Bilingual Education

Statistics and Methods for Helping EL Students

Top 5 languages spoken by

ELLs in 1015-2016:
1. Spanish/Castilian-
3,741,066
2. Arabic- 106,917
3. Chinese- 92,277
4. Vietnamese- 68,221
5. Somali- 27,516 Less than 80% of Els were Spanish Speakers 80%
+ of Els were Spanish Speakers

Methods to Help English Language Learners in the Classroom

For Mono- and Bilingual Teachers

1. Speak slowly and clearly

 To a non-English speaker, when English is spoken it sounds very fast and they often do not
understand what is being said because they hear multiple words as a single word. Make sure to
speak a little slower and clearer for EL students.
2. Make the lesson visual
 Try to implement visual aids such as graphs and pictures. EL students find it difficult to
understand only verbal lessons or instructions.
3. Model Instructions
 When giving instructions, show your students what you want them to do, do not simply tell
them,
4. Allow for group work
 Let EL students work with other students in small groups where they can practice their English.
5. Don’t force oral participation
 Many EL students have a silent period in which they do not tend to speak or participate. Respect
this period.
6. Allow interaction with other students who speak the ELL’s native language.
 Students need to be able to have people they can talk to in their native language, this helps to
ease and comfort them in the new environment.
7. Pre-teach if it is possible.
 Give the student a pre-lesson with extra detail or information that will be necessary for them to
understand the lesson that will be taught that day.
 8. Learn about the student’s cultural background
 Taking note of the student’s cultural background will help the student see that they are respected
and will also help you to include culturally relevant information that may help the lesson by
building on their background knowledge.
9. Pay attention to culturally-unique vocabulary.
 There are certain words or phrases that are culturally relevant to the students. By helping them
learn these words and phrases in English, they will be able to communicate more effectively and
more easily.
10. Build on background knowledge
 By building off information the student already knows, it will be easier for them to grasp the
concept of the lesson that is being taught that day.

Gonzalez, J. (2014, December 11). 12 Ways to Support English Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. Retrieved from
www.cultofpedogogy.com/supporting-esl-students-mainstream-clasrrom

McClymont, G. (2019, April 3). 10 Top Classroom Strategies to Help English Language Learners Succeed. Retrieved from
wwwowlcation.com/academia/5-easy-strategies-to-help-english-language-learners-succeed-in-your-classroom

Note. Reprinted from Twenty-Five Most Commonly Spoken EL Languages and Language Categories, as Reported by States, Including DC: SY
2015–16, by U.S. Department of Education, retrieved from http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/fast-facts Copyright 2018 by Department of
Education.

Figure 1. States, Including DC, With 80 Percent or More Spanish-Speaking ELs: SY 2015-16. Reprinted from Languages Spoken by English
Learners (ELs), by U.S. Department of Education, August 2018, retrieved from http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/fast-facts Copyright 2018 by
U.S. Department of Education.