5 Step Action Plan for ELL Students

Welcoming Different Cultures
Principal Welcoming Students
UN Day Celebration
Multi-cultural Curriculum
Bilingual Parent Volunteer
Buddy Up
References
1. Hofstede Centre (n.d.). Strategy, Culture, Change. Retrieved on April 18, 2016 from https://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html
  1. Haynes, J. (2004). Working With Bilingual Parent Volunteers. EverythingESL.net. Retrieved on April 18, 2016 from http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/bilingualparents.php
    1. Haynes, J. (2004). Establishing an Atmosphere of Acceptance.. EverythingESL.net. Retrieved on April 18, 2016 from http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/bilingualparents.php
2. Ellteachersurvivalkit. (2016). How to Develop Relationships with Peers. Retrieved on April 18, 2016 from http://ellteachersurvivalkit.wikispaces.com/How+to+Develop+Relationships+with+Peers
Welcome the Students
1. Who: Principals, Teachers, Students
2. What: Welcome students as a whole school, as a class and individually using some of their own language and culture
3. Where: In the auditorium classroom, at the entrance of the school
4. When: As the students are coming into school each morning and a big welcome assembly at the beginning of the year and on the first day of school.
5. why: to include the students and make them feel part of the community and respected for who they are
6. How: The principal stands by the entrance to the school as children are arriving, saying 'hi' in their native language, teachers say hello in their native language and ask each child to introduce themselves at the beginning of the year and share about their culture; Have an assembly at the beginning of the year where each of the cultures are introduced briefly and the kids from those cultures welcomed.
7. Chinese students could be welcomed in Chinese and the Malay students in Bahasa Melayu, Some of the culture could be represented at an assembly with all students.
Celebrate UN Day
1. Who: Everyone in the school as well as parents
2. When: On UN day, but preparations are done for weeks as it is a big celebration and on the calendar at the beginning of the year.
3. What: Parents decorate rooms and prepare foods from their home culture, students dress up in their country's traditional clothing, kids walk around school on UN day in their costumes learning about different cultures and sampling foods.
4. Where: The school turns into the world and the rooms either represent one country or several depending on how many countries are represented in your school
5. Why: It gives the ELL students a chance to share their culture and a chance for the rest of the class to understand their culture better.
6. How: Get parents and students excited and planning at the beginning of the year, then put up posters and reminders and send out notes in via email for parents to volunteer and help out. Then provide times for them to get together.
7. Chinese and Malay students can dress up in native costumes and share native meals thus finding more confidence and pride in themselves and their culture and helping other students to understand them better. The parents of the ELL students have a chance to get involved in their child's education and feel more accepted in the school community.
Include Curriculum from their Culture
1. Who: All classrooms
2. What: Books, history, art, music from each culture represented in the classroom
3. Where: Books on the free-read shelf, in the assigned curriculum, art on the walls and in the curriculum, music in the curriculum
4. When: During teaching and in celebrations and non- academic times
5. Why: The more knowledge students have about each others culture, the more they come to appreciate and understand each other's behaviors and traditions. This can lead to inclusion rather than exclusion and bullying.
6. How: The teacher must plan and purchase multi-cultural materials ahead of time. They need to find out the cultures present in their classroom and plan when and how they will inculcate the classroom with the divergent cultures.
7. China and Malaysia are on different sides of the world from America and therefore the stories, art, music, and histories are very different from such in America. The ELL student will feel more comfortable if some of the things they are learning are familiar. In turn, the American students will feel closer and be able to understand the ELL students better after learning curriculum from their culture.
Pair them with a Friend
1. Who: Each ELL student should be paired with a responsible, well behaved and high achieving child who will befriend them and help guide them through their schoolwork.
2. What: The friend should show the child how to get around school, go to lunch and recess together, and introduce the student to other children, as well as help the student navigate through assignments
3. Where: In each class, on the playground, in the lunchroom, in the classroom, at assemblies
4. When: During each class, at recess, lunchtime, snack time, break time and any time there is a transition
5. Why: The new ELL student will feel overwhelmed by a new environment and not be able to understand and read signs above doors to know where to go. Having a buddy that they know they can trust will add needed confidence and assurance. Having a fellow student to be with will ease the pressure off of the teacher and the ELL student will most likely feel more comfortable with a peer. The ELL student will not know how to read instructions of assignments etc... so the buddy can be an example for the ELL student to model in his schoolwork until the student knows english sufficiently to do independent work.
6. How: It is critical that the buddy is a caring and kind student that will help the ELL student rather than bully them. The buddy should stay with the child all through the first day and gradually taper off by the whenever the ELL student is acting confident and doing school work on their own.
7. (Ellteachersurvivalkit, 2016)
8. Chinese culture does not reward people who question, so the Chinese ELL student may not dare question their teacher even when they need to, having a peer to ask questions of would help eliminate stress on the part of the ELL student. Malaysians are used to having many siblings and a community of relatives and church members, having a buddy may help them feel more at home.
Enlist the Help of Bilingual Parents
1. Who: Bilingual Parents
2. What: They can help ELL students for an hour a few times a week; they can explain how American education works; be a liasion between the school and the family; help with forms etc...
3. Where: In the classroom, in the ELL student's home, on fieldtrips,
4. When: During regular class time, during registration, when behavior problems arise,
5. Why: A bilingual parent understands both languages and cultures so creates a bridge between the cultures and languages for the ELL student and their family.
6. How: Bilingual parents can attend parent -teacher conferences with the ELL family, can help them fill out forms in English, can help the family navigate the differences in education in an American culture and help with sensitive issues that may arise.
7. (Haynes, n.d.)
8. Chinese parents are usually very anxious to see their children do well in their studies, helping them understand the activities based and hands on type education that is done in American schools can help eliminate tension between Chinese parents and their children which will in turn help the Chinese students to perform better in school. Malay parents on the other hand may need assurance that their child is getting access to halal foods at school and may want to make sure that the moral standards of their children are not being violated in the classroom, having another parent that knows the system and can translate the cultures as well as the language would help eliminate anxieties. (Hofstede Centre, n.d.)