English Language Learning

To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world. – Chinese Proverb

Category: Hot Minute

Monday Mash Up November 9, 2020

November 9, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Reminders:

Monday, November 9th 9am: At Home ELL teacher meeting

Saturday, November 14th 3-4pm: Burnaby Public Library Group Chat  Group Chat is a program for newcomer youth who want to meet other youth and practice speaking English. We will play games, connect, and discuss an interesting topic in a fun and friendly online group setting. Encourage your students to email teenservices@bpl.bc.ca for the zoom link.

Tuesday, November 17th, 1-3pm: Elementary ELL meeting: We will welcome speakers from the Burnaby Public Library. Zoom link will be sent out closer to the date.

Saturday, November 28th 3-4pm: Burnaby Public Library Group Chat  Group Chat is a program for newcomer youth who want to meet other youth and practice speaking English. We will play games, connect, and discuss an interesting topic in a fun and friendly online group setting. Encourage your students to email teenservices@bpl.bc.ca for the zoom link.

 

Every Teacher is A Language Teacher

Helping Students Listen and Understand

Think about your students and their English abilities. If you were speaking to them individually, you probably automatically change your speech. You may slow your speed, use shorter sentences, or simpler vocabulary to make yourself understood. However, teachers often forget these adaptations when they are speaking to an entire class. If you have English learners in your class, these tips might help them understand more:

1) avoid idioms: these are complicated as they don’t always have concrete definitions.

 

2) repeat and paraphrase: all students benefit from this, but it is essential for ELs.

 

3) use “subject verb object” sentences: The most common English structure is the easiest one to understand.

Monday Mash-up October 19, 2020

October 19, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Using Youtube as a Language Tool

Why not harness your students’ love of Youtube by turning it into a tool to improve their comprehension. Michelle recently released a video for Transition Learning that shows students tips to make the video platform more accessible. Feel free to share with your students, families, or school communities.

All Teachers are Language Teachers

Adapting Content to ALL readers

As we discussed, grade level reading texts are not always accessible by English Learners. Yet, we need to always to remember that they can cognitively understand the content even if language is an obstacle. Only summarizing the text often leaves out key details that students need to know.  However, a few adaptations can help your students understand.

If students are literate in their heritage language, allow them to research topics in that language on the Internet. If they are not literate, audio books, videos, heritage language broadcasts, or access to knowledgeable adults who share their language are some ways students can understand.

Teachers can also adapt by making key information simpler by writing it in an outline, bulleted points, or graphic organizers.

Some websites that can help teachers are:

Newsela : This website gives current events and academic articles in five differentiated levels. Therefore, all students are reading similar content but the language is accessible at their level.

Readwordify: Input text and it will simplify vocabulary and sentence structures automatically.

 

Monday Mash-up September 14th

September 14, 2020 / / 0 Comments

And We’re Off…

Today is the first day of full in-person classes since March. Be patient with everyone, including yourself as we find our new groove.

ELL Blog

This is the last email blast from us. Starting next week, the Monday Mash-up will only be posted on the ELL Blog and our ELL Microsoft Teams. If you want to get it in your email, we recommend subscribing to the blog to get notifications.

As We Welcome Students Back

Tan Huyhn wrote this powerful list of ways we can welcome ELs but we think it is useful to remember for all students.  Most then ever, it is necessary to make students feel we want them to be in our schools and classes. You can read the full blog post here: https://www.empoweringells.com/welcoming-environment/

Redesigning Social Language

Sajeeda at Monticito created an excellent series of lessons called “Redesigning Social Language” to help students understand and take ownership of our new social norms. With content and language objectives, it will be useful to ELL and classroom teachers alike. It is shared below with Sajeeda’s permission.

FAQs

What should teachers do with ELL files of students who are in transition, remote learning, or distance learning programs? 

