Tips and Strategies for Teachers to Help Develop the Literacy Skills of ELLs

“English language learners are extremely resourceful learners with a unique bilingual reservoir of skills and experiences.” - Fred Genesee, 2008

          English language learners bring a wide variety of life situations and understandings and a range of educational experiences to school with them every day. They are very valuable students to have within your classroom. As a teacher of a safe, positive and welcoming environment you are given the “opportunity to tap the rich resource of knowledge and understandings that [your] ELLs bring to school, and which, in turn, enrich the learning of all students in the classroom” (Supporting English Language Learners, 2008).

How does a teacher “tap” into the rich resources that ELLs bring to school to help enrich the learning of all students in the classroom?

A caring, patient, and understanding teacher will try and implement many strategies to make sure his/her ELLs are progressing well in their literacy skills. By developing literacy skills of ELLs, the teacher knows her whole class will benefit. 

References: 
ELL Strategies and Supports. Adapting the Ontario curriculum for English language learners, Supporting English Language Learners in Grades 1 to 8. Retrieved from: http://etfo-ots.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/ELL-Supports.pdf 

Ferlazzo, Larry. (2012). Do's & Don'ts for Teaching English-Language Learners. Retrieved from: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/esl-ell-tips-ferlazzo-sypnieski 

Haley, M. H., & Austin, T. Y. (2014). Content-Based Second Language Teaching and Learning: An Interactive Approach (2 nd ed.). Chapter 6, Literacy and the English Language Learner. Toronto, ON: Pearson. 

Supporting English Language Learners: A practical guide for Ontario educators Grades 1 to 8. (2008). Retrieved from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/esleldprograms/guide.pdf 

**Fred Genesee, from a speech at TESOL 2008, “Learning to read a second language: What does the research say and what do we do about it?”. Quote retrieved from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/esleldprograms/guide.pdf