When looking at how to make a classroom a conducive to the learning of ELLs and non-ELLs alike, it would seem that positivity is the key. Mi-Hwa Park discusses reducing the achievement gap between ELLs and English-proficient students. Park focuses on the importance of positive emotional experiences or \u201cemotional scaffolding\u201d as a crucial element in helping ELLs succeed in the classroom in her article \u00a8Increasing English Language Learners\u2019 Engagement in Instruction through Emotional Scaffolding\u00a8. Much like Vygotsky\u2019s idea of the co-creation of knowledge between student and teacher, the article engages with the idea of the \u201crelational zone\u201d, which is a shared emotional space between child and adult. She argues that cognitive development has been proven to be inseparable from emotional development in a number of studies, and emphasizes the need for teachers to make emotional scaffolding a conscious part of their pedagogy. Considering that emotional scaffolding can benefit all students, this to me seems to be a wonderful way to conceive of creating a classroom culture that can support ELLs in a covert way.<\/p>\n
In this TEDx talk, Sid Efromovich talks about five techniques that make for effective language learning.<\/p>\n