How the Ell Brain Learns

by David A. Sousa

"This book is one of the best I′ve read on how the brain functions in second language learners and is invaluable for understanding ELLs with learning disabilities."--Irma Guadarrama, ProfessorUniversity of Texas-Pan American College of Education "David Sousa brings together all of the research about the brain to show the process of learning multiple languages and offers ways to implement effective teaching strategies with quality instruction."--Sharon Latimer, ESL TeacherPlano ISD, TX Raise your ELL success quotient and watch student achievement soar! Teachers are more likely to succeed if they have a deeper understanding of the challenges students face in trying to learn English and course content simultaneously. How the ELL Brain Learns combines current research on how the brain learns language with strategies for teaching English language learners in K-12 classrooms. Award-winning author and brain research expert David A. Sousa describes the linguistic reorganization needed to acquire another language after the age of 5 years. He supplements this information with immediately applicable tools, self-assessment pretest for gauging your understanding of how the brain learns languagesReady-to-use brain-compatible strategies for teaching English learners across the curriculumAn entire chapter about how to detect English language learning problems, with sections on the social, cultural, and physical causesEach chapter features teaching tips that translate the research into step-by-step classroom applications. Also included are intervention strategies to use with struggling ELLs, including methods for working with older students.

Genres: Teaching, Education

288 pages, ebook

Published October 4, 2010

Reviews

[Jennifer DuBose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating. I don’t know if this book was good for making me a better teacher of English learners or convincing me that any children I birth MUST be bilingual.

This is a great resource for anyone with ELL students. It makes brain science digestible for ordinary people. The authors explain in a non complicated way how the brain learns language and what are the best ways to accommodate that during instruction.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Awkwardly written and strangely organized. Many of Sousa's suggestions are too thin on the ground to be useful.

[Angela Leopold · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is good for any elementary teacher to read, especially if you have ELL Learners in your classroom. It helped me understand how the brain works- especially in regards to processing vocabulary, information, etc. There are great activities that an ESL teacher can do. More than anything, it encouraged me to push my students academically and to be their advocate with Gen Ed teachers, who just be educated on how they learn.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how Sousa arranges and writes his books. They are part science, part theory and part methodology. They are incredibly interesting to read and very easy to use. At the end of each chapter he gives lesson plans on how to use the theory.