Teacher Discussion Forums

I too am very shy, especially when presenting in front of adults and get the same nervous feelings as you, but this will pass once you have more experience in front of your peers and students. However, because I have very little experience presenting in front of adults, I fear presenting in front of...

I believe that many teachers who do not have an ELL background have low expectations and misrepresent ELLs in their classroom. Many lack the knowledge and/or strategies to help ELLs succeed in their classroom. Therefore, school districts should train all teachers on helpful teaching strategies to su...

I can understand your concern and feeling of discouragement as an ELL teacher. I myself, feel that it is extremely difficult to teach such a diverse group of learners. We as ELL teachers and regular education teachers must know each one of our students and how to reach them. We must find new and eng...

Listening and speaking are the two skills mostly used for interaction. Listening requires a student to listen and respond as studies show that good listeners are also good responders. With that said, special characteristics of spoken language must be taken into consideration. Such considerations mig...

Many students and even educators cringe at the thought of tests. Most of their assessments of students rely heavily on standardized tests such as NJASK, NWEA, and criterion referenced tests. These tests play a significant responsibility on teachers. However, are these tests such as the NJASK authent...

Interactive group work has many advantages including student security, interactive language and an increase in motivation. Many ELL’s feel more comfortable and confident in a small group setting as evidenced to how much they participate and speak in my small pull out instruction. However, some teach...

The education field requires teachers to have some flexibility in their planning as some lessons can be a flop. Teachers must be well planned and have a "plan b" in case a lesson does not go as planned. However, once you get to know your students, you will begin to understand exactly what they need ...

Many times, students who lack theses basic needs can be motivated by intrinsic motivation. They are motivated by good grades and teacher approval. These studnts go above and beyond to learn and improve their self-esteem and feeling of belonging. I have seen many students who come from low income, la...

Educators are faced with many challenges today, including creating differentiated lessons and activities from overwhelming text. Though, it is important to keep lessons lively, interesting and well planned, text adaptations can be a challenge. Educators feel bogged down by the many goals, objectives...

I am completely on board with your concerns. Many mainstream teachers are bogged down with all of the requirements the district asks of them, that ELL's often fall by the waste side. The problem, I believe is that there is no law protecting ELL's as there is for Special Ed. students. With that said,...

It is important for educators to implement activities that celebrate diversity, and promote intrinsic motivation. Educators must engage students in activities that instill an appreciation for creativity and knowledge. However, this becomes a challenge when native language learners sense a subtractiv...

The first year teaching is a challenge and is really based on trial and error. You have to get to know your students and their learning styles so that you can develop appropriate teaching strategies that work. As for cooperative learning, many ELL's benefit from the small group work as they become m...

Many parents of ELL's are timid about speaking the English language. They feel inferior to speakers of the English language and are often embarrassed to ask questions and seek advice. We currently offer an Adult ELL class in our school district from 3:30-5:00. Parents and their children come to lear...

Second language learners often go through a systemic developmental process as they progress in the target language. However, this systemic process in reaching language acquisition poses a challenge for many educators. While ELL’s may believe what they say or comprehend is correct but incorrect in th...

I had a parent/teacher conference with a parent who speaks Spanish/English at home. She was concerned that her son couldn't speak Spanish nor English fluently and is not proficient in English nor Spanish. I had expressed the importance of maintaining her first langauge, however, she decided that she...