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The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide: Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools, and Activities for Teaching All Levels
Maximize the educational potential of your ESL/ELL class with this singular resource The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools, and Activities for Teaching English Language Learners of All Levels, 2nd Edition offers readers a comprehensive range of instructional strategies and educational resources for teaching English. The newly revised 2nd Edition includes brand new chapters In addition to the new chapters, The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide contains updated material on topics including math, science, social studies, Common Core Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards and 150 pages of new, highly engaging content. An essential resource for anyone involved in teaching English as a Second Language to students of all ages, this book is perfect for general education teachers and ESL specialists for students in grades six through twelve. It’s also highly instructive for teachers of adult ESL classes, elementary and teacher educators, and resource specialists.
576 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 20, 2013
This book is potentially a career-saver for me. I am a teacher of ELL students in Taiwan, transitioning from year one to year two. Coming out of my first year, I have reflected on what I did well and what I could do better. The former, too little...the latter, too much. I returned to the U.S. for two weeks and brought back books similar to this one. Of the books I brought back, this has proven to be most effective, and I am exciting about using the lessons I learned from this book, modifying them for my classroom, and, I hope, seeing some real progress from my students!
There are a number of helpful game ideas, unit plans, and even relationship-building and classroom-management tips that I hope will prove highly beneficial to both me and my students.
The reason for 4 stars rather than 5 is that, after a few chapters, the authors tend to recycle ideas and re-word their plans and lessons; the repetition is important, but I did skip a couple of pages here and there.
Overall, a very helpful resource for teachers of all abilities!
There are a number of helpful game ideas, unit plans, and even relationship-building and classroom-management tips that I hope will prove highly beneficial to both me and my students.
The reason for 4 stars rather than 5 is that, after a few chapters, the authors tend to recycle ideas and re-word their plans and lessons; the repetition is important, but I did skip a couple of pages here and there.
Overall, a very helpful resource for teachers of all abilities!
November 19, 2021
Good Guide for ESL
It looks like it mainly focuses on California State School System. Most of the recommendations are solid and fair. It’s not anything an ESL teacher hasn’t heard before. My qualm with their statements about being in the middle with the Language Acquisition and Language Learning “crowds” as if the sides were early opinion and just different sides of a coin. Language Acquisition has solid research behind it supporting its reasoning. Plenty of research goes against the Language Learning theories. The Communication Hypothesis isn’t mentioned either. And the recommendations don’t reflect that Listening and Reading drive language development and speaking and writing are evidence of that learning. Speaking and Writing often lag behind Listening and Reading because of that.
It looks like it mainly focuses on California State School System. Most of the recommendations are solid and fair. It’s not anything an ESL teacher hasn’t heard before. My qualm with their statements about being in the middle with the Language Acquisition and Language Learning “crowds” as if the sides were early opinion and just different sides of a coin. Language Acquisition has solid research behind it supporting its reasoning. Plenty of research goes against the Language Learning theories. The Communication Hypothesis isn’t mentioned either. And the recommendations don’t reflect that Listening and Reading drive language development and speaking and writing are evidence of that learning. Speaking and Writing often lag behind Listening and Reading because of that.
January 28, 2021
This was supplementary reading for my course about teaching ESL elementary school students. It shows multiple key strategies backed up by research. The authors did a good job at condescending and explaining key ideas. The focus was clearly on the ESL students and what would benefit them.
May 11, 2025
Very good intro stories at the beginning of each chapter.
Has very good ideas on how to improve English language learning, like using the home language, trying to accomplish language learning competency in 6 years, and acknowledging race relations in the USA.
Has very good ideas on how to improve English language learning, like using the home language, trying to accomplish language learning competency in 6 years, and acknowledging race relations in the USA.
July 16, 2026
I think this will give me some strong options to help my 9th grade class this year. It also pairs well with all of the research I have been doing on upping my interactive notebook system. As is stated in the book, any practice that will help my ELL students will also help all of the others.
April 12, 2019
Useful tips but a bit basic at times. Love that it includes data from research and tons of resources to check.
June 16, 2020
Amazing book with rationale for every instructional suggestion.
August 13, 2025
Some practical, useful tips that I will try to implement.
October 24, 2024
Totally overpriced for what it is! $22 USD on Kindle? It seems ridiculous. That said, there were lots of good ideas, but it does come at it from the perspective of people teaching English in an English-speaking country, not necessarily people teaching in Asia, for example.
March 2, 2016
Good for a beginner
If you have absolutely no idea what you're doing, this is probably the perfect book for you. He walks you through in excruciating detail every single step of doing every single thing . However, if you are an experienced classroom teacher , and the extent of the detail is way way too much . He presumes you know absolutely nothing and need to be told every tiny thing and gives 43 examples when all he has to do is say, " do this type of exercise with the students ." Experience teachers will know how to do that type of exercise and don't need 14 examples of it . But he does cover a whole range of topics that are very helpful and it would be a nice resource to have in your classroom .
If you have absolutely no idea what you're doing, this is probably the perfect book for you. He walks you through in excruciating detail every single step of doing every single thing . However, if you are an experienced classroom teacher , and the extent of the detail is way way too much . He presumes you know absolutely nothing and need to be told every tiny thing and gives 43 examples when all he has to do is say, " do this type of exercise with the students ." Experience teachers will know how to do that type of exercise and don't need 14 examples of it . But he does cover a whole range of topics that are very helpful and it would be a nice resource to have in your classroom .
October 5, 2022
Good Guide to Teaching ESL
Most of this book can be found elsewhere and everything has been said before but it is also a good way to refresh a teacher’s knowledge and the author is a reassuring, compassionate writer. Very pro student.
Most of this book can be found elsewhere and everything has been said before but it is also a good way to refresh a teacher’s knowledge and the author is a reassuring, compassionate writer. Very pro student.
January 22, 2016
A guide every teacher must have. Very helpful and easy to use!
March 3, 2016
Currently saving my behind b
June 22, 2016
This was helpful and full of ideas.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews