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Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

Education Opinion

Q & A Collections: Teaching English Language Learners

By Larry Ferlazzo — August 12, 2015 3 min read
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I’ll begin posting new questions and answers in September, and during the summer will be sharing thematic posts bringing together responses on similar topics from the past four years. You can see all those collections from the first three years here.

Today’s theme - the ninth one in this summer series - is on Teaching English Language Learners.

Previous updated thematic collections are:

Classroom Management

Student Motivation

Implementing The Common Core

The Best Ways To Begin & End The School Year

Teaching Social Studies

Project-Based Learning

Brain-Based Learning

Using Tech In The Classroom

Parent Engagement In Schools

You can see the list of Teaching English Language Learners posts following this excerpt from one of them:

From 2014/15

Don’t Leave English Language Learners ‘In The Cold’

Educators Sonia Nieto, Alicia López, Diane Staehr Fenner, Sydney Snyder, Katie Brown, Judie Haynes, and Virginia Rojas share their suggestions on how we can encourage our colleagues to face the challenge of teaching ELLs “face-on.”

Ways to Encourage Support for English-Language Learners

Diane Mora, John Wolfe, Toby Karten, Armine Spoelstra, Kirke H. Olson and Rick Murry share there thoughts.

ELLs & The Common Core - Part One

Educators Wendi Pillars, Virginia Rojas, Debbie Zacarian, and Maria Montalvo-Balbed contribute their responses.

Supporting ELLs in The Common Core Era

Kathryn Haydon, Dr. Lindsey Moses, and Lori DiGisi contribute their thoughts. I’ve also included comments from readers.

Strategies For Vocabulary Instruction - Part One

This post includes suggestions from Katie Brown, Jane Fung, Marilee Sprenger and Karen Bromley.

Vocabulary Instruction Is More Than Giving ‘A List of Words

This column highlights commentaries from Camille Blachowicz, Charlene Cobb, Katherine S. McKnight, Nicole Zuerblis and Susan Chenelle.

Ten Principles for Vocabulary Instruction

Laura Robb and Amy Benjamin share their thoughts, and I also include readers’ comments.

Teaching Strategies for ELLs in Content Classes - Part One

This post shares responses from four experienced educators: Judie Haynes, Mary Ann Zehr, Bárbara C. Cruz and Stephen J. Thornton.

‘Every Teacher Is A Language Teacher’

Margo Gottlieb, Maria Montalvo-Balbed, and Tracey Takuhama-Espinosa contribute their ideas. In addition, I’ve shared responses from readers.

Ways to Teach Common-Core Math to ELLs

Educators Bill Zahner, Ben Spielberg, Gladis Kersaint, Denisse R. Thompson, Maria Montalvo-Balbed, and Denise Huddlestun share their suggestions for how teachers can best handle this challenge.


From 2013/14

To Help ELLs, We Need to Understand ‘How Language Learning Works’

Staff from Stanford’s “Understanding Language,” Mary Cappellini and Paul Boyd-Batstone share their thoughts in this post. I also include comments from readers.

‘Respecting Assets That ELLs Bring To A School Community’

Four educators -- Karen Nemeth, Judie Haynes, David Deubelbeiss and Julie Goldman -- provide guest responses here.

From 2012/13

Many Ways To Help Students Develop Academic Vocabulary

Several educator/authors - Marilee Sprenger; Jane Hill and Kirsten Miller; and Maria Gonzalez - provide guest responses.

From 2011/12

Helping Long-Term ELL’s & Evaluating ELL Teachers Fairly

Katie Hull Sypnieski, the best teacher I’ve ever seen in the classroom, and staff from the American Federation of Teachers researching teacher evaluation contribute their responses.

Ways the “Next Generation” of Standardized Tests Should Treat ELL’s

Representatives from the two groups of states preparing the new assessments, the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, or SBAC, and The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Consortium, or PARCC, contribute responses.

I hope you’ve found this summary useful and, again, keep those questions coming!

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.