ELL

The strategy I use most with ELL students is vocabulary development. I feel that the first things that need to be taught are the academic words and language needed to be successful in school. I have found that when a ELL student can read and write proficiently in their native language, they are so much more successful as an English language learner.

Last year, I had a student that was ELL at his last school, but in the fourth grade was evaluated for special education. I found this process so interesting, as working with the two aspects together was challenging. I didn’t realize how much time and effort were needed to decipher if his issues were a language barrier or a learning disability. We decided to provide PsychEd testing in his native language to rule out a learning disability, and were shocked to see that his intelligence was in the gifted range, and his performance (even in his native language) in reading comprehension showed a huge discrepancy. His ILLP was immediately replaced with an IEP, and he has made great progress in his reading. His English language acquisition has also sped up since the implementation of the IEP.