In today’s episode, I discuss academic connections in response to a question from one of my listeners about teaching English Content.

Why is traditional English Language Arts content inferencing, finding metaphors and similes, and identifying literary elements,  so difficult for English Learners? It is a higher order thinking skill that requires a deep understanding of the language and having background in it. 

The first thing to consider is that English Learners need to understand. In order to do any of the higher order thinking activities in ELA class, they must understand the content. To support with this, you could try finding books from the class in the students’ first language. There are many classic, western books that are commonly translated. You could also bring the content to them by creating summaries or storyboards. Reading the entire book might be frustrating for English Learners. One strategy I’ve used is to select a few stories from a book and create a google slide summary of those stories. Take important quotes and insert them into the summary. These can be used to highlight an event, a theme, or a character in the story. You can also look for graphic novels or story boards of the book you are reading.

Next, consider how to present the content. Remember to scaffold, scaffold, scaffold. Pre Teach vocabulary, use visuals like representations of characters, and use repetition.

Finally, teach literary elements using something other than text. Ideas like characters, setting, conflict, climax, and resolution can be found in movies, short videos, and real life.

What you will hear about Teaching English Content to ELs:

• Why traditional ELA content is so challenging for English Learners
• How to make english content accessible to English Learners
• Tips and Strategies for how to teach complex academic terms like literary elements

Resources

• ESL Teacher Support - 1:1 coaching session with Ieva Grauslys (©Simply Ieva) 
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• 25 Authentic Speaking Activities for Your ESL Classroom
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• Follow me on Instagram 
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• Short story The Last Leaf
• Short story Lamb to the Slaughter
• Short film One Man Band
• The ESL Teaching Roadmap - short film After The Rain 
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