I have not had to teach any adults that did not speak fluent English, but I have taught their young children and had to communicate daily with the parents. Than in itself was difficult at times. I can only imagine how much harder it may be to teach those who are learning English and who also have a learning disability.
Comments
Hi, Angela -
Thank you for sharing a little bit about your teaching experience. The intersection of being an English Language Learner (ELL) with a Learning Disability (LD) can offer a lot of challenges and opportunities. It's a challenge in the first place to know whether an ELL is struggling because of external issues, or whether it could be related to an LD. The good news is that many of the same best teaching practices used in ELL classes are also best practice for teaching learners with LD. I'm curious if community members are interested in learning about targeting teaching strategies for working with ELLs and learners with LD? If you are, feel free to leave a message here, or email me directly. I'd love to develop an event around this topic in 2023, if there's interest.
Mike Cruse
Learners with Disabilities Moderator
michaelcruse74@gmail.com
Hi
Our ELL faculty met recently with representatives from Disability Services for an informal conversation about serving EL students and it became clear that faculty have many questions about this. Any information would be appreciated. Thank you
Cristina Parente, Education Director - ELL Programming, WI Technical College Systems