Become the teacher your ELLs need you to be!
Feel equipped to easily meet the diverse needs & increasing population of ELLs.
(Without the confusion about where to begin, stress about fitting it all into your day, and spending countless hours searching for materials and strategies that are just ok.)
If you are a homeroom teacher, ELL teacher, or administrator looking to meet the needs of your ELLs while still keeping up with all the other demands, then you probably already know that you need a simple framework that all teachers, regardless of prior training or experience, can easily implement and follow.
You know the statistics, you see the changing population, and it’s time you feel equipped.
Current reports show that in the United States around 10% of students are considered ELLs (up to 25% in the major cities!) and only 1% of teachers are ESL certified and know how to support second language learners in the classroom. This leaves 99% of the teachers really overwhelmed with what to do, and 1% of the teachers burned out by trying to carry this heavy burden.
(Sources: Face the Facts, USA, A Project by George Washington University and National Center for Education Statistics)
You have one school year to create a classroom that welcomes all learners and provides them the support they need. In doing so, you are not only affecting them for the year they are in your classroom, you are improving your student's future.
HERE'S WHAT YOU
MIGHT NOT KNOW
Having a foundation to meet the needs of ELLs will...
-
Make differentiating so much easier.
When you have a wide range of strategies to use at any time, with little to no prep work, your students don’t just benefit from their needs being met, but you teach with confidence knowing how to quickly add in supports throughout a lesson. -
Save you time.
You will no longer spend hours researching and writing different lesson plans for each student in your class once you know how to identify and support all levels of language learners. -
Create a common language to collaborate.
Time is precious, and when teachers aren’t on the same page, important conversations can’t happen. The opposite will happen when homeroom teachers and ESL teachers are starting on the same foundation, and from there quality collaboration can occur that won’t just help take some stress of you, but assures that what is best for the student is happening. -
Engage and excite ELLs.
When students see that a teacher is trying to meet their needs in new and exciting ways, they will respond with positive results. When the fear and anxiety of learning a language is removed, behavior problems decrease and vulnerability increases, all of which needs to happen for successful language development. -
Give you confidence in your next RTI meeting.
Instead of hoping they don’t ask you for the data on why a student isn’t making progress, you’ll walk into your next problem-solving meeting with a wide range of data, and confidence in the scaffolds you’ve used, as well as observations of how the student responded.
Even though the desire to support ELLs is in you, the road to successfully getting there is often covered with detours, obstacles & dead ends.
Impact the lives of ELLs in my class?
Of course!
But where do I even begin?
Perhaps during your summer vacation, you spent some time researching how to reach the needs of your English Language Learners. Or you sat in that professional development for the 10th time, being instructed on how to differentiate, scaffold and become more culturally responsive, only to continue to feel overwhelmed.
Maybe this is your first experience with a student that speaks another language and you are spending your limited time trying to find anything to give you some guidance on where to begin and what to do.
You might have training in ESL and know what the textbook says to do, but with your students it seems overwhelming and chaotic.
Bilingual education has been around since 1968, yet we are as confused as ever about the best way to support these learners. This confusion is impacting our daily lives and their future.
Here’s why there is so much confusion over teaching ELLs:
As an educator, every year you are told the new method to try, the new mandate to follow and the new assessment to use. But often times it is not practical skills given by seasoned practioners, but by those who have been outside of the classroom and lost touch with the surmounting demands on teachers. Instead of supporting the hardworking educators, it is adding more and more onto your already growing plate.
Here’s why this matters:
Too often there is an assumption that you know how to reach the needs of all the ELLs in your classroom, without any support or training from your school.
But the reality is, college programs are not requiring ELL classes, only a few states require credits, and even if you do have your training, many times it is not helping in the everyday life of a teacher.
Without a clear and simple step-by-step framework to help guide you through the complexities of English language learners, everything else you add on will fall through the cracks.
Even with good PD, the information you learn usually only lasts for 1 day and gets lost in a notebook, as soon as the daily struggles within the classroom take over.
But your year doesn’t have to continue like this anymore…
Whether you’ve been teaching for years or just starting out, you can learn the simple framework needed to be able to plan for, assess and support all levels of language learners... SUCCESSFULLY!
That is… if you are willing to choose this for yourself, and stop waiting for your school to give you the guidance you’ve been waiting for.
The 5 Reasons Teachers Fall Short Supporting Their ELLs
(hint: it’s more about your environment than you!)
