Welcome to The ESL Teaching Podcast, a place for K-12 teachers of English learners who are looking for simple and easy-to-implement ways to engage their students and for inspiration and empowerment in their day-to-day teaching. Whether you need a boost of confidence in reaching ESL/ELL newcomers, students in mixed proficiency level classes, or clarity in how to help them access content in the mainstream classrooms, this podcast will quickly become your go-to spot for inspiration and support. ...
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Episode 112 - 5 Non-Negotiables for Integrating ELs in Regular Education Classroom
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When it comes to teaching English learners, some things come naturally for EL teachers, while regular education teachers might be wondering how they can reach their multilingual students. I have several episodes about teaching all ELs, but I wanted to distill this information into even more practical and really actionable advice that all teachers c…
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Episode 111 - 5 End of the Year Hacks to Finish the School Year With Sanity
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I don't know about you, but every year around April, I feel like my energy is drained. I can no longer focus, and the feeling of inadequacy begins to creep in. The students have absorbed as much as they could. We all are just counting the days until that summer break when we all can recharge and look at things from a different perspective. But we h…
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Episode 110 - The Two Most Important Soft Skills for Teachers of English Learners
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In education, hard skills such as the academic knowledge of the subject and the know-how of teaching in general, the strategies, the methodology, the assessment are the focal point. But today, I wanted to talk about the soft skills that are much more difficult to define and quantify because they are less concrete, but have been proven time and time…
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Episode 109 - Rewriting the Script of Negative Self-Talk for Teachers
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Welcome back to another episode of The ESL Teaching Podcast. Today we're tackling an issue that's close to the heart for so many of us educators: the challenge of negative self-talk. As teachers, we navigate not only academic pressures but also the emotional and mental weight of our personal lives. Recognizing our humanity is crucial to maintaining…
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Episode 108 - No Plan? No Problem! 5 Activities for those "I can't even" days
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Welcome to Episode 108 of The ESL Teaching Podcast! In this episode, I share my go-to activities for those "I can't even" days, when exhaustion and lack of inspiration make lesson planning a struggle. I candidly discuss my own experiences with feeling tired and bored while teaching, and offer practical, low-prep activities to reignite the classroom…
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Episode 107 - The Heart and Art of Teaching ELs in Regular Education Classrooms with Zach Camenker
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My guest Zach Camenker, and I explore the challenges and joys of teaching English learners in a regular classroom. Zach, an English Language Arts teacher, shares his struggle with the repetition of the curriculum and his passion for reading instruction. The importance of adaptability, feedback, and collaboration in setting up a successful classroom…
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Episode 106 - 6 Most Common SEL Challenges ELs Face in the Classroom
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We talk a lot about instruction of English learners, how we can accommodate our lessons, how we can scaffold, and what to teach them in general. But today, I wanted to bring to light another aspect of working with English learners that is just as important for all teachers to know as the instructional strategies. It is the social emotional aspect t…
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Episode 105 - 3 Misconceptions About Teaching Newcomers in Regular Classrooms (and how to reframe them)
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Welcome to episode 105 of The ESL Teaching Podcast. In this episode, I address three common misconceptions about teaching English learners in regular classrooms and provide practical strategies to reframe them. I discuss the importance of understanding the language acquisition process, the role of subject area teachers in language instruction, and …
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Episode 104 - Landing the Gig: 3 Secrets to a Successful Teacher Interview
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Welcome to Episode 104 of The ESL Teaching Podcast! In this episode, I share valuable insights into how you can prepare for your ESL teacher interview. I delve into three essential tips to help you nail your interview: being prepared, being yourself, and asking questions. Through personal anecdotes and practical advice, I hope to provide guidance o…
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Episode 103 - Questions Answered - Developing Supportive Mindset for EL Success
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Guess what? It's Q & A time. I receive many emails from teachers sharing their current biggest struggles, both EL teachers and classroom educators. I read every single email, and although I don't always have the time to respond to you personally, I want you to know that I see you and I hear you. And with that, I also know that if one person is aski…
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Episode 102 - 3 Essential Keys to Assessing English Learners
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Testing season is upon us, and with it, changed schedules, test practice, and new questions about how we can help our students, especially ELs, navigate this time of quite a bit of stress. Any test, whether it's a check-in quiz, a unit test, or a serious state assessment, can be a challenge to an English learner, especially one that is at a newcome…
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Episode 101 - Math is NOT a Universal Language and Here is Why with Odalis Amparo
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How many times have you heard this phrase, math is math, it is a universal language. Well, let me tell you, it is not. And that is exactly what today's guest, Odalis Amparo from Illustrative Mathematics, and I talk about. Odalis is a skilled educator who is highly committed to elevating the voice and supporting the achievement of students and teach…
