ELL News Headlines

It's black, plastic and fits in the palm of your hand. Selena Protacio, who holds a doctorate degree in education, didn't invent the handheld voice recorder, but she is getting recognition for her grant award to bring the affordable technology to her English language learning students.

Many of us who teach English-language learners make lots of mistakes in our classroom practice.  This six-part series will explore what the most common mistakes teachers make with this vulnerable population and what should be done in their place. Today's column features responses from Marina Rodriguez, Altagracia (Grace) H. Delgado, Dr. Denita Harris, and Sarah Said. 

Picture books enable readers to see themselves reflected in the larger world. With increasing Muslim representation in published books, all readers can explore the diversity of Muslim communities, identities, and cultural backgrounds as they intersect to create unique expressions of Islamic cultures and practices. Picture books also offer a visually intimate look into Muslim experiences and places where individual and private family traditions, conversations, and interactions flourish. These books were published in 2019–20 (with one from 2018) by mainstream publishing houses.

The new question-of-the-week is: "What are the do's and don'ts of hybrid teaching?" Today, Deborah Gatrell, Amy Roediger, and Carina Whiteside provide their suggestions.  Larry Ferlazzo also include comments from readers.

When the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the Pathways Early Education Center of Immokalee in the spring, staff members knew they would need to do more than simply move their classes online. The early learning center, located in a southwest Florida community with a poverty rate of over 50 percent, serves a large percentage of children whose parents are migrant farm workers or work in the hospitality field. As parents found themselves out of work and struggling to pay bills, school officials sprang into action, delivering food, diapers and cleaning supplies to families, providing financial support for rent and utilities and connecting families with community partners for more assistance.

U.S.-born children of immigrants or immigrant students raised in the United States accounted for nearly 60 percent of the growth in university enrollment since 2000.

The odds are that, at one point or another, all of us teachers are going to end up teaching in some version of a "hybrid" environment this school year. That could mean teaching some groups of students two days each week in the classroom, while they spend the rest of the time doing asynchronous online work.  Worst of all, it could mean teaching students simultaneously online and face to face.  This series will share the experiences of educators who have already begun teaching in this kind of situation.  Who would be better people to learn from? Today, Amber Chandler, Tara C. Dale, and Holly Spinelli offer their hard-won experiences.

When schools in northern California shut down in mid-March due to the coronavirus, Casino Fajardo and his wife did their best to balance watching their children while working full-time. For several months, they switched off supervising their children, 5 and 9, while taking back-to-back video calls and responding to in-person work responsibilities, which were at times required for Fajardo in his role as construction director for a local school district. Both often stayed up until midnight or later to catch up on work.

The new question-of-the-week is: "What are the best ways to respond when teachers are told we should keep politics out of the classroom?" Today, Abeer Shinnawi, Jennifer Hitchcock, Matt Renwick, and Leah B. Michaels add to the conversation....