Tag Archives: ELT reading

4 Ways Teachers of ELs Differ From Reading Teachers

Barbara Gottschalk
Barbara Gottschalk

“Are you teaching them to read?” asked the custodian as she unlocked the door to my classroom. I had forgotten my key and needed to get ready for my before-school class with English learners (ELs). I didn’t have time to … Continue reading

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What’s Different About Teaching Second Language Reading to Adults?

Barbara Gottschalk
Barbara Gottschalk

Early in my career, I used to be jealous of reading teachers. They had so much native speaker reading research to back them up, they had curriculum, they had progress tests, and they had ways to diagnose deficits. In contrast, … Continue reading

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Assessing Assessments: 5 Points to Consider

Barbara Gottschalk
Barbara Gottschalk

Are you preparing to begin a new academic year? For many teachers in the United States and other parts of the world, the answer is “yes.” Even if this isn’t the case for you, it’s safe to assume almost every … Continue reading

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5 Ways Phonics Is Different for English Learners

Barbara Gottschalk
Barbara Gottschalk

Chalkbeat Philadelphia recently published a great article about the difficulties young English learners (ELs) in the Philadelphia School District were facing during the pandemic. What spoke to me in the story was a quote from EL teacher Shuxin Chen. She described … Continue reading

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7 Tips for Doing Read-Alouds the Right Way

Barbara Gottschalk
Barbara Gottschalk

Early in my career, when I taught a self-contained class of fourth- and fifth-grade newcomers, I definitely did read-alouds the wrong way. I knew research showed the benefits of reading aloud to students, especially English learners. I knew reading aloud … Continue reading

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4 Tips for Building Background Knowledge in ELT

Barbara Gottschalk
Barbara Gottschalk

Why is background knowledge so important for reading comprehension? Background knowledge, the information and experiences we already have about a topic, helps us make links to new information. It’s a key reason we can comprehend text written at a higher … Continue reading

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Reflecting Students’ Lives in Children’s Literature

Judie Haynes
Judie Haynes

When I was a K–6 ESL teacher, I often felt frustrated because I couldn’t find high quality books that reflected my students’ lives.  Many of the books available to my students were about the folklore or fables from their home … Continue reading

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