Connecting with Parents of English Language Learners

All families want the best education for their children and ELL families are no different. Even with language barriers and schedule constraints, parents of ELL students can be your biggest ally. Education Week Teacher Contributor, Larry Ferlazzo recently posed the following question.

The responses he received gave some important feedback to help teachers understand and connect with ELL students and their families.

There are several strategies that teachers can practice and implement with their English Language Learners parental outreach that can help to actively involve and connect with the parents.

• Answer the FAQs - Many ELL parents have questions that need to be answered when their sons/daughters first join the new school. Some of these questions might relate to the child's language level, making friends or doing homework. Keep in mind that many ELL parents may feel uncomfortable asking questions early on.
• Share Student Progress - Many parents of English language learners worry about progress as well as other aspects of school that may be challenging to ELLs. Making friends, learning the second language, and even the students' progress compared to others in the classroom are some of the concerns that parents have.
• Connect Through Culture - Connecting ELL parents through a cultural understanding is the best way to build a strong relationship to ensure the student's success in school. Educating oneself about the race, culture and ethnicity by doing research will help to build a culturally competent foundation to communicating and connecting with the parents.

(credit: Response From Rusul Alrubail)

Additionally, provide a variety of ways to meet the families: face-to-face meetings, Open Houses, newsletters, and social media. Technology can provide a lot of assistance with language barriers when interacting with ELL families. Thankfully, we are in the 21st century and technology is here to the rescue. There are a number of tools that can help you bridge that communication gap. Google Translate, Remind, and Class Dojo are a few popular options for finding technology help.

Karen Nemeth, Ed.M. is an author, consultant and advocate focusing on early childhood education for ELLs/DLLs, and recommends trying to engage parents in four key areas:

• Engaging families in their child's learning.
• Engaging families as active participants in the school community.
• Engaging families to improve two-way communication
• Engaging families to make sure they receive the support they need to ensure their child's school success.

To successfully connect with parents of English learners, schools need to make a whole-school effort to establish a welcoming environment and build bridges that go both ways.

Pepper ELL courses can provide insight to working with students and their families that are learning the English language. These courses will help build relationships with your ELL students and ultimately help them learn. Be sure to check out Pepper for other professional development opportunities as well.