Reason 1
Increasing numbers of ELLs in the classroom is leaving many teachers unprepared.
ELLs are the fastest growing population in the United States, and the needs to develop their language abilities while addressing content is not an easy task. According to the National Center for Education Statistics in 2016 there were approximately 5 million students considered to be English Language Learners. This student population represents languages from all around the world as well as cultural norms and values, which takes time and energy as the teacher to know how to work with each culture to build success.
Reason 2
ESL Certification programs and degrees cost a lot of money and time.
Even if you have developed a love and passion for working with ELLs, and want to continue to learn how to create a classroom that best supports their needs, the average certificate will cost you around $5000 and at least 120 hours to complete. With your busy schedule that seems impossible to do.
Reason 3
Not all schools have a clear plan in place for how to successfully support ELL students and the teacher that works with them.
Have you ever felt like every year the type of support, the terms to use, and the way your role looks in supporting ELLs is changing? As the number of ELL students rapidly increases, schools are in a rat race trying to figure out best practices and ways to support language learners. Without having a proven method that works, or even a clear structure for all staff to know where to begin, you end up exhausted from trying to keep up, and feeling no further along than before.
Reason 4
It takes hours to search for ways to support ELLs and most times you are coming up empty.
Let’s face it, we live in an age of information overload, but that isn’t always a good thing. Having so many resources at our fingertips can actually become so time consuming that we come away feeling further from our goal than when we started. We also can find ourselves spending hours searching, only to come across materials that are disjointed, not exactly what we were looking for, or just mediocre.
Reason 5
Teachers are spread too thin with a wide range of students to support.
With the number of ELL students rapidly rising each year, schools across the country are lacking ESL teachers to help support the homeroom teachers with the students in their classroom. Even in schools that are fortunate enough to have an ESL teacher, many times have a caseload of 100-150 students. I believe that all teachers are superheroes, but that is just asking too much of one person!
Shh...I'm going to let you in on a little secret
Even though the juggling act of supporting all the different language levels in one classroom can be tricky, you already have the first step to get you there...a heart to do what's best for your students.
The problem is to figure out where to go next, but with carefully placed stones to step on and a well lit path, you’ll see that all those external problems will no longer be the issue. With clarity, you will confidently be able to take one small step, which before you know it, will allow you to skip along the rocks with ease and excitement.
I’d love to show you that path.
Introducing
ELL Strategy Academy
Become the teacher your ELLs need you to be, even if you have no idea where to begin, or can't see how you could possibly find time to differentiate for their specific needs.
My years of experience teaching both in the US and internationally along with the successful creation of a bestselling curriculum for newcomers has given me a deep passion for helping other teachers see this same success in their classroom and enjoy the journey of teaching ELLs.
ELL Strategy Academy isn’t another boring professional development, but a practical, time saving, and easy to implement plan.
Yes, you will gain a foundation that will be vital to everything else you learn for the rest of your teaching career. But more importantly, you will have a toolbox of strategies and supports that won’t add more to your plate, but will allow you to save time and sanity by being confident you are providing the education your students need!
ELL Strategy Academy is the ONLY program of its kind that…
Helps you become a language teacher.
Whether you have 1 or 100 ELL students to support, it all begins with building a solid foundation of who our ELL students are, what are appropriate expectations we should have for the different levels, and where to begin providing the support they need. Having this solid foundation will be exactly what you need to easily provide language support to the increasing ELL population in whatever type of classroom you are teaching in.
Is built with the practical, day to day, real life teacher in mind.
No fluff, no unnecessary modules to fill a university requirement, and no suggestions and ideas that look good on paper. But as any teacher knows, it just won’t work in the classroom.
This is all about YOU, and helping you easily use these strategies with ease so that they become second nature.
Provides ongoing support.
There’s nothing more disappointing then attending a great PD session, only to go back to your classroom and forget most of what was taught. ELL Strategy Academy gives you lifetime access to every single lesson and resource, so you can return to each lesson to review strategies, as well as go through the information at your own pace, allowing this program to work for your schedule. . You will also save hours of your time by having a one stop shop to go to when you are lesson planning for ELLs or looking for a way to strengthen an intermediate student who is struggling with writing. No more hours being sucked into the never-ending google search.