All ELL files should remain at their current school unless a student has moved in-person to another school in the district. Please see the powerpoint from last week’s September Start Up meeting regarding students you have moved out of district. ​There is a checklists for exiting students in the Handbook.  Please refer to that as well.

Can teachers update the AIP to reflect the students’ current progress?

ELL teachers can update reassessments to reflect students’ current levels. However, in order to receive Ministry funding, there needs to be a signed AIP dated before September 30, 2020. Do not change initial assessments but create and print a reassessment.

Why do new internationals only have an oral assessment?

Due to quarantine guidelines, new international students were only able to remote oral assessments. Please do a reading and writing assessment with them when they join schools.

Who needs reassessing?

Any returning students whose reassessments were not completed in the spring. These can be done in-person or remotely with the same variety of assessment protocols as we were using in the spring.

September ELL Teacher Checklist

As of September 30th, 2020,  

  • a current 2020-21 Annual Instruction Plan ( AIP) for each student, signed* by an ELL specialist and dated
  • a current assessment/reassessment of speaking, reading, and writing
  • demonstrated ELL services (for all students) are in place (timetable, log)

(An ELL teacher must have directly supported or consulted with the classroom teacher with documentation.)

SUPPORT MUST BE CONTINUOUS FOR EACH STUDENT THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR (September-June).  This ongoing support may vary (e.g. flexible groupings) according to the needs of the student as determined in collaboration with the classroom teacher.  

Upcoming Events

Secondary SIOP meeting-September 17th, 3:30 on TEAMs (invites sent)

ELL reassessment workshop-September 16th, 3:00pm on Zoom. Please email Michelle to be invited.

 

Have a great week!

Monday Mash Up June 23, 2020

June 22, 2020 / / 0 Comments

We did it! We are on the last week of June. Celebrations will be quieter this year but everyone should feel a huge sense of accomplishment. Burnaby is so fortunate to have you on their team.

 

Questions

Instead of answering your questions, this week we’d like you to answer ours. If you could take 5 minutes to fill out this survey, it will help the ELL support team to plan for 2020-21: End of the Year ELL Survey

Professional Development Opportunities

Carol Salva’s Boosting Achievement Podcast: https://salvac.edublogs.org/the-boosting-achievement-esl-podcast/
Tan Huyhn’s Empowering Language Learners podcast: https://www.empoweringells.com/podcast/
Voice Ed Canada educational radio: https://voiced.ca/ 

Announcements

Schools will be receiving files from the Welcome Centre this week. Also, included will be re-signed AIPs that need to replace ones previously sent out.

Last Note

Jeannette, Fanny and Michelle would like to thank you for all your support, collaboration, and encouragement. We hope to re-connect with you all in the fall. Have an amazing, much-deserved summer break.

Monday Mash-up June 1, 2020

June 1, 2020 / / 0 Comments
Last Week’s Victories
Once again, teachers pivoted and adapted for a new learning environment in a short time. You went into schools, you set up classrooms, you met with colleagues and administrators to plan and collaborate both in-person and remotely. You showed bravery, leadership, and compassion. As you head into schools to see students for maybe the first time since March, Fanny and Michelle hope your reunions are filled with joy. We are often the line of communication between our language learners and the rest of the school community so we know they have missed you.
Reminders
If you have questions about assessment and reporting, please see the Frequently Asked Questions Document that was sent out last Wednesday. It can be found here: https://blogs.sd41.bc.ca/ell/2020-reporting-and-year-end-assessment-frequently-asked-questions/
Last Note
This weekend Michelle was listening to Tan Hyunh’s Empowering Language Learner’s Podcast with Dr. Jim Cummins. This Canadian RoyELLty has been researched English language learning for over 40 years. Listening to him speak was so inspiring so she’d thought to share a few of the highlights with you.
  • When a dominant language group does not allow for a minority language in the academic setting, students not fluent in the dominant language will continue to fall further behind academically throughout their schooling.
  • It is a teacher’s responsibility to challenge power and status systems by asking “Who are my students?”
  • Three overlapping groups consistently underachieve in schools: children of immigrants, children from low socio-economic backgrounds, and students from marginalized communities. Students who fall under all three groups achieve the least academically.
  • Teachers can push back by scaffolding instruction, reinforce academic language, and engage students home languages to learn academic content.
  • The most effective way to combat this underachievement is by making sure students have ample access to print in both target language and heritage language and consistently engage in literacy activities. Reading can eliminate 1/3 of the affect of poverty. 
  • Finally, challenge all students with learning that reflects a high level of intelligence and capability.

