ELL Strategies for Mainstreamed Students

(Grades 6-12) / Flex Course

PDI Course Number: 118T02 / UCSD Course Number: EDUC40275

Course Description

As the student population becomes increasingly diverse, do you find yourself wondering how to best help the influx of English language learners in your own classroom? English language learners, also known as ELLs, are the fastest growing group of students over the past two decades, and while there are plenty of programs and resources available to them in the elementary grades, the fact is that these resources tend to dwindle at the middle and high school levels. This online course is designed for teachers in grades 6-12 who wish to explore how to better help these students succeed academically, while simultaneously supporting their cultural heritage as well as their social and emotional well-being. Teachers will learn specific strategies to best support ELLs on their path to the acquisition of a new language. Teachers will take a deep dive into how culture affects the acquisition of a new language, and they will learn a variety of culturally responsive teaching strategies to support their English language learners. This course examines best practices for supporting and scaffolding ELLs in the areas of vocabulary, English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Teachers will learn how having a growth mindset favorably affects ELLs’ forward progress with language acquisition, and they will be introduced to a number of different strategies to assess these learners, both formally and informally. By the end of this course, teachers will feel far more comfortable teaching their English language learners. This course is worth 3 ⅓ semester units/5 quarter units (50 hours of training) from University of California San Diego (UCSD) Division of Extended Studies. For detailed information on university credit, click here.

"This course was wonderful. There is so much information with the book, the articles, videos and online links. This is my third ELL course and I have learned so much." - Sharon Wholey