Creates advocates for ELLs
When the school community is on the same page, success for ELLs will soar. This course will provide you with the language to use, the tools to teach, and the materials to support other teachers who are lost and overwhelmed with the students in their class. This won’t just be a huge benefit to the students, but will lessen your load of your work as the experienced teacher of ELLs who provides all the support.
So if you are ready to finally be the teacher your ELLs need you to be while avoiding dead ends, roadblocks, and frustrations then let me take you there.
Here's how we'll help you get here:
Module 1
Creating a welcoming environment
Working with students from other cultures can feel scary, awkward and sometimes even difficult. In module 1 we will spend some time deconstructing biases, reflecting on our own personal experiences and going deeper on what culture actually is. This is all done in a safe space for you to be honest, and is a crucial place to begin before any student can learn academic content.
Module Highlights:
- A personal survey to help you discover where you are right now when it comes to working with students from other cultures.
- A deeper look at culturally responsive teaching and a checklist to see if your classroom is ready to support all learners.
- 5 easy to implement ideas for creating a culturally welcoming classroom.
- 2 purposely designed resources to help you make sure all students are comfortable.
Module 2
Finding the English language proficiency and modifying current assessments
Before you can dive into the strategies, you have to know where your students are beginning. That's why this module will break down all you need to know on giving a QUICK assessment to get a baseline of your student's English Language Proficiency. From there, we will cover lesson planning and modifying classroom work to help lighten your load.
Module Highlights:
- A guide to setting up your own English Language Proficiency Assessment, and how to interpret the results.
- Learn the P.L.A.N. strategy to learn how to lesson plan with meeting the needs of ELLs.
- Get the time-saving modification task cards to different classroom assignments and assessments in minutes.
- Learn how to use generic domain rubrics to consistently be monitoring student progress and skills. (These will be gold when your principal asks how you are making sure you are supporting your ELLs!)
Module 3
Where to begin supporting ELL beginners and a plan to start their language journey.
When you have the materials to reach your newcomer students, and know exactly the path you need to take them on, these students can go from being overwhelming to teach, to becoming an enjoyable experience. When you finish this module, you will feel exactly that.
Module Highlights:
- The #1 goal to keep in mind when working with beginner ELLs.
- A beginner ELL cheat sheet that will help you have a quick reference whenever you need it.
- 9 video strategies that support beginners with listening, speaking, reading, and writing, all while they are in a whole group setting.
- 6 additional resources are provided to support you in implementing the strategies.
Module 4
How to support intermediate ELLs and prevent them from getting stuck.
Module 4 is focused on helping intermediate ELLs. These students are at the mid point of their language journey. This module continues their progress so they do not get lost in the system. I will share specific ways to continue to push them forward, and goals to help remind you of what to focus on.
Module Highlights:
- The #1 goal for working with intermediate ELLs
- An intermediate ELL cheat sheet that will help you have a quick reference whenever you need it.
- 8 video strategies that support intermediates with listening, speaking, reading and writing during whole group, small group and independent settings.
- 4 additional resources are provided to support you in implementing the strategies.
Module 5
How to close the gap for advanced ELLs and push them to English fluency!
Advanced ELLs are on their way to English fluency! When you purposely scaffold key areas you will give them the push they need to reach independence. Working with advanced ELLs can be tricky because they are able to do many things like their native speaking peers, but in this module we will be focusing on fine tuning those tricky areas for success.
Module Highlights:
- The #1 goal for working with advanced ELLs
- An advanced ELL cheat sheet that will help you have a quick reference whenever you need it.
- 8 video strategies that support advanced ELLs with listening, speaking, reading and writing during whole group, small group and independent settings.
- 5 additional resources are provided to support you in implementing the strategies.
Take the ELL Strategy Academy Challenge!
It’s true that in ELL Strategy Academy you’ll build a foundation that flourishes, gain insight into identifying and supporting the complex needs of language learners, and teach with joy and confidence for years to come.
This is a course that is…
…practical
…created by a teacher for teachers
...and saves you time and money
But unlike PD in school, courses at the university, or articles you find online, you won't spend weeks waiting for the material, digesting it and then figuring out how to apply it.
Enroll right now and you will have access to every module within minutes. From there you can dive right in and see how impactful this course will be on your teaching, and the success your ELLs will have after you’ve completed it.
I’m a teacher just like you. I stand behind this course and if you do not feel you are on your way to being the teacher your ELLs need you to be with all the modules, lessons, documents, and resources that are provided for you, then you can personally email me at [email protected] and I will give you a full refund within the first 14 days if the course is less than 20% completed.
