Apps for Dual Language Learners

As a new teacher, it is scary to think about how to communicate with my students that speak little to no English. It is a big enough task to teach reading and writing to students that have spoken English their whole lives, so teaching these subjects to students that speak another language is very intimidating. Luckily, there are multiple apps that can assist me when teaching these students. In fact, there are too many to even name them all! 

 Montessorium: Intro to Letters ($3.99 in the app store) is an app that is geared for lower elementary students. This app teaches students how to write the letters of the English alphabet and the sounds each letter makes. Another app that is helpful in lower elementary is Endless Readers (free limited version in the app store). This interactive app introduces English sight words to students. Each word leads the students to a puzzle for them to complete that reinforces the learning of that word. Duolingo is friendly for all ages and is a language learning app. This app is free for all users and encourages the learning of another language through mini lessons and goal tracking. Duolingo makes a corresponding app called Tinycards (free in the appstore), which reinforces the learning from the previous app through animated flashcards. Aside from the plethora of apps available on the app store, there are also multiple youtube channels that cater to English Language Learners. A few of these youtube channels include Rock’N Learn, Hoopla Kids, and my personal favorite, EnglishSingSing. Aside from apps and videos, it is ultimately up to me to teach these students the material they need to know in order to succeed. I can do this through a variety of strategies that will accommodate English Language Learners. For example, assignments that allow students to learn independently can be a huge relief to those who are overwhelmed trying to listen to the teacher when they do not understand. By having students write words they see around the room, they will learn new words, practice writing the English alphabet, and begin to make connections that they may not have made through a small group lesson or online video. It is also very beneficial to pair these students up with English speaking students quite frequently. High noise levels and interacting with other children is one of the best ways for an ELL student to learn English. There is less pressure on these students to understand and they are able to adapt at their own pace. The video below tells more about accommodations that can be made in the classroom for English Language Learners.