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Berlin Public Schools

Purpose. Passion. Pride.

Educators Resources

Tips For Educators

    • The better developed a student's "first" or "native" language is, the better their English will become. Language skills transfer.
    • If parents/guardians are not proficient in English, this will not assist the children in developing English well and might establish patterns that need to be corrected later.
    • If parents/guardians are not proficient in English, then, in effect, by telling them to speak English, it limits communication between the generations. It is crucial that children have extensive interaction with parents/caregivers and other family members. This can only be done in whichever language they are most fluent.

    • Social language develops much faster than academic language.
    • If an English language learner has basic oral communication skills, don't assume they are "fluent enough" to be successful without continued classroom differentiation and ESOL services.
    • The student still needs to master academic language. Long-standing research has proven that social language develops typically within 3 years; academic language develops typically within 5-7 years.

    • We have an extensive (and growing) collection of multicultural and bilingual books at each elementary school. English language learners can borrow books in any language. They can read at home with siblings, parents, grandparents, etc.
    • We have bilingual flyers to encourage families to talk together about books before, during, and after reading. ESOL Family Literacy flyers in many languages are posted along the right side of this page.

    • Using just one measure of proficiency (for a single domain) is not enough to judge proficiency in the other domains.
    • Most ELs develop proficiency in Speaking and Listening sooner than in Reading and Writing.
    • For many ELs, reading fluency and reading comprehension are very much separate. Many ELs demonstrate strong reading fluency but are still developing comprehension. However, it is also common for ELs to demonstrate limited reading fluency yet strong comprehension.

    • Students who feel their culture and identity validated in the classroom are much more likely to engage with literacy than those who perceive their culture and identity ignored or devalued.
    • Be sure your classroom includes images that are reflective of students' cultures, from the instructional texts and materials to the instructional activities, from the classroom walls to the classroom library.

HELPFUL RESOURCES

FAVORITE VENDORS FOR PURCHASING BILINGUAL & MULTICULTURAL BOOKS & MORE...

Bilingual Family Literacy Flyers

Please feel free to contact Jean Borrup, District ESOL Coordinator, at jborrup@berlinschools.org at any time. If you like, Ms. Borrup can arrange a telephone call in whatever language you wish. In your email, please suggest a few times that are convenient for you, please provide a telephone number where you can be reached, and please tell the name of your child.