This brief is part of a series from the National Research and Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners. The brief provides concrete and actionable suggestions for districts and school leaders, educators, families, and policy makers on how to support English learners in a remote learning environment. The brief also focuses on how schools and district can develop and implement effective and efficient professional development practices that will help their educators support English leaners’ academic progress.
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NEW: Ensuring Continuity of Learning and Operations
Facilitating Online Learning
These resources address how schools and educators can create distance learning plans and lessons that take into account the unique learning needs of English learners.
National Survey of Public Education’s Response to Covid-19: Spotlight on English Learners
This brief shares findings from a survey administered across the United States to public and charter school systems regarding their response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on English learners. Survey results indicate varied levels of support for resources necessary towards the education of English learners in distance learning environments, such as the availability of support in languages other than English and time for general education and English learner teachers to collaborate.
How to Expand ELLs' Access to Technology for Distance Learning
This article from Colorín Colorado by Lydia Breiseth begins with identifying lessons learned from Spring 2020 distance learning and future priorities for English learners’ (EL’s) access to technology. Breiseth shares lessons learned about access to devices for students and suggestions for planning ahead. The article also describes challenges and potential solutions for internet access and includes resources for tech support and training. The article provides reflections from educators in the field and links to other Colorín Colorado articles on student privacy online, and offline instruction at home.
ELLEVATION Instructional Activities
ELLEVATION has created instructional activities specifically designed for English learners (ELs) developing English language proficiency and learning academic content through distance learning. The activities include demonstration videos, graphic organizers, slide decks, and student work examples. Activities are available in English and Spanish.
Chapter 22: Distance Learning with ELLs
This chapter, written by Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski, comes from their upcoming book, The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide, 2nd Edition. The authors have made the chapter available early to support educators teaching in the age of COVID-19. Ferlazzo and Sypnieski address how to best support English learners (ELs) during distance learning and offer a number of instructional strategies and resources. Topics include building relationships with students, cooperative activities, feedback, equity, and supporting parents of ELs. Tech tools and samples of student activities are described throughout the chapter.
Making the Connection: Communicating with ELLs and Their Families During School Closures
This article, written by Lydia Breiseth for Colorín Colorado, includes tools, resources, and tips for maintaining connections with English learners and their families during school closures. Breiseth offers strategies for making communication a priority and determining contact information and preferred methods of communication. She also provides resources for translation and describes the importance of check-ins for learning and social-emotional health. The article also includes “Voices from the Field” with advice and insights from educators across the country as well as links to related resources on the Colorín Colorado site.
Fact Sheet: Providing Services to English Learners During the COVID-19 Outbreak
This fact sheet from the United States Department of Education outlines states’ responsibilities to English learners (ELs) and their families during extended school closures and remote learning. It provides specific guidance in a question and answer format on annual English language proficiency (ELP) assessment, entrance requirements, providing services to ELs, use of Title III funds, exit procedures, and communicating with parents of ELs. The fact sheet also provides additional resources from the U.S. Department of Education.
Offline Learning at Home: Ideas for English Language Learners
This article, written by Beth Skelton and Mia Ariela Allen for Colorín Colorado, provides ideas and best practices for reaching English learners (ELs) without access to the Internet as well as ideas for building on families’ cultures, home languages, and assets. The article includes ways to partner with families; offline learning opportunities for developing speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills; and tips for creating accessible learning packets. The article also provides infographics and insights from EL educators in the field.
Critical concepts in distance learning for multilingual learners
This article, written by Erick Herrmann, provides six critical concepts for instructing English learners, both face-to-face and through distance learning. The six critical concepts are: 1) Consider the Linguistic Demand of Assignments, Websites, and Materials; 2) Build Background Knowledge; 3) Comprehensible Input: Videos, Pictures, Infographics; 4) Guided Practice and Feedback; 5) Interaction; and 6) Assessment. Concepts include links to articles discussing the concepts in-depth.
Distance Learning Solutions
This list of resources, compiled by UNESCO, includes resources for psycho-social support, digital learning management systems, systems built for use on basic mobile phones, systems with strong offline functionality, online course platforms, self-directed learning content, mobile reading applications, collaboration platforms, tools for teachers creating digital learning, and external repositories of distance learning resources. Many of the resources are available in multiple languages.