5 Classroom Tips to Support ELL Students

Providing effective, differentiated instruction in a multi-ability, multilingual classroom can sometimes feel overwhelming. However, you can adopt simple strategies that can make a big difference for your English language learners (ELLs). Read on for five helpful tactics to support ELL students!

1. Create a Structured Environment with Regular Procedures and Expectations

Consistent classroom procedures and routines can be quite helpful to English language learners because they provide a safe foundation from which they can build confidence. Simple things like a daily morning routine, defined procedures for putting away classroom supplies, and designated times for turning in homework can help ELLs focus on practicing their skills instead of worrying about simply grasping what is happening around them.

2. Provide Short, Clearly Stated, and Actionable Instructions

When instructing ELL students, it is important to consider their proficiency level and language background. Keep your instructions brief and concise, and try to open with action verbs to help your students understand what you want them to do. 

To support ELL students, avoid idiomatic or slang expressions, as their figurative meanings can sometimes cause confusion. Similarly, keep in mind that your ELL students may not have the same background knowledge of American culture, history, and geography as their native English-speaking peers.

3. Support ELL Students: Make Frequent Checks for Understanding

Providing effective feedback is a crucial part of ELL instruction, so it is important to check for regular checks for understanding. Avoid simple “yes or no” questions; instead, ask questions about the content to better gauge what your ELL students understand and concepts that might need further instruction. Use this information to offer constructive feedback and encouragement.

4. Identify Unique Ways to Build Student Confidence in a Group Setting

Group work can support ELL students by promoting peer-to-peer interaction. Group work is often an effective way of helping students develop language skills and learn new concepts. 

However, it is important to ensure that ELL students feel comfortable and confident that they can effectively contribute in these settings. Assign these students tasks and roles within the group that are appropriate for their proficiency level.

As their proficiency increases, they can take on different roles and tasks to develop different skills. It may be helpful to have one-on-one conversations with your ELL students before group work to allow them to ask questions and ensure they fully understand their part in the group. The key here is to give ELLs work suited to their ability, increase their confidence, and make them feel like contributors.

5. Never Forget the Power of Pictures to Support ELL Students

A picture is worth a thousand words, but it's sometimes easy to forget that images are also the most basic way to engage your students in their learning. Supplement your instruction with visuals like illustrations, photos, and infographics to help your ELL students decipher new words and concepts. Although this may require some extra effort and creativity, images can be a powerful tool to build understanding, and they will help support students’ different learning styles.

For more tips on effective strategies to support ELL students, check out this article from Colorín Colorado or this post from Edutopia. Are you interested in learning more about Edmentum’s online programs for English language learners? Take a look at Edmentum's ELL Foundations library.