Here’s what you’re getting when you enroll today:
The FULL ELL Strategy Academy Course - $300 Value
You’ll get access to all 5 video modules, course workbook, 25 strategy resource guides and explanation videos, and 40 additional support resources to make sure you implement and begin using these strategies with confidence and ease.
- Lifetime access to the private facebook group - $100 Value
- 6 Sessions of Q& As in the Facebook Group - $85 Value
- BONUS: English Language Proficiency Assessment- $10 Value
- BONUS: Strategy Sticky Notes-$5
Total Value: $500
When you add it all up, that’s a value of $500
But because I am for YOU and YOUR ELL students, I’m giving you the opportunity to enroll in ELL Strategy Academy TODAY at the special promo price of just...
Limited time deal!
Pay-what-you-want for this course!
I want you to get the PD you've been looking for at the price you can afford.
Frequently Asked Questions
What people asked before they signed up for ELL Strategy Academy
This course would be great for you if you are looking for ways to coach and help homeroom teachers support their ELLs in small, tangible ways. The language used in this course, is meant to be simple enough for any teacher who has never had experience working with ELLs, and will help them feel that differentiating for their needs is possible!
When we purposely create a classroom to support the needs of ELL students, the test results will speak for themselves. Because you will be able to provide specific support for each individual student in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, your students will feel confident when it is time to take the assessments.
The strategies included in the course are meant to ease your burden by taking very little prep time. After just a few weeks of learning the strategies, you will see how easily you can provide a scaffold for a specific activity, without needing additional time during your day. This course will also help you have eyes to observe and collect data so that your time working with small groups and individual students is used as best as possible.
Yes! 40 additional resources are included with the course so that you aren’t just learning the strategy, but having the resources to use the strategy right away. You can also have an option to buy a full curriculum for Newcomers at a discounted price.
Practical implementation is the purpose of the course. I’ve made sure to remove any fluff and only provide strategies and ideas that you can implement easily, quickly, and while feeling supported. I also will provide additional weekly support through the facebook group along with a community of other educators to learn and grow from.
No problem! The beauty of this course is once you buy it, all the materials are yours for life! It is also set up for you to go at your own pace so you can work on 1 module per week, or 1 strategy per week. You can also go back at any time to review the material taught.
Note that this course will only be available for a limited time! Doors will close Wednesday, September 25 so that I can focus my attention and time to all new students.
Once you have purchased the course you will have access immediately to the entire course. All the modules and materials will be available for you to start.
Still undecided?
ELL Strategy Academy is the right choice for you if...
- You are a new teacher. Statistic show 1 out of 4 students in the classroom is an English Language Learner, and still many universities are not providing the training to support these students specific needs. This course is a great way to set you up for success on being able to differentiate starting your first year teaching.
- You are a veteran teacher, but new to working with ELLs.
- You are a new ESL teacher.
- You are an ESL teacher that is looking for a way to create better lines of communication and support with homeroom teachers.
- You have had training and PD on meeting the needs of ELLs, but are still struggling with what that looks like everyday in the classroom.
- You are looking for a way to lighten your load of lesson planning and modifying work for your ELL students.
- You are an administrator that is looking for a way to build a culturally welcoming school and for all teachers to have a common language and foundation to begin with.
- You are ready to change the direction of your year this year and implement a new style and framework for teaching.
- You care about the needs of your ELLs and are willing to spend time learning how to meet them where they are in their language journey and help them succeed.
- You are unable to afford a degree in ESL, but would really like to learn.
If you answered yes to any of those statements, then join me in the ELL Strategy Academy!
Here’s what you’re getting when you enroll today:
ELL Strategy Academy - $300 Value
You’ll get access to all 5 video modules, course workbook, 25 strategy resource guides and explanation videos, and 40 additional support resources to make sure you implement and begin using these strategies with confidence and ease.
- Lifetime access to the private facebook group - $100 Value
- 6 Sessions of Q& As in the Facebook Group - $85 Value
- BONUS: English Language Proficiency Assessment- $10 Value
- BONUS: Strategy Sticky Notes-$5
Total Value: $500
When you add it all up, that’s a value of $500
But when you enroll today, you’ll get access to everything for just:
Limited Time Deal!
Pay-What-You-Want for ELL Strategy Academy!
I want you to get the PD you've been looking for at the price you can afford.
