Scaffolding Strategies for Exited English Language Learners
Focus Statement
The purpose of this report was to explore classroom strategies and supports for exited
English Language Learners at the high school level. While enrolled in the ELL program, these
students attended a separate class for assistance and language development. Once exited and
labeled proficient English learners, these support systems ended for most students. This required
the individual content teacher to provide scaffolding for assignments and activities to ensure
exited ELL student success. I was interested in exploring various scaffolding techniques to meet
the needs of exited Latino students in my classroom.
When I began teaching at Aloha High School in the fall, I instantly had a connection with
the three Latino students in my Pre AP World Literature class. I had been studying Spanish for
the last five years, so I was able to chat in Spanish, ask random Spanish questions, talk about one
student, Mariela’s, upcoming quincenera and Mauricio and Ricardo’s passion for soccer. I felt
there was an appreciation from these students at my attempts to use and better my Spanish
fluency. I was able to utilize this connection to engage these students when discussing the Latino
authors and short stories we studied by asking them to pronounce and translate Spanish
vocabulary that appeared in our readings. After Thanksgiving break, I left Aloha for my Winter
term placement.
I returned to Aloha in the Spring to teach my second work sample on Shakespeare’s The
Tempest. While I differentiated for several types of learners, as well as special needs, I did not
specifically differentiate for ELL students because they were not considered ELL any longer.
While I still maintained a bond with Mariela, Mauricio and Ricardo, they began to struggle and
fall behind the further we went into the Shakespeare unit. In the following units, Mariela
requested individual help before school, however, even after numerous conversations with
Mauricio and Ricardo to offer help and check in, they continued to struggle and eventually
stopped coming to class. I had a strong belief that relationships with students could solve most
issues, but our bond was simply not enough. This was the driving factor behind my research on
scaffolding strategies because even though my ELLs were exited, they still required support that
I was unable to provide.