Assessment Accommodations
What assessment accommodations do you use in your classroom for your ELL students?
I find that small group discussions are supportive for all learning styles to include our ELL students. In a small group with a facilitator, students often feel more comfortable expressing their thoughts. The facilitator can move from group to group to assess student understanding and review key concepts as needed.
Sherry ,
Yes, you have made the classroom environment safer by creating the smaller groups. Learning occurs when students feel safe and are allowed to make mistakes. This also allows you to give some individual attention in each group. Excellent organization on your part and I know more work which will produce results.
Arlene Muller
Sherry, As I mentioned in my reply, which you may not have received yet. I acknowledged the extra effort you took to set up the groups. The smaller groups create a safe learning environment for ELL students. It also allows you to give more individual attention to your students. This organization style improves your students learning ability.
Arlene Muller
Facilitator
Arlene, I am fortunate to teach in a class that is relatively small and we utilize many strategies to engage our learners. The class environment is conducive to students feeling secure in small group discussion as well as role play.
Sherry ,
I salute your efforts and your greatest gift is that you care. Students can sense when the instructor is coming from integrity.
Arlene Muller
In my ESL classes I can assess in a variety of ways. The textbook tests are often very subjective. I find it difficult to get a clear picture of the student if I've already spent a semester with them in Spoken and Listening class and I have to evaluate them. We are used to speaking and hearing each other by the end of the term. The true test is can others be understood and understand them.
Deborah ,
Yes, you are on the right track in your understanding of your student's performance levels. How do they perform outside of the classroom is the true test. An exercise in role playing of basic conversations is also very helpful to improve a student's skill level.
Arlene Muller
I rely on small group discussions with my ELL students and try to actually sit with them at eye level. It seems to promote better communication because you are engaging them at a more personal level.
lorraine,
Excellent technique to be at the student eye contact level. This creates a non-threatening atmosphere and allows the student to feel comfortable in their learning environment.
Arlene Muller
I have a "not so small" ELL classroom of a total of 32 students. I like to facilitate their learning experience by providing the following accommodations in class: a sense of comfort and security, humor and lots of modeling and guidance throughout the lesson's exercises.
mayda,
Wow! 32 students, I respect your dedication. You have all the right factors as priorities comfort creates sociability, security allows the students to feel safe to make mistakes, humor allows the students to relax. I admire your endurance.
Arlene Muller
I assign students into small diversity groups and give them a particular topic to discuss. I find that majority of the students understand one another better and comprehend by using this technique. If a student is still unsure of the comprhending from each other, I role play. I find this to be vert helpful. Also implementing all learning styles is a strategy that I use to help students. Some students have asked if he or she can bring a recorder to class, which I do allow.
Vatina,
Wonderful! I also enjoy the techniques of role playing. The students become very involved and they feel free to learn.
I applaud your time and energy, since I know how much time it takes using this technique.
Arlene Muller
Peer review and group work can be effective towards helping them become more comfortable with the material. Of course this is true for all students not just ELL.
Earle,
Excellent, it also allows the students to realize that they are not the only ones having trouble with a certain concept. They realize they are learning.
Arlene Muller
The majority of my ELL students are Hispanic, many who come directly from their native country to attend our school. They speak conversational english well but have trouble with lectures and exams.
In response to this I have had all of my written exams translated into spanish and I have them write down any words or phrases I use that they do not understand so I can better explain it to them when I have one on one time with them.
Sharon,
Wow, I salute your efforts to be with your students one on one. Since your students do grasp conversational English take that knowledge to another level and teach them "Conversational Testing" Divide the testing process in to 3 parts Pretest, test and post- test. Give them a vocabulary for Pretesting. Instruct them on words that they need to understand when they will take a test and follow with vocabulary for true and false, multiple choice and call it "conversational testing" so they become familiar with the testing vocabulary. You can also use the Spanish version of directions followed by the English version. You have gone the extra mile by having your testes translated.
Arlene Muller
In my classes I give all my students a vocabulary list for each unit where they can write out the definition of the words they need to understand to be successful for this content. I also give them an outline form of the power points I use for lecture. I do small group projects, care studies, and we have a skills lab once a week. Then we do a clinical session one day a week to help bring all these concepts together as they practice their skills in the field. Besides tests I give them take home assignments they can spend more time doing that help their knowledge level and can add to their grade.
Jeanne,
I love your organization of your material and activities! I find that students learn better when there is motivating structure in the classroom. Your structure of activities with the lab session to bring the concepts together uses the three major learning styles. I also see that this structure allows for the student to be responsible for his/her learning.
Arlene Muller
