Communicating With ELL Parents

Communicating with parents of English Language Learners can sometimes be a challenge but there are several things teachers can do in order to overcome any barriers that may be present. Parent involvement can benefit any student, especially ELL students. Reaching out to parents can be intimidating for teachers, just as intimidating as it is for the parents to reach out to the teachers. ELL students are more likely to be successful if their parents are actively involved in their learning. If teachers and parents can communicate, the students will benefit from it because they will have several people who support their education. In the next couple of paragraphs, we will discuss several ways teachers can build relationships with ELL parents. We

There are several events that schools do each year where everyone is welcome to attend. There are several reasons why ELL parents will not attend school events: they do not feel comfortable, they feel out of place, they are busy working, they do not have childcare, etc. Whatever their reason may be, it is the teacher’s job to make ELL parents feel welcome and comfortable to attend the events. It is important to build a trusting relationship with each parent before events take place, so they feel comfortable coming to the events. If there are several families that have the same home language, it may be beneficial for teachers and administrators to plan a Back-To-School night at the beginning of the school year that consists of families that speak the same home language. This can allow each family the opportunity to get to know other families that speak the same home language as they do. If something like this were to take place, someone would have to make sure ahead of time that a good interpreter will be in attendance, or a few interpreters, depending on how many families are expected to show up. This is a great time to get to know the families, communicate your expectations, and answer questions they may have. Another thing teachers can do is arrange a tour of the school for parents of English language learners. This could be done during the Back-To-School night or at a separate time. During the tour, it would be helpful to show the parents around the school, but also go over school expectations and policies that may need more explanation. The whole idea of a school tour is to help the parents and family members feel welcome and comfortable in the school their child will be attending. Another way to welcome ELL parents in the school is to hold a family night that has several different resources and services available. “Immigrant families may be unaware of the resources