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Episode 100 - It's Our 100th Episode! Comments From Listeners and Hot Seat with Simply Ieva
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You're listening to the 100th episode of the ESL Teaching Podcast. Can you believe the ESL teaching podcast has been around for 100 episodes? Me neither. This occasion certainly calls for celebration, and I wanted to make it a little different than usual. Instead of interviewing another wonderful educator or giving you teaching tips, today, you wil…
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Episode 99 - Why Less is More When Teaching EL Newcomers and Beginners
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This is episode 3 of the 3-part series called, “You Can't Buy Language at Walmart: 3 Essential but Overlooked Details of Teaching Language to EL Newcomers and Beyond.” In the previous episodes, I talked about the time it takes to acquire a language and about proficiency levels and why they are essential for teachers to know when working with Englis…
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Episode 98 - EL Newcomer to Experienced Multilingual: A Journey Through Proficiency Levels
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Today's episode is episode 2 of the 3 part series, which I called, “You Can't Buy Language at Walmart: 3 Essential but Overlooked Details of Teaching Language to Young Newcomers and Beyond”. In the previous episode, I talked about the stages of language acquisition and the most important aspect of learning any language, which is time. If you haven'…
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Episode 97 - How Teachers Can Harness the Power of Second Language Acquisition Stages when working with ELs
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Welcome to another episode of The ESL Teaching Podcast! In today's episode, I dive into the fascinating world of second language acquisition stages and how they impact teaching English learners. With a focus on the five stages of second language acquisition, I want to shed light on the importance of understanding this process for educators. From th…
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Episode 96 - Lessons Learned, Impact Made and the Wisdom to Bring Into the New Year
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In today's episode, I reflected on the wisdom gained and impact made in the past year, sharing valuable lessons for teachers of English learners. From the power of "less is more" in lesson planning to the importance of connecting with student families in a genuine way, I provide insights that can transform your teaching approach. Additionally, I em…
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Episode 95 - Empowering Adult English Learners with Leah Mitchell
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Being an educational consultant is one of the most rewarding experiences one can have. Through my website and podcast, I hear from so many teachers from all around the world who teach a variety of ages in a variety of places with a variety of experiences and resources. And what's even more exciting is that I get to work with some of those wonderful…
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Episode 94 - From Vision to Reality: Intentional Goal Setting for the New Year and Beyond (re-air)
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With the new year right around the corner, we tend to reflect on the things we accomplished and what we can do to improve on the quality of our lives, both personal and professional, in the next year. So setting goals is especially popular this time of year. The hopes are high that in the coming year, we for sure will exercise more, or read more bo…
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Episode 93 - Cultivating Comprehension: The Art of Strategic Questioning for English Learners
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In today's episode, I want to delve into the art of cultivating comprehension through strategic questioning for English learners. Every day, I am amazed at how language intense our students' classes are. Instructions are given in lengthy paragraphs and posted in Google Classroom or any other form your school uses. Students are required to show thei…
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Episode 92 - Embracing Diverse December Celebrations in ESL Classrooms
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December is right around the corner, and we all know that everything seems to gain speed once Thanksgiving is over. With a few weeks left before the holiday break in December, we also want to make sure our lessons are meaningful and not just busy work. Have you ever wondered what December holidays are celebrated around the world? This question has …
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Episode 91 - EL Curriculum Magic and Mastering Classroom Dynamics (Q and A)
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As I was planning this episode out, I looked at all the things we talk about on this podcast. That is a lot! From EL newcomer teaching and all that is related to that, how to teach grammar and vocabulary, where to find materials, different teaching strategies and tips, teacher collaboration, ELs in regular education classrooms, and so many more top…
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Episode 90 - Teaching Thanksgiving with Accuracy and Empathy
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A couple of years ago, I had a conversation with a student who had just arrived from Turkey that inspired a monthly newsletter to our staff about celebrations around the world for that month. In November, as we were going over the days that we will be in school and why we have a break at the end of the month, we talked about the celebration of Than…
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Episode 89 - The Three Cs of EL Family Engagement
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Welcome to episode 89 of The ESL Teaching Podcast! In this episode, we dive into the three Cs of EL family engagement: connection, community, and continued support. I want to share my personal experience of creating a space for parents of EL students to come together and have coffee and conversation. Through this informal setting, my partner and I …
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Episode 88 - How to Use Novel Study to Enrich Vocabulary and Speaking
