Increasing Language Output For English Language Learners Through Interactive Language Strategies In The Elementary Mainstream Classroom

My experience as an EL teacher working with language learners on a daily basis and seeing the need for language support throughout the academic day led me to my research question, how can classroom teachers increase language output for English Learners through interactive strategies in the elementary mainstream classroom. Based on my research on interactive language strategies, I created a professional development series intended for all mainstream classroom teachers. The purpose of the presentations is to build teachers’ repertoire of interactive language strategies they can use in their classrooms to scaffold and differentiate for language learners in all content areas. The presentations will allow teachers to learn the strategies, practice them, and plan for differentiation and use in their own classrooms. Three different presentations will be given at different parts of the school year as part of the professional development series, and each will follow the same format of teaching and practicing the strategies. The intent is to give teachers access to strategies that they can then use in their classrooms immediately, and then build more and more strategies into their classroom routines as the year progresses. Ultimately, the goal is that teachers have a toolbelt of strategies that meet the needs of language learners and they are using them regularly, and students feel empowered to be the best versions of themselves and see themselves as successful learners