“I dwell in possibility.” Emily Dickinson
Instructional Strategies for English Language Learners
Listening
Speaking
Pre-emergent
> Student does not yet understand
English
Seat student near teacher or pair with
peer translator
Provide key information in student‟s
primary language
Pre-emergent
> Student does not yet verbalize
> Student can point to important
parts of a group presentation
Allow sufficient wait-time for student
response
Emergent
and the daily schedule—convey in
student‟s primary language
Teacher prompts:
Show me…
Circle the...
Where is…?
Who has…?
Repeat commands and directions
pantomime, facial expressions,
gestures, articulation, eye
contact, high-frequency
vocabulary
Show/display print to support
oral presentation
Emergent
Communicate the learning objective
Post and reinforce classroom rules
and the daily schedule—convey in
student‟s primary language
Seat student near teacher or pair with
peer translator
Use visuals, manipulatives,
pantomime, facial expressions,
gestures, articulation, eye
contact, high-frequency
vocabulary
Emphasize key elements for student
note -taking
Reduce idiomatic expressions, e.g.
“This will be a piece of cake!”
Use nouns or clarify pronouns
Identify synonyms for key
vocabulary
frequently
e.g., „ note to a friend‟, „ exit card‟.
Teacher prompts:
Yes/No questions
Either/or questions
1 -2 word answers
Why…?
How…?
Explain…
Allow sufficient wait time for student
response
Coach student to verbalize in
English
Coach student to speak in complete
sentences
Provide safe opportunities for
student to speak/respond
Intermediate
Teacher prompts:
What would happen if…?
Why do you think…?
Encourage student to use complex
sentences in oral presentations
identifying synonyms
Coach student‟s growing use of
academic language
Advanced
Teacher prompts:
Decide if…
Retell…
Reading
Pre-emergent
> Student does not yet read
> Student will preview text material
by looking at bold print, pictures,
and graphics
Draw attention to headings,
paragraphs and questions in text
, e.g., family/familia
vocabulary notebook
Provide key information in student‟s
primary language
Prompt student to formulate
questions by turning headings,
subheadings, illustrations and
graphic aids into questions.
Identify cognates, e.g.., family/familia
Provide reading materials at
student‟s independent reading level
Identify word parts (prefixes,
suffixes, and roots)
the text to eliminate
unnecessary information
relationship created by
Tier 2 vocabulary words
(see chart in last column)
-meaning words
Intermediate
Modify the text to eliminate
unnecessary information
Tier 2 vocabulary words
(see chart in last column)
Prompt student to apply a reading
comprehension strategy to text after
teacher modeling
Identify cognates, e.g., family/familia
Provide reading materials at
student‟s independent reading level
Encourage oral reading fluency
through understanding of
punctuation
Identify multiple-meaning words
Advanced
frequently
Advanced
s, i.e.,
capitalization, punctuation
Accept work in student‟s primary
language
Modify assignments/homework
to focus on key vocabulary
Emergent
Intermediate
Encourage student to use
academic language
Writing
Pre-emergent
> Student does not yet write
> Student can copy examples
> Student can copy or label for
a group presentation
Align assessments to the identified
learning objective from the State Core
track effort, progress and
achievement
Emergent
Use explicit cues to access prior
knowledge, i.e., KWL Chart
Use graphic organizers to focus
student attention on what is
important, not what is unusual
homework completed by Englishdominant student
Direct student in group work to
create a non-linguistic
representation of the material.
student essays, e.g. “I went to the zoo
and…”, “Unlike Americans,
Asians…”
Allow student to revise and
resubmit after corrective feedback
Maintain Writing Portfolio to
track effort and achievement
Intermediate
Encourage student to use more
complex sentences by looking for
sentences that can be combined
with conjunctions or by adding
introductory clauses
Expand student vocabulary by
identifying synonyms
Ensure that the student‟s sentence
fluency consists of varied sentence
starters
Break down specific elements of a
complex skill or process
Allow student to revise and
resubmit after corrective feedback
Advanced
Allow student to revise and
resubmit after corrective feedback
Align assessments to the identified
learning objective from the State
Core
Researchers in ESL vocabulary
development have identified a 3
tiered chart of English words.
Tier 2 words should be explicitly
taught.
Tier 1



Words needed for everyday
use
Words needed for academic
conversations
Words needed for
scaffolding more
complicated text
Tier 2

Transition words that
function as roadmaps for the
reader.
at, into, within, by, if
cause and effect words:
because, due to, as a result, since, for
this reason, therefore, in order to, so
that, thus…
contrast words:
or, but, although, however, in contrast,
nevertheless, on the other hand, while…
addition or comparison words:
and, also, as well as, in addition,
likewise, moreover, by the way…
giving example words:
for example, for instance, in particular,
such as…

polysemous (multiplemeaning) words that are used
differently across domains,
e.g. the polysemous word
cell could be a computer cell,
a biological cell, a jail cell, a
single compartment
Tier 3

Words limited to specific
domains
Calderon, Margarita. Teaching
Reading to English Language
Learners, Grades 6 -12. 1.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
Press, 2007.