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Reading is always a hot topic, and teaching reading to English learners presents its own set of challenges. It has to do with grade level, with English proficiency, and other factors. So today, I wanted to share with you how I have been implementing novel study this school year with my middle schoolers in particular, and that has allowed my student…
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Episode 87 - What Does it Take to Acquire a Language and Why All Teachers Should Know This
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What does it take to acquire another language? In my previous episode, I used a phrase that I have heard many times, “Oh, but there's another language spoken in the home.” The statement can mean so many things and nothing at all. I want to break down what it takes to acquire another language in today's episode. If we are to embrace the notion that …
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Episode 86 - Here Are Your 3 Essential Truths to Reaching ELs in General Education Classroom
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Last week, I was talking to my colleague who was so overwhelmed by all the questions and comments coming from the regular education teachers and frankly, the unwillingness of some to pause and take the situation in for what it was. We chatted a bit and calmed down, but a part of me was still dissatisfied. Sometimes, EL teachers are spread so thin o…
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Episode 85 - EL Class Structure and Vocabulary Instruction: A Peek Into My Classroom
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A while back, I recorded an episode about how I structured my middle school class, and since I work at 2 schools, middle and high school, I wanted to offer you a little glimpse into how I structure my high school classes. I have more students at the high school this year and more classes, so there's plenty of room for creativity. Lesson planning an…
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Episode 84 - Every Teacher is a Language Teacher. Here is Why!
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Teaching multilingual learners requires great knowledge of language acquisition theory, teaching strategies, and methodologies. At the same time, it requires empathy, cultural awareness and openness. And that said, multilingual learners are not only students of EL teachers. They are all of our students. Every teacher is a language teacher. Sometime…
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Episode 83 - 5 Ways AI Can Help Save Teachers Time and Help Multilingual Learners
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Artificial intelligence, or AI as we call it, has taken over so many areas of our life, and teaching is no exception. I have been waiting to share my insights into what using artificial intelligence might mean for all teachers and especially those of us who work with multilingual learners, but now I think it is time. In this episode, I will share 5…
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Episode 82 - How to Master Small Group Scheduling and Instruction with guest Kristen Vibas
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Many teachers work with small groups of students and especially if you're in an elementary setting, making a schedule for those small groups can be one of the most challenging tasks of your entire school year. For today's episode, I have invited back my dear friend, Kristen Vibas, to chat about just that, the peculiarities of scheduling and groupin…
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Episode 81 - Unlocking ESL Success: The Top 5 Questions Every General Ed Teacher Asks
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I frequently receive questions from my content area teachers about how to help English learners in the classroom. And those questions frankly are the same every year from how to help a newcomer to more specific activity and engagement ideas. And I was wondering if there are any different questions that EL teachers get asked. So I posted this on Ins…
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Episode 80 - Empowering English Learners: An Asset-Based Approach
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The start of the new school year is typically extremely busy. There are new families registering students, students coming to their new schools, meeting their teachers and classmates. There's lots of screening, placement, scheduling, action, action, action. Multilingual learners join our communities all the time. But somehow, the deficit mindset, w…
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Episode 79 - The Power of Affirmations for English Learners and All Students
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The new school year is here. And as I'm looking ahead, I reflect about what worked and hasn't worked before and how I can encourage and empower my students even more this year. I work with teenagers, and there are a lot of nuances in their English learning, including one very important aspect: negative self-talk. It is sad to hear when a bright stu…
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Episode 78 - Starting Strong: Easy and Fun Icebreaker Activities for all EL Levels
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Many teachers either are starting their school year soon, or have already been at it for a couple of weeks. And this time of year, when everything is full of fresh new energy, is a good time to go back to icebreakers. Whether you have new students joining you or want to reconnect and have fun with the ones you already know, icebreaker activities wi…
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Episode 77 - How to Build EL Literacy From the Ground Up with Kyle Larson
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How do you build students' literacy and confidence from the ground up? My guest, Kyle Larson, and I talk about just that on this episode. How to help EL students with literacy, especially as they enter the US educational system in upper elementary grades or later, is an eternal question for all of us. There are so many nuances in this. I am excited…
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Episode 76 - Three Major Components of Effective Professional Development for EL (and all) Teachers
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Part of an EL teacher's job is to advocate for their students and educate and support their peers in language acquisition theories, teaching strategies and content delivery. This is where professional development comes into play. Frequently it is up to us to plan and deliver it in such a manner that it touches the most important aspects in a short …
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Episode 75 - How to Navigate Grade Transition and Collaboration with Colleagues
