Shownotes
We are celebrating 100 episodes of Equipping ELLs!
This episode compiles the ultimate top ten teaching tips for teachers of ELLs. Host Beth Vaucher dives deep into the power of building strong relationships, celebrating small wins, scaffolding, advocating for your students, and more. Packed with practical advice, this episode is your go-to guide for leveling up your teaching game when it comes to supporting multilingual learners. Whether you need a starting point or a refresher mid-year, tune in for support in creating an engaging and supportive learning environment for ELLs that goes beyond the books!
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Transcripts
I want to welcome you to the 100th episode of the equipping. Els
podcast. This has gone by so fast I cannot believe honestly that
we're at the 100th episode already. But it truly has been such a
joy to get to share with you something that I'm so passionate
about each and every week. And I just want to thank you from the
bottom of my heart. For spending your time with me, for taking the
time to listen. Thanks. It's really such an honor and a gift and a
joy to be able to be here. So I want to thank all my guests that
have been on just some really incredible educators that have
shared their wisdom and passion with us. And that's the beauty of
this project is coming together and getting to learn best
practices and figure out best ways that we can really support. Our
multilingual learners. I also wanted to thank each person that
shared a voice message with me about how the equipping els Podcast
has been helpful to you. It was so encouraging to my heart to hear
different ways that you have had takeaways and the practical tips
from different episodes and how you've applied that in your
teaching. Is really so encouraging. So if your message is shared
during Today's show. Send us a message at Hello at Inspiring Young
Learners.com, and we will send you a special code for one month,
free to equipping. All right, so let's dive in. In honor of our
100th episode, I am going to be sharing my top ten tips. For
successfully teaching ells. I would love to do 100, but we might
be here way too long if I try to do 100 tips. So I'm taking really
kind of looking back at the last 100 episodes. And for those who
are new, I know it's always really overwhelming to start or to
find a podcast that you're super excited about. But then you see
like, Wow. There's already all these episodes that I miss. That's
at least how I feel. Then I get a little overwhelmed of where to
begin. So this is a great time where I'm going to just recap,
really the essential places to begin. The mindsets to have what
matters most. When you are showing up to support your multilingual
learners. All right. So number one, we're going to start one, one
to ten. This isn't really comp done from ten to one, we're going
to go from one to ten. So number one for most important, most
important thing you need to remember is that relationships are
key.
If you listen to me for any amount of time, you know that this is
something we always come back to because it matters. It really
matters. It matters with all of our students. But then when you
add in that component of not knowing the language and all of the
fear and anxiety and overwhelm and stress that comes from that
this is where it is even more key that they know you are a trusted
person, that you are safe, that you are for them, that you are
excited, that. They are in your class. All of those things will
unlock the key to academic language learning. But if we don't take
the time to focus on relationships. We really are missing out on
building that connection piece which is going to help all the
other learning. To happen. And what I mean by this, too, is
relationships with the parents. Start to implement things like
talking points or any other app where you can communicate quickly
and easily with parents. We need the parents involvement with
this. So relationship with the parents relationship with students.
When you are receding, any student get to know a little bit of the
background of that student. It is so eye opening to do a little
research. On different students that I've had or just even
different people I'm meeting and get a little glimpse into what's
happening right now in their country. And most countries around
the world are having some sort of strife happening or. Just a lot
of things are happening right now, right now, as I record this in
panama, we've had protests for over a week that have shut down the
schools and have really disrupted life for everybody here. And so
there's just a lot that's going on that if you can do. A quick
search and get a good glimpse of seeing. Where is it that they're
coming from? What was it like. There. It helps you to really
approach that student with such care and empathy and understanding
and meet them where they're at. It helps you to make space for
that time where they can share a little bit about what's going on
if they feel comfortable doing that. But I think it just really
helps us approach them and see. You know what, where they're
coming from? Looks really different than where we're at right now,
where I'm living right now, or what my experience has been growing
up. So starting there get to know your students, build those
relationships. Number two. Body language is the first. Language
learned. So what this means. And again, I feel like it's so simple
to say smiling is so important. But it really is something that
needs to be said, because as teachers, I think sometimes we carry.
The stress all the time that we from class to class and looking
from pile to pile of stuff and getting organized and just having.
