Learning from Ms. Bailey

I had the opportunity to observe Ms. Bailey teach her beginner ELL course.  One thing that is immediately obvious as the students walk into her room is that they all light up.  It is clear that this is a classroom where students feel truly comfortable.  It is amazing to me how Ms. Bailey can get so many students from different backgrounds and language abilities to feel comfortable while also maintaining high academic standards.  Ms. Bailey is able to do something that I’ve always struggled with: help an ELL student to understand me without talking down to them or lowering my expectations.  I wanted to pay specific attention to how she did this in hopes of learning from her:

• Taking advantage of student interests. Ms. Bailey takes advantage of distractions and creates opportunities for her kids to learn.  At one point during class the big riding lawn mower started driving straight towards the wall of windows Ms. Bailey has in her classroom.  As junior high students do, the kids completely lost focus of the lesson because of this distraction.  
  Instead of trying to pull the kids back right away or reprimanding them for not attending to the lesson, Ms. Bailey asked “Do you know what that’s called?”  And then she took a moment to talk about the word “lawn mower” and the phrase “cut grass.”  By the time she finished talking about these phrases the novelty had worn off and kids were ready to move on with the lesson.
• Natural repetition.  Ms. Bailey takes advantage of every opportunity to repeat instructions, but she does so in a way that flows naturally in the lesson.  So, for example, she might say “Page 22” twice, then say something like “we’re going to be learning about names on page 22.”  She gives students multiple opportunities to understand directions without making them feel like they’re not getting it.
• Restating instead of correcting.  If a student makes an attempt to say something in English and it comes out wrong, Ms. Bailey restates what they were saying the right way instead of making the students feel that they’re making a mistake.  So, for example, if a student says “She is exciting” Ms. Bailey says “Yes! She’s excited!”  
• Lots of visual cues.  Ms. Bailey gives directions aloud, uses body language like pointing to act directions out, as well as writing directions on the board.  She has multiple ways for students to understand what is happening in the class.  But again, she does this very naturally--she’s not over-emphasizing or jumping up and down.
• Kindness and compassion.  Ms. Bailey acknowledges when the students are feeling nervous and gives so much positive reinforcement.  She rewards every attempt with enthusiasm and nudges the kids who are nervous along with “It’s okay! You can do it! I”ll help you.”  It seems that they students know Ms. Bailey is someone who is willing to take the time to help them work through confusion.