed Week.

How should ELLs be grouped for instruction? is from Colorin Colorado.

No Benefit to Segregating English Learners is from Language Magazine.

Do separate language classes help refugee children succeed in school? is from From Experience To Meaning.

Effects of Heterogeneous Versus Homogeneous Grouping on English Learners’ Language and Literacy Development: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

What the Research Says About Effective Strategies for ELL Students is from Colorin Colorado.

Secondary Newcomer Programs: Helping Recent Immigrants Prepare for School Success is from CAL.

     

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There has been, and I’m sure there will continue to be, discussions about the most appropriate term to use when describing English Language Learners.

I continue to use ELLs because it is still the most widely used and recognized term, and I don’t necessarily see the word “learners” through a deficit lens.

But I might very well change my mind in the future.

Here are thoughtful commentaries on the topic:

ELL? EL? EB? MLL? CLD? How Labels Help — and Hurt — Students is from Stephen Fleenor.

An Asset-Based Approach to Multilingual Learner Terminology is from IES.

English learners? Emergent bilinguals? Multilingual learners?: Goals, contexts, and consequences in labeling students is from TESOL.

English learners? Emergent bilinguals? Multilingual learners?: Goals, contexts, and consequences in labeling students

SUPPORTS FOR MULTILINGUAL STUDENTS WHO ARE CLASSIFIED AS ENGLISH LEARNERS is from Ed Research For Action.

     

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The United Nations has declared September 8th to be International Literacy Day.

You might be interested in The Best Resources For International Literacy Day.