Thank you for all you do. Have a fantastic week.

Fanny and Michelle

Monday Mash-Up- May 11, 2020

May 11, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Happy Monday morning!

I hope the sunny weekend brought you rest and respite. Also, happy Mother’s Day to all of you out there.

Last Week’s Victories

About 100 teachers were able to attend workshops on this year’s year-end assessment process. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the workshop and share practice.   It’s nice to hear that many teachers have been able to start the year-end assessments through collaboration, in-consultation, and in small groups.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Common Questions:

Can we invite students into buildings to do assessments? Please discuss any students that you are concerned about with and would like to invite into the building with your school’s administrator. 

Do we need to assess ELLs in French Immersion Program? If a student was receiving ELL support in 2019-2020, they need to be assessed. We are still looking into other French Immersion students who may need ELL support for the 2020-21 school year.

Do we need to assess students who are exiting? If students received support for ELL in 2019-2020, they need to be assessed. After that, if they are found to be no longer needing support they can be exited. In Burnaby, students are not automatically exited after 5+ years. It is only if the ELL teacher finds that the student no longer requires support to succeed at grade level
.

Are we assessing ELD students at this time? Yes, please contact Michelle for further information.

Reminders

Thursday, May 28th at 1pm, there will be an AIP workshop for anyone who has never used the ELL database before. Please let me know if you would like to attend and I’ll send you the invite.

Last Note

Thank you for your amazing dedication and work. We are inspired by all the creative approaches you’ve taken with your students.

Have a brilliant week!

Monday Mash Up May 4-8, 2020

May 5, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Common Questions this week:

Can matrices be completed with classroom/content teachers? Yes, collaboration is key. Take notes to document your discussion and find a reading and writing sample to support your assessment (Grade 3+).
 
What should I do if I can’t contact a student? The first action is to ask other teachers if they’ve had any contact with that student. Then, if no one has, discuss it with your administrator and ask them to try. Then, contact Michelle or Fanny and we will consult with you on next steps.
I’ve never done an AIP. How do I complete one? We will be holding an AIP tutorial later this month so keep an eye out for announcements in the next few weeks.

Reminders

There will a workshop every day this week. These optional sessions are mostly to answer questions and give some pointers about planning, scheduling, and collaborating with the Ministry of Educations ELL Standards.  If you wish to attend but are unable, please email Michelle to make alternative plans. Please note Wednesday’s session was changed because it conflicted with a LSS district meeting. Check your email for zoom links.
Monday, May 4th, 10-11am Year-end assessment for first-year ELL teachers
Tuesday, May 5th, 12:30-1:30pm Primary matrices and IPT for year-end assessment
Wednesday, May 6: 9am-10am Intermediate matrices for year-end assessment
Thursday, May 7: 1:00-200pm Secondary matrices for year-end assessment
Friday, May 8: 1-3pm ELL teacher drop in with Fanny and Michelle

Last Note

One of positives that have come from this crisis is the number of free educational webinars that have become available. We’ve added a channel to our ELL Teams with these opportunities. If you have one you want to share, please do. Last week, I attended a session with Larry Ferlazzo (author of the ELL Teacher Toolbox) and he discussed how difficult he’s found this change and some solutions he has found. Here is the link to the video if and when you want to give it a watch: Distance Learning for ELL

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