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Navigating to a new grade level and collaborating with new colleagues can be quite a challenge when it comes to being an ESL teacher. In today's episode, I chat with Sarah, who is a member of the ESL Teaching Roadmap membership. It's been a while since I talked about ESL teacher coaching, and with summertime in full swing, I know a lot of teachers …
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Episode 74 - Why Teachers Should Embrace Meditation As Part of Their Daily Routine
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For some time now, I have been wanting to share a tool with you that has helped me navigate to the difficult times as an educator as well as to be even more empathetic in situations that seemed like they had no solution. I am talking about meditation. If you haven't tried it, I know there are a lot of assumptions about what meditation is and why it…
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Episode 73 - The 3 ESSENTIAL Components of the Long Summer Break for Teachers
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As I was planning my summer episodes for The ESL Teaching Podcast, I hit a wall. In the spring I was on a roll…sharing tips and resources for EL and regular education teachers. In June you heard episodes all about lesson planning. But then I thought to myself…I am on summer break and I would love to chat about other things that are a huge part of t…
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Episode 72 - 4 Easy Ways to Differentiate the Same Lesson
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In this episode, I will be sharing all about differentiating for varied proficiency levels in your classroom. You will hear about the four ways you can differentiate, as well as concrete examples of how it might look for you and your students. This episode is part of this month’s series where we are talking about lesson planning as part of our shor…
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Episode 71 - How to Write Content and Language Objectives for EL Lessons
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Why is it important to have an objective in the lesson? Well, number one, it helps the students and you, the teacher, focus attention on what's most important in the lesson. In this week’s episode, I talk all about content and language objectives for your EL students. Last week, we kicked off our short and actionable summer professional development…
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Episode 70 - 3 Lesson Planning Mistakes That Can Keep You in the Rut
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There are two types of teachers. Those who close their computer for the summer and only open it to begin checking their work email a week or so before school starts. And there are teachers who combine their fun activities and relaxation with learning and catching up on professional development during the summer. If you are in the second category, t…
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Episode 69 - How to Engage English Learners with TPR with guest Meeghan Carter
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Let's talk about movement and engaging your whole body in language learning using TPR, or Total Physical Response. Meeghan Carter is an ESL teacher in Delaware and brings a vast experience from being a classroom teacher to even owning her own business. She has worked with students primarily in grades pre-K to 8th. Meeghan and I talk about topics th…
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Episode 68 - 5 Things to Do BEFORE Leaving for Summer Break
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As the summer is nearing, I want to talk about planning and time management. Not for the students, but about what we, as teachers, should do before we leave on summer break. You may be tired, and the desire to put things off until next year might be very strong. But over my years of teaching, I have learned that there are some small, but very impor…
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Episode 67 - 3 Ways to Finish the School Year Meaningfully
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May is one of those months that is long and fast at the same time. Somehow everything falls into this month as a teacher and in our personal life. As the school year is nearing its end, there are a lot of moving parts for us teachers to consider. From grading, to paperwork, to somehow engaging the students who are seeming to get a bit antsy. It is …
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Episode 66 - 3 Activities For a Mixed-Proficiency EL Class (re-air)
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A lot of teachers work with mixed-proficiency classes where they have newcomers and higher level students all at the same time. This makes for challenging planning, classroom management, and everything in between. With the school year winding down, it gets even trickier. In today’s episode, I wanted to revisit an episode I shared quite a while ago …
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Episode 65 - 3 Tech Tools that Work Wonderfully in the EL Classroom
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This episode is for you to learn, find out, and get excited about the possibilities of technology in your classroom. I will not be talking about ChatGPT or AI tools, simply because I am still exploring how they can be used ethically by both teachers and students in the classroom. However, I will be giving you tips and tricks on how to use my top th…
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Episode 64 - How to Pre-teach Vocabulary to ELs in the Mainstream Classroom (re-air)
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As we continue talking about English Learners in the mainstream classroom this month, I wanted to bring back a previous episode from last year that is very relevant to our topic. With vocabulary being the main component of learning a language, this episode is all about how to pre-teach vocabulary when you are a regular education teacher. Pre-teachi…
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Episode 63 - How to Grade EL Students in the Mainstream Classroom
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Today’s episode is sharing thoughts and tips on how to grade English learners. You will hear the difference between grading and assessing, what makes teaching English learners equitable, and the differences between equality and fairness. Grading an English learner can be an adjustment. It should be flexible and not a rigid formula. It is also essen…
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