How can you help schools create policies that support English language learners?

It's important to make sure that all classroom teachers take ownership of their ELLs, not just the EL specialist. Teachers must be provided with additional training for best practices, and they must receive support in the implementation.

The ESL Program in any school is a vital support system that must be given adequate resources and have fully certified specialists who are experienced and have an M.Ed or higher in the field of English language acquisition. Moreover, the school’s administration must be cognizant of the ELL population and their needs, and support a proposed program that is appropriate with a minimal but effective delivery of services. All ESL programs must prioritize reading fluency and reading comprehension skills—with focus on writing, listening, and speaking thereafter. Reading comprehension should always be emphasized with an approach that incorporates an understanding of academic or content area terms through synonym replacement exercises.

Assess ELLs’ needs. I think that before a school district begins to assess ELLs’ needs is to review prior assessments from the district. It is also important to review all state and National assessments, strengths and expectations. They will provide a course of action so that the outcomes will students and the district to show greater success. After review the past, based on the data, I would send out a survey to see needs the staff believes are important. It is important to have reflection conferences: individual and grade level teams. Finally, I have a leadership team comprised of staff, partnerships and community members. It is important for them to be aware of processes and procedures going on in the school.

The most important for advocating is that it's moreso keeping teachers informed of "deficit" mindsets ("Their English proficiency isn't enough") or perceptions that implicitly confuse language and academic competence ("This student isn't very good at..."). You could also publicly incorporate students' cultures into lessons and displays so that they feel included and others are aware.

More training is need for teachers and teaching assistants. A lot of the methods used to make learning more accessible for pupils that have English as an additional language, is effective for all. Make learning more interactive, with adults modelling. Use real objects and visuals and include different accessible resources.

Align policies with Best Practices In order to align policies with best practices, districts must research. Once you have determined what best practices are important, it is important to communicate with key individuals in the district so that everyone is on the same page. The best practices have to be measurable so that schools can keep track of progress towards their implementation, and to boost accountability Finally, it is important to manage change: Employees and others are typically resistant to change. Prepare for this resistance and develop a strategy to move forward when you implement new practices.

Fidelity isn't the same as stringency. It just means being consistent within the policy itself. Infamously, an English-only policy in Arizona was implemented with great fidelity and led to massive declines in ELL graduation rates. Always stick with the spirit of a policy rather than its literal wording when in doubt.

Data =/= numbers (at least solely numbers). Data is teachers' opinions, students' attitudes, discussions of work, etc. The most effective data I've collected has always been an amalgam of assessments, discussions, and reports.

Evaluate Policies with Data Evaluating policies with data gives the organization credibility. It will allow districts to track progress and outcomes over long periods of time. By keeping an updated data catalog with policies while currently reviewing and upgrading means more staff satisfaction.

Para apoyar a los estudiantes del idioma inglés, las escuelas deben promover programas ESL de calidad, usar modelos inclusivos de ense?anza y asignar fondos adecuados. También es vital abordar barreras específicas y promover la inclusión y la equidad. Crear un entorno escolar acogedor y solidario es crucial para el éxito de los estudiantes ELL.

It’s important to take stock of a school’s culture and attitude toward multilingual learners as part of any policy-development work. Are all students made to feel welcomed and valued? Are there systems in place to communicate with and involve families? Are teachers who work with multilingual students respected and listened to? Do educators and other school related professionals recognize the brilliance of multilingual learners, and are high expectations in place for all students? For any policy changes to take hold, it’s essential to build a strong foundation of inclusivity and assets-based perspective among educators working with English Learners.

Dispel doubts, inhibitions and reservations Doubts, inhibitions and reservations are the main hindrances for a person to learn English effectively. 1. For a person with English as second language, there will always be doubts if the choice of words chosen to express any particular situation is the right one or if there is a better one available. Students should never worry about perfection and simply go ahead. 2. Even if a person is fairly clear there may still be inhibitions for the fear of being caught on the wrong foot. Shedding inhibitions is the most important step in a person's efforts to use the language effectively. 3. There may still be some unexplained reservations which maybe addressed by discussion.

Provide audio visual material appropriate for age, environment and background of the individuals in that category.availability and accessibility there of.