Hi all!

I've just discovered WBT this evening on YouTube (wow!) and while I'm impressed with the demonstrations, I'm wondering how micro-lecturing will work with English language learners. I teach at a middle school with a large number of Spanish-speaking students (some of which cannot speak English at all). I'm excited about the possibilities for language practice that WBT provides, but I'm wondering how their comprehension will do with such a fast-paced method. I'd love to hear from other teachers with lots of ELL students in their classes. Thanks!!!

Getting ready for school in California,
Dawn

In my classroom over half of my students are English Learners. WBT is wondeful becuase they are speaking numerous times throughout the day. I use "Mirror Words" a lot while I am teaching and that is helpful for the English Learners to mirror what I am doing and also repeat what I am saying. That way they have practiced with me before they teach their partner. I feel that using WBT helps the English Learners learn English more quickly because they are always practicing it.

Also once you have your WBT routines in place, you will be amazed with how much oral development is going on in your classroom. It truly is amazing!

I completely second ajc2855's advice... I typically do not have the student mirror my words, but I have a class with a heavy ELL population, and slowing down and having them mirror my words and gestures has really improved the whole process. They are now getting to the point (3 weeks in to school), where they are doing some paraphrasing and more critical thinking, not rely so much on my exact wording!

I have a newcomer student who understands very little and speaks even less... but she particpates and repeats what I am saying - yesterday she finally answered a question and then broke out in a terrible case of the giggles when everyone gave her a 10 finger woo!!

My ELL students LOVE WBT! In the past three years, 80% of my ELL students have increased their English proficiency as measured by the California English Language Development Test. Sentence frames and question/answer using TEACH/OK work great across the curriculum.