Teaching English Language Learners K-12

A Quick-Start Guide for the New Teacher

This is a quick-start manual for teachers who are working with bilingual learners for the first time or who want a refresher course. The book is practical, jargon free, easy to navigate, and it contains strategies that teachers can implement immediately and without fuss. The book is not tied to state-specific immersion programmes but instead offers strategies that can be used in all bilingual settings to cover such topics as:

} teaching methods and materials ("your toolbox")

} working with the learner's native language and culture

} working within the context of the community's language and culture

} working with school administrators, speech therapists, and volunteers

} essential skills: vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, reading, writing, content classes, including "sheltered" content lessons

} grading, testing, self-assessments, and preparing students for standardized tests

} placements in bilingual/ESL programmes and exiting back to regular classrooms

} placements in special education programmes when appropriate

· timing the students' return to regular classrooms

} the ESL teacher's ongoing professional development

Special features include sidebars for customizing instruction to be developmentally appropriate for younger learners; resources and recommended readings; a glossary to explain common linguistic terms and bilingual alphabet soup (TESOL, NABE, ELD, LEP, ESL, EFL, ELL); and a terrific collection of vocabulary checklists for common English words and concepts, which teachers will be able to use during first few months.