English Language Learners
My vision and action plan for ELL, Part 1 at Queen's
My Vision
To ensure that student culture, language, and identity are at the driving force behind hiring practices and training, school programming, and property development.
Goals and Procedures
- Newcomer families are greeted by a dedicated, trained team of people who both welcome and reassure them. The office intake staff alerts other key members of the intake team, including classroom teachers.
- The team familiarizes newcomer families with the 3Ps of what it is to be a parent and a student at our school, including meeting the rest of the people on the team and touring key locations of the property, such as the cafeteria, library, gymnasium, outdoor facilities, and quiet spaces.
- Newcomer families, both parents and students, are invited to sit in on a lesson in a designated classroom to become familiar with the day-to-day program. They can stay as long as they like and ask any questions they may have. The classroom is designated based on the level of comfort of the teacher in having guest observers at any time.
- The intake team invites the family back to the intake office and undertakes an initial assessment of all newcomer students while newcomer parents simultaneously explore informational materials and undertake parent surveys.
- The data obtained from the initial assessment of students and the parent surveys informs decision making regarding the placement of the student in a specific classroom or schedule depending upon the student's age and English language abilities. This decision can be revisited at any time to ensure the newcomer student is getting what they need in support of English language and subject-specific content acquisition.
Resources
- Multilingual members of the community, including parents, will be invited to serve as volunteer translators in support of the intake process and to offer continued support to newcomer families.
- Students will be invited to create an identity text to share with classmates to promote culture and language awareness in support of student interpersonal relationships and community building.
- As a part of their subject learning, students will be invited to create and share their multilingual works with the school library and website. These resources will support future newcomer families and teachers alike.
Expectations
- School expectations can be conveyed via signage and these will be clearly posted in all languages in all school shared spaces.
- School expectations will be addressed at all assemblies, with major discussions at the beginning of each term and minor references at all other assembles.
- Classroom expectations will be developed through co-construction by each classroom community via a shared Google Document and will include the languages of all classroom learners.
- Classroom expectations will be revisited at key times during the year, such as any time a newcomer student arrives and after every long weekend and major holiday.
- Parental expectations of what teaching and learning are (or should be) will be addressed via informational materials presented by the intake team and by continued conversations any time differences of opinion arise.
- Assumptions are toxic and will be discouraged. If you don't know, ask! If you don't like the answer, discuss! If the conversation breaks down, as for help with mediation.
- A recommended book to support difficult conversations is called just that, Difficult Conversations (Stone et al., 2000), and it will be required reading for all members of the intake team and recommended reading for all other staff members.
Strategies & Technology
- The development of course materials that include a predominant second language as a school-wide norm.
- The development of course materials that include images in support of English language acquisition as as school-wide norm.
- The use of programs that promote the sharing and use of student-generated works beyond the walls of the classroom and school.
- The use of programs that facilitate English language acquisition, such as those with audio like Buncee.
References
EduGAINS. Learn more about supporting English Language Learners. 2014. Accessed at http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesELL/Resources/ELL_Vision-June2014.pdf.
Pixabay.com. Clipart Images Licensed Under CC0. Accessed at https://pixabay.com.
Stone, Douglas, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen. Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most. New York, N.Y: Penguin Books, 2000. Print.