5 Step ELL plan for Chinese and Korean students

Step One Identify Students
1. Who
  1. Being the teacher it is your responsibility and possibly collaborate with other school staff
2. What
  1. Identity any ELL Students that you have, their level, and what support they need
    1. Identify if students are Chinese, Korean, or other
3. When
  1. If possible try to find out before they enter your class but if not you should identify them once they are in your class
4. Where
  1. Identify the students in school, if possible or needed consult the parents
5. Why
  1. To identify what languages are spoken and how to assist and incorporate their needs into your classroom.
    1. Identifying what the students native language is, any other languages they may speak or be learning and what are their levels in each
      1. This step informs the teacher of the levels, cultures and needs of their student and allows them to plan accordingly
6. How
  1. Collaborate with other educators, parents and do research online as needed and talk to your students if possible as well
Step Two Modifying and Accommodating
1. Who
  1. Primarily the teacher but if there are possible school modifications utilize those
2. What
  1. Modifying lessons and curriculum to assist student learning and incorporate differences
    1. Once you have identified your students needs and level you can modify lessons to address any needs.
3. When
  1. Prior to lessons and during class as needed
4. Where
  1. In the classroom and around school
5. Why
  1. To encourage and motivate students by giving them the tools and support to succeed
    1. Making all students feel included and understand cultural differences
6. How
  1. By researching and planning according to the students needs incorporating specialized teaching strategies and tools
    1. Use clear and simple instructions providing visuals or demonstrations if possible
      1. When levels vary significantly, higher level students can be used in demonstrating some instructions making activities more relatable.
    2. Vary learning styles to incorporate projects, group work allowing students various ways of showing understanding
    3. Provide them with tools such as a thesaurus or dictionary to assist in understanding.
Step Three Language assistance
1. Who
  1. The teacher and other students
2. What
  1. Identify major language differences or communication errors
3. When
  1. Through out the year and each class
4. Where
  1. Primarily in the classroom
5. Why
  1. To assist with misunderstandings and general language acquisition
    1. This assist both the teacher and the students. Chinese students might sound demanding to an uniformed teacher when really they just don't understand modal verbs
    2. Phonetics can be hard at any level so knowing which sounds, such as R and L, are difficult for students to pronounce or hear can allow the teacher to modify how they might speak or use pictures and actions to assist
6. How
  1. Using visual aids, technology, higher level students
    1. Pairing higher level students with lower level students
    2. Pictures, translation technology, or even simply demonstrating instructions can be incredibly useful
      1. Visual aids should be posted around the classroom if possible as well as given out to students as a handout for them to refer back to
Step Four Cultural Bridges
1. Who
  1. Teacher, Parents, and School
2. What
  1. Incorporate and teach about the different cultures
3. When
  1. As needed
    1. Holidays, special events, in class activities, or school festivals
4. Where
  1. In the classroom and school
5. Why
  1. To show the importance and differences of cultural
    1. As an ELL teacher you should be teaching your own culture, and the cultures of all the students in the classroom
      1. This teaches respect and understanding towards others. Can assuage culture shock, teach them to assimilate to new cultures or at least accept them.
      2. Especially in a Korean classroom with Chinese students this step can be difficult as often do not want to work together due to cultural bias
6. How
  1. Celebrate Holidays, create cultural activities or events, pair students together with different backgrounds
    1. The teacher should share and teach about their own holidays many important holidays in the various cultures as well
      1. Both Koreans and Chinese students celebrate the Lunar New Year but teaching Chinese students about the importance of Korean Chuseok would allow for a better understanding of a major Korean holiday.
    2. Creating classroom activities that ideally lets the students teach each other about different cultures
      1. A passport activity where students have to share information about their own culture and get "passport stamps" for each place they learn about
    3. Culture fairs at a school level if possible
      1. Teach about many different cultures beyond what is in the classroom showing students that their are many differences
    4. Pairing students of different cultures together in groups to encourage both active and passive learning of culture
      1. May be difficult if attempting to pair Korean and Chinese students together
Step Five Beyond the Classroom
1. Who
  1. The teacher, students, parents and families
2. What
  1. Collaborate with parents and if possible the community as a whole
    1. Both Korean and Chinese parents have high expectations of their children and often at least one parent wants to know something they can do to help. Collaborating with them can encourage ELL
3. When
  1. Beginning of the year and frequently throughout
4. Where
  1. Around the school, at home, and ideally in the community
5. Why
  1. This step builds a support base at home and encourages positive relationships
    1. Teachers have limited time with the students but if the parents and community reinforce what is being taught students are more likely to learn and accept cultural differences
      1. This is incredibly important in Asian cultures because students and the young place great importance on family and what those older than them think, Korean collectivism especially, so if the parents reinforce acceptance at home students are more likely to as well
6. How
  1. Regular communication with parents and community informative events
    1. Call parents often and provide translators when needed.
    2. Utilize events or meetings inviting and encouraging parents to come and participate
      1. PTO meetings, Parents day, or fundraisers are some examples
Fill in the Blanks
1. This Plan is aimed at teaching students as well as making them feel comfortable in the classroom. However, it is subject to change and should be regularly evaluated or modified based on effectiveness
  1. Speak with students to see how they are progressing and if the plan is effective
  2. Use surveys or simple evaluations to identify effectiveness or missing components
  3. Collaborate with parents and other educators who are in contact with the students outside of class
  4. Be prepared to add or modify the plan based on new students or information
  5. Research new and improved methods of for teaching cultural understanding and acceptance in the classroom
  6. Keep notes on progress and specifically what has been effective or ineffective to modify for future classes