Reviewed
by Julie Dermody, NBCT
Mary Scroggs Elementary School
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (NC)

"Just let me know what you need," my school's ESL teacher said as
she walked out my classroom door. My new student had just
arrived from Korea the day before and didn't speak any English.
I didn't speak Korean. I was so unprepared for this experience
that I didn't even know where to begin to ask for help. What
I wish someone had put in my hands was Getting Started
with English Language Learners, by Judie Haynes.

Judie Haynes, an experienced mentor teacher, understands the needs
of English Language Learners (ELLs) as well as the needs of
classroom teachers who are not trained to work with ELLs.
As our ELL population continues to grow (currently ten percent
of the total US school population) more and more teachers
will find themselves in a similar situation. Good thing for
those teachers, Judie Haynes book' is now available.

Getting Started with English Language Learners supports classroom
teachers as they strive to provide ELLs with an effective
learning environment. Through the effective use of case studies,
Haynes starts her book with True/False questions concerning
key concepts of second-language acquisition. True or False?
Children learn a second language faster and more easily than
teenagers and adults do (false). She then focuses on how students
acquire social and academic language and shares current research
— including the fact that the most significant variable
in how long it takes for a student to learn English is the
amount of formal schooling the student received in their first
language.

Hayes examines the five stages of language acquisition and presents
activities that would help ELLs learn best in each stage.
She also ties in learning styles and Bloom's levels of critical
thinking. "The Newcomers' First Weeks of School"
(chapter 4) is especially helpful. Again, case studies are
used as examples so readers can see how various age groups
of ELLs can be make to feel a part of the classroom community.

Content-area challenges are discussed as well as differentiating instruction
for ELLs. The final chapter in this book helps sort out the
differences between various programs and methods available,
such as Sheltered English Programs, the Sheltered Instruction
Observation Protocol Model (SIOP), the Cognitive Academic
Language Learning Approach (CALLA), and the Total Physical
Response (TPR) approach.

This book is most helpful to two main audiences: teachers unfamiliar
with having ELLs in their classrooms and those professionals
that develop and present staff development for such teachers.
The appendix has 11 activities that can be used for interactive
staff development. Included are true/false and yes/no activities,
an activity designed to show ingrained cultural behaviors,
cultural scenarios (including scenarios on differentiating
instruction), and a form that can be used to rate your school
on its practices to support ELLs.