- Avoid the "cultural deficit model." Recognize that all families want their children to be successful. Explicitly value any family efforts that support school. Doing so fosters in educators a disposition to build on what families do.
- Acknowledge anxiety and frustration as natural outcomes of English language learning. In-class activities can acknowledge that social and emotional responses are part of the learning process by building in opportunities for students to discuss their experiences with school culture.
- Spend classroom time inviting connections between home and school. Invite students to share and discuss connections and create assignments that encourage and reward students for relating an assignment or topic to their out-of-school experiences.
- Make homework purposeful and communicate language and content goals to families. Families need help knowing what progress and work is expected of students.
- Show students how schoolwork connects to work or ideals valued in their community and to roles and expectations they may encounter in future work.
Five Principles with Twenty Examples for Engaging ELL Families-table
Preschool | Grades K–2 | Grades 3–5 | Middle School | High School | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Know your school's home-language data. (Many states require schools to allow parents to identify a home language on a registration survey.) | X | X | X | X | X |
Conduct home visits or phone calls with parents. | X | X | X | X | X |
Speak face-to-face with parents before and after school. | X | X | X | X | |
Promote preschool opportunities to families with young siblings or relatives. | X | X | X | X | |
Invite parents to volunteer at the school. | X | X | X | X | X |
Learn parents’ preferred names and address them this way. | X | X | X | X | X |
Discuss comprehensibility of assigned work as part of regular feedback. | X | X | X | X | X |
Provide home-language print materials in classrooms. | X | X | X | X | X |
Listen to parents interact with children in their home language. | X | X | X | ||
Use and post home-language phrases and expressions. | X | X | X | X | X |
Provide live interpreters for school activities. | X | X | X | X | X |
Keep electronic translators on hand when communicating. | X | X | X | X | X |
Schedule family nights to demonstrate expected school routines. | X | X | X | X | X |
Invite parents to read with students at school and serve as guest speakers in classes where their knowledge and expertise are relevant. | X | X | X | X | |
Communicate in-school activities and experiences to families. | X | X | X | X | X |
Explain changes in expectations for content and concepts based on grade level. | X | X | X | X | |
Write clear explanations of curriculum and resources. | X | X | X | X | X |
Set up small-group breakout sessions at back-to-school nights and conferences to encourage comments and questions. | X | X | X | X | X |
Create assignments that encourage students to use their home language and culture. | X | X | X | X | X |
Give language-oriented tasks in homework assignments, such as identifying new vocabulary or unfamiliar usage. | X | X | X | X | X |