This sense of hurry and busyness. And overwhelm and stress
ourselves as teachers. And so sometimes we forget that we need to
stop and smile and give off of our body language, that we are
welcoming these students into our class, that we are happy that
they are there. I remember when I first got my first. Newcomer I
did not smile because I had no idea what to do. So just not
because. I didn't want to build a relationship with the student or
meet her. I just was feeling so stressed about how to relate with
a student that didn't speak any English that it really showed in
my demeanor, in my face. In my expressions, not on purpose. It
just was a natural response to not having any idea what to do. So
that's just something I want you to really focus on and say, okay,
am I smiling right now? Can I just put a smile on even if. I'm
feeling pulled in so many directions, especially when you just
first greet those kids as they come into your class. Slow down.
Look up. Make eye contact. Smile. Use your gestures when you're
talking all of those things. That body language is key to those
first couple of weeks and months of them learning a new language.
Number Three is. To start simple. And then add on. All right,
start simple. And then add on. I see this happen a lot. Of
teachers. And I've been guilty of this myself of just trying to
bite off too much. And so we have these grand plans, and we could
do this. And I'm going to change and do setters here. And I can
cover all of these things. And so. We either over plan so we are
feeling rushed to get through everything. Or we haven't planned
thoroughly. So then when the lesson comes, we feel like not
prepared. And then the lesson, they get off task, or we just feel
like it's a waste of time. And we get discouraged about ourselves.
And so. What I have found is that starting simple, really. Just
going slow to begin. Is so helpful to you when you're planning and
to your students to really gain the frameworks. Gain that mindset
of what your class is going to be looking like. Is it going to be
just being thrown things at them all the time and they're trying
to just keep up with you? Or are you creating a space. Where
they're having a lot of opportunities to talk. To work on thinking
skills, to think out loud, to work with groups, and a lot of times
all of these types of things can be done with a picture, a
notebook and a pencil that can go a really long way. So don't feel
like you have to print out all of these things. And you have to
have all these centers ready. And you have to do all this
technology. Start simple. Just really develop those areas of your
expectations. Develop those opportunities to talk. Have them talk.
We're going to talk about that in a second. But then as you get
going, then start to add in those pictures or add in more. Start
to develop what you want your weeks to look like, what routines
you're going to do. But don't feel like you have to get it all set
up from the beginning because each group you work with is going to
be different. Each group is going to have different needs. So
taking that time to start slow and then add on what you see are
the biggest needs for that group is going to help you stick with
it throughout the year. That leads us into Number four. Oracle is
key to language development. This is something that as I have been
doing more and more research lately. I am more and more convinced
that if you spend most of your time. Providing ample opportunities
for your students. To talk about what they're learning to really
have opportunities before they do any application that they're
listening, they're talking. They're sharing out ideas. They're
working on thinking skills, especially when it comes to writing.
When our students are developing those skills before they put a
pencil to the paper. They're going to get better at writing. But
if we are just pushing them right. Into literacy skills, writing
skills and not giving them a lot of time to share about it and
build those communication skills. We are really harming their
language journey. Is key to language development. They need to
hear it from us. And they need plenty of talk time each and every
day in the classroom. So I want to challenge you with this. I want
you to really observe this week. How much talk time do you have.
Versus how much talk time your students have. And some of you
might be thinking, but newcomers really can't talk. That's not
true. There's plenty of ways that your newcomers can engage. And
that's how they are going to develop language skills. And when we
think about. The big push for literacy. And sometimes I see a lot
of Facebook groups say, oh, start with ABC, start with business.
If our students do not have the vocabulary word bank in order to
support what they're learning in literacy. It's going to be a
struggle. And that's why when we give plenty of opportunity for
them to listen and talk. They will build that vocabulary word bank
much faster. And then they'll be ready for literacy and writing
skills. But we have to really make the space for our students to
respond and to talk. And sometimes that might even be in their
native language. We're not going to get into that right now, but
just throwing that in there. All right, let's keep moving on
number five. If you don't know where to start. Start with a
picture and. A sentence stem. I get this question all the time.
