Best Practices in Teaching English Language Learners and General Classes

English Language Learners are faced by two challenges: getting to understand the content of the academy and learning the language that is used to present the content. Teachers are therefore faced with a much bigger challenge. They are to teach the learners how to speak, read and even write English. Discover the best practices in teaching ELL in accordance with Burgess & Mike, (2011).

Best Practices in Teaching English Language Learners and General Classes
English Language Learners are faced by two challenges
 Getting to understand the content of the academy.
 Learning the language that is used to present the content.
Teachers are therefore faced with a much bigger challenge. They are to teach the learners how
to speak, read and even write Enlisters therefore need to come up with the best teaching
practices to ensure that the students get to learn, understand and succeed in speaking English,
Moughamian (2009).
Below is some of the best practices in teaching ELL in accordance with Burgess & Mike,
(2011).
1. Provide background information
Use pictorials and objects to aid the students in understanding various vocabularies and
concepts before introducing the main chapter. For example, Show the students a map of the
world showing the English speaking regions. Provide the necessary information about the topic
of discussion. On the other hand, ask questions to get to know the information they have about
the topic. Example, ‘what do you know about nouns?’ This increases their interest on the topic
of the day and helps them concentrate.
2. Grouping the students
The grouping of learners with their peers, will help them interact even more. The learners have
different English knowledge and this interaction will help them exchange their knowledge of
English language. A teacher can be supplied in each group to help them in the discussions and
interactions. Competitive tasks can be subdivided into groups to enhance team work and
attentiveness in the groups.
3. Make use of visuals and audios

Pictures, drawings, maps, graphics, charts and videos tend to get hold of student’s attention.
Visuals related to the topics can be posted around the classroom. They are good teaching aids.
When teaching you can relate the topic of discussion to the drawings and presentations for
better understanding. On the other hand, audios can be of even greater use. You can present
audios of word pronunciations and normal conversations. This will make understanding and
recalling easier as compared to normal classes.
4. Introduce involving activities
The teacher can involve the students in the lesson by using hands on activities such as English
puzzles, presentations, table talks, jigsaw activities and pair shares activities. This makes
learning more fun and aids students get knowledge on various vocabularies and will be a great
help in the developing the students’ reading and writing skills. For example, on a topic about
mountains the teacher can ask students to each name a mountain in the world or even spell the
names of each mountain.
Using the above techniques in teaching English language learners will ensure that you have a
great and successful class. Make sure you incorporate each of the strategy in your daily lessons.
This tools are effective for both English-Language Learners and non-ELL students.
References
Moughamian , (2009). Instructional Models and Strategies for Teaching
English Language Learners. Center on Instruction
Burgess and Mike, (2011). "Best Practices for Collaboration Between ESL and
General Education Teachers" Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone
Projects. Paper 270.