While attending the Michigan Association of Bilingual Education Conference recently, I learned much about the needs of English Learners (ELs) as well as those of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers throughout the state of Michigan. The Michigan eLibrary has several free eResources that can be beneficial to these populations.
The past year, our state has seen many school-age refugees from Afghanistan and Rwanda, and there is a need for content in languages such as Kinyarwanda and Pashto to support these learners with their introduction to the English language. With a built-in translation tool, articles in Britannica School can be translated into these as well as Arabic, French, Spanish and at least 70 more languages. There is also a double-click English dictionary (for individual words) that can be accessed in the articles, assisting learners with the definition, pronunciation, part of speech, and a listening tool to hear the word spoken. Britannica School is a resource for 3rd through 12th grade students, with articles leveled by Elementary, Middle, and High School.
Some eResources have articles offered in multiple languages from publications throughout the world. In many EBSCO products, using the field code LA followed by a space and the language you’re seeking (ex. LA Spanish) gives results of books or articles in that language (if available). Additionally, there are many articles like Spotlight on Welcoming Library in the eResources that help ESL teachers with ideas for unique immigrant populations. Direct access to current and past publications such as Ahora, Arab World English Journal, Bonjour, and High Five Bilingüe is available through eJournals from MeL.org.
Alphabet books are a great resource for assisting ELs. The eBook K-8 Collection has over 100 alphabet books as well as the My First Bilingual Book series, which offers learning in Bengali, Farsi, Korean, Urdu, Vietnamese and several other languages. By copying the permalink or selecting the Google Classroom icon, these books can be linked directly in your classroom learning management system.
While there are many eResources that offer language options, don’t forget PebbleGo with its visual navigation, read-aloud tools, and built-in media support to help all learners. Additionally, Read It! (highlighted in a recent MeL Minute) is an outstanding resource to support middle and high school English Learners.
If you are having any issues linking to items on this page, please explore the MeL eResource Access Page. Contact melerhelp@mcls.org for help.
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