What do I do? Where do I start with scaffold? Should I use were
the best views if I'm a homeroom teacher. And so this really is
your easiest place to start a picture. You can do so many things
with and it's so helpful. To unlock especially when you're working
on content. You can take one picture, pull out the vocabulary, do
all these things with one picture and a sentence step. Now all of
a sudden they can start to talk about that because you've given
them that sentence starter. It's really helping remove any blocks
that they might have of output. So start there with a picture in a
sentenced. But then I want to challenge and encourage you to keep
working on adding in new scaffolds. So once you're feeling good
about that picture and that sentence them now go and find okay,
what's another way that I can add in a new scaffold? Maybe that's
a Word Bank. There are so many scaffolds out there. So just start
to research maybe. Every other week or challenge. With your
teaching partners and say, okay, each of us this month, let's come
up, let's research, let's find a new scaffold. We have tons of
podcast episodes about scaffolding. And let's share this out. And
let's work on implementing these this month because this really is
one of the best ways. That teaching ells will get easier for you
when. Your scaffolding toolbox is getting Fuller and Fuller. And
you can easily pull out a scaffold on the spot regardless of what
topic you're teaching. That's when you're going to be able to feel
more confident in showing up for your ells because you'll know how
to pull something out and apply it to whatever's going on. So this
is a really important area that starts small. Start with that.
Picture. Sentence stem, but don't stop there. The bigger your
scaffolding toolbox is. The easier it will be to support on the
spot and to plan lessons that support your students. Easier. Okay.
Number six. Celebrate small achievements so that you can help your
students continue to move forward in their language journey. The
language Journey and I don't think this is talked about as often.
As it needs to be but the language journey is a long, lifetime
journey. There are ups and there are downs. There's days where
students. Feel really strong and confident and things are flowing.
And there's days where. It's really frustrating and it just seems
like there's a lot of hindrances. And things aren't coming as
easily. And so we need to be aware of that. We need to know. That
this is a lifetime journey. They're going to continue to grow in
their language because just as any native speaker continues to
learn new vocabulary words, right? Continues to learn different
things. Like I didn't even realize that there was subjunctive in
English until I learned subjective and Spanish. So there's new
things that we always can learn in our native language or in a
second language. And so it's important that we don't see their
goal is fluid exited out of the program because if that's all
we're reaching for, they are going to get lost along the journey.
It's necessary and vital that we find ways to celebrate those
small wins that we are really intentional with the goals we're
setting so that we can celebrate when they've hit those goals and
that they in turn, can feel proud of themselves. They can build
confidence and that will keep them propelling forward. If they
think, Well, the only thing that matters is if I pass this access
test. They're not going to try. They're disengaged. They have no
motivation now to learn. So finding ways that. You can take a look
at the future, really challenge them of what are they going to do
after high school? What does this look like if you're bilingual
and in the workplace, what benefit is that going to be to you?
There's so many ways that we can really open them up to see
outside of this grade therein and the importance of what they're
doing and how that is going to directly impact. Their future in
good ways. So celebrate the small achievements along the way.
Number seven. This kind of goes along with that. And this is the
fact that your job is to advocate for your students. There's a lot
going on with multilingual learners. And a lot of times they need
somebody who's going to stand up for them. Stand up for the
families. Find out. What are the laws saying, what rights do they
have. All of those things are part of your job. And another big
part of your job is to help your students. Embrace their own story
and journey. And I think this is something that's shifting and a
really beautiful thing that's happening. Where being multilingual.
Is really seen more and more as a superpower as it should be. And
so we wanted to help our students enter our schools, enter our
communities, and not think that they have to leave their language
at home or they have to forget their language. When I was growing
up, I can't tell you how many students. That I was in class with
in school with where they would stop speaking their native
language because of the attitude of the school, the attitude of
the teachers. They were embarrassed that they spoke with their
language at home and now many of them. They are not bilingual.
They only know English, and they've lost their native language.
And that is not what we want. So. A big part of our job. Over the
language learning itself is to really help instill in our
students. This confidence in their story, in their journey. And
this happens a lot by sharing the stories of other people. There's
tons of books out there. There's tons of different people you can
research, even from the home countries of your students. Where
they can see someone who. 's Gone before them. And overcome things
and have come out. And now the impact they're making on their
community, on their family, on their world. It's truly incredible.
So take that in mind. Sometimes we get so focused on the testing
and the standards and all of these other things, trying to fit it
all in. But really a big part of your job is to really just
embrace your students where they're at and give them that
confidence to walk in the story that's ahead of. Them and the
journey that they have. Because that's when we can do that. Many
times. Here, because I live in panama. And whenever I speak with
somebody who has learned English as a second language, I always
say, how did you learn it. And I would say nine out of ten times.
