Many schools and districts across the US have begun developing language growth plans for their language learners. These plans, also called Individual Language Plans, have the potential to motivate students and accelerate their learning. Because there are so many components to language acquisition, having manageable goals in listening, speaking, reading,…

The rapid-fire Spanish coming through the mobile phone was incomprehensible. I responded with frustration, “Lo siento. No puedo entender. Por favor, habla más despacio.” (I’m sorry. I don’t understand. Please speak more slowly.) The person on the other end of the line simply repeated whatever he had said in the…

Much of my work with teachers this past school year has focused on the power of lesson planning for language development. In this blog post, I will explain how to use a simple tool to add a language focus to any lesson plan and provide the necessary scaffolds and supports…

In this podcast for MyEdExpert, Suzy Pepper Rollins interviews me about some basic ELL issues including questions about the stages of language acquisition, the difference between social and academic language, and ways that teachers can support ELLs at different stages in their classrooms. You can download this podcast onto your…

The following three strategies help students acquire new vocabulary through interactions and making connections.

"Speed dating” works well as an interactive test review strategy and is simple to set up. Use test review questions for your prompts, place students’ desks in two concentric circles or U-shapes facing each other. Then...

Finding the right balance between freedom and constraints is a challenge for all teachers. Deciding how much to model, what project elements to require, and what to leave open to student choice can be daunting for teachers. In my personal experience, some limitations really do lead to more freedom. Constraints…

I woke up this morning thinking, “It’s August 1 already!?!” My husband has affectionately labeled this time of year for me as ‘August Syndrome’ to describe the conflicting emotions I inevitably experience each year.

Finding the focal point for language and content instruction requires teachers to conduct ongoing experiments and closely observe how students are using language. When students struggle to explain a concept, teachers have to discern if they actually understand the concept but need language support, or if they still need support…

Sometimes when I walk into a classroom, students have such a sense of focus and purpose, that they don’t even look up or notice me. I recently had the opportunity to observe a second grade science class that epitomized that kind of classroom. Located in a small, rural school district…

When I returned to the U.S. in 2013 after teaching ESL for three years at the Bavarian International School in Germany, I began to hear the term close reading in every school I consulted with. I noticed many new books with close reading in the title; I heard teachers tell…

“Mom, I got a 96 on the math test. What does that mean?” I had to laugh at my daughter’s innocent reaction to traditional grades and percentages after 11 years of schooling with alternative forms of feedback. Entering a traditional U.S. public school in Grade 10 gave her a bit…

Laughter echoed through the halls of the school as I walked toward the Fluency Fast Advanced Spanish class in Denver, Colorado earlier this month. My excitement for participating in this class grew with each step, as did my concerns that my intermediate Spanish level would not be sufficient. I knew…

Why do the PARCC assessments require high school juniors in Colorado to take an additional 12 hours of standardized tests?