The idea of providing better support to English language learners is something that has grown near and dear to me. We have an ESL teacher's office located in our library back room, and I have come to know her services and students very well. I think the work she does is incredible on many levels, and I have talked to her about how I can support these children with my limited budget. I have a decent foreign language book collection, but after reading Jacqueline Jules article, I am inspired to purchase more books about countries (and states) of origin. For example, we have recently had some students enter our school from Puerto Rico, and I think it would be nice for them to be able to share a book or story about their home of origin with their classmates. We also used Google Maps to look at satellite pictures and street views of the island. I am also going to add the Britannica Escolar database to my website. I did not realize that it was available from NOVEL! Several sources also emphasized the importance of having a visual, such as a flannel board, to tell stories. I imagine this would not only help students understand the story itself, but English vocabulary as well.
I plan to keep the articles in this section close by to reference as I grow my library to be more ELL friendly. These resources were inspiring by pointing out how the library can assist these children in acclimating to a new home while finding pride where they came from.
Great ideas! And what amazing opportunities you have to collaborate with your ESL teacher. Lucky students to have both of you.
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