It happens because. Somebody believed in them. Somebody gave them
that confidence that they did not have. And it gave them what they
needed to go on to push through. To believe in themselves. To
reach. New levels of education that nobody in their family had
done before. And it always nine out of ten times came down to a
teacher who believed in them. And so. That really don't forget
that that is such a big part of your job and such an incredible
gift that you are getting to educate the global community right in
your classroom. And we don't know how far this reach will go. But
it's exciting to think about. All right, number Eight is. You
can't do it all. So be really intentional at the things you are
doing. And this is a tough one because. There are so many demands
being placed on you. And so it's really hard to figure out what is
it that you should be doing? And what can't you do? And again,
this kind of goes back to the last one where you're an advocate
for your students. But you also have to be an advocate for
yourself. I can't tell you how many emails I've gotten this year
from people who have caseloads of over 100 students and are
getting more by the. Week. And I did a podcast episode a couple of
weeks ago about what do the large caseload. But at the end of the
day, you need to stand up and say. This is not something that any
person. Even the most experienced educator can do successfully.
This is not fair for the students and it's not fair for you. So
really be mindful. Of what are the things that make the most
impact on your students and get really good at doing those things
and get intentional at those things and then need other things. Of
course we have duties and. We have. Additional responsibilities in
the school. But anything that you can say no to that is not part
of your role and your responsibility. Say no because you want to
get really focused on the things that make the most impact on your
students. I know that's harder? That's easier said than done but I
believe in you because number nine. You are an incredible teacher.
You really are. And I don't want you to doubt yourself because of
unrealistic demands on you. And you might be thinking, Well, this
is the top ten of how to Support ells. But guess what. Through
research, this has been shown that self efficacy is one of the
biggest influences to your student success. So when you're going
into your classroom and you're feeling doubtful about your skills,
you're feeling doubtful about the lessons you're planning. You're
feeling doubtful about. All these other things. That directly
impacts. How successful your students will be. So I want you to
hear this. That. You are an incredible teacher. If you are taking
time your own time to learn how to better show up for your
students that shows that you care, that you want to do what's best
for them. So don't doubt that, don't doubt that you are able to
give your students what they need. Are there going to be tough
days? Are there going to be times where it's confusing and you're
not sure yes, of course. But at the end of the day, the biggest
thing like I said when I speak to and share and listen to stories
of many ells that I encounter. It's that teacher who believed in
them. It's not because of some incredible lesson that transformed
them. And then that led them on the path. It's a relationship.
It's a teacher who believed in them and wouldn't give up on them.
And that is what has transformed their lives. So at the end of the
day, if you are working on building those relationships, on
supporting your students, where they're at, on giving them a
voice, on meeting their language needs. That is incredible. And so
I want you to know how incredible you are and how much of a
difference you are making in this world. And then number ten. And
this is something that is really important. And that is to make it
fun. Education. Learning should be fun. It needs to be fun.
Learning a language is tough if you've never tried, go and start
trying and you'll see how quickly you get frustrated and
overwhelmed. And that's only I mean, that's like when I do it for
half an hour, I think of being in a classroom all day long. In the
second language. We're asking students to. Do. That. So make it
fun. Use songs, music, multimedia games to bring in a multi
sensory approach. When you're teaching. Because those are the
things that are going to help it stick. I mean, how many you can
think of a high school Spanish song that just pops into your head
as soon as you hear body parts in Spanish or something like that,
it's just an instant thing where they can connect to it. So have
fun even when the stress is outside your classroom are making you
feel overwhelmed or making you doubt yourself. Know that when you
walk in your classroom, when you close that door, when you're
working with that group in front of you, bring your best. Be
silly. Have fun. Show up for them with that smile on your face.
And I promise you that they will respond, that they will continue
to grow in their language journey. And they are going to impact
the world. So. Those are top ten ways to help support multilingual
learners successfully. I love to know which one stood out the most
to you you can share in the comments or let us know over. On
Instagram at equipping ells. But I just again want to thank you
for being a part of this journey for me of doing these podcast
episodes. I am so grateful and thankful to you. I'm also super
excited for where we're going over the next two months to finish
out:development, so stay tuned for next week when we kick off that new
series. Thanks again Everybody, for joining me today. And I'll see
you on the next 100 episodes.