Thanks to Joyce Valenzuala, I just learned this is National Library Week.
Libraries, both in schools and in neighborhoods, are important institutions for English Language Learners to learn about. I work both with our school librarian and with city library staff to organize regular orientations and visits for our students, and our school librarian is great about making sure there are accessible and engaging books for all levels of ELL’s available to read and to check-out.
I thought I’d create a short “The Best…” list sharing some of the websites our students also visit to become familiar with libraries. All these sites can also be accessed under the Government section on my website.
You might also be interested in my article “School Librarians and English Language Learners.”
Here are my picks for The Best Sites To Teach ELL’s About Libraries (and are accessible to English Language Learners):
ESL Civics has a very good ESL Library Lesson.
Listen A Minute, one of several great websites for English Language Learners maintained by Sean Banville, has an extensive feature on libraries. It includes listening, reading, quizzes, and hand-outs.
Photo Essay: Amazing Libraries Around the World is a great slideshow.
Here are some simple resources from Enchanted Learning.
Here’s a slideshow of libraries from NPR.
Everything you need to know about librarians is from Vox.
‘Improbable Libraries’ Beautifully Depicts The Fun Side Of Libraries is from The Huffington Post.
How to help #ELLs make the most of their school library: Tips, videos, book recs & more! https://t.co/pj365Z9iOQ #schoollibrary #ELLchat
— Colorín Colorado (@ColorinColorado) November 6, 2015
Getting ELL Students College-Ready Challenges School Librarians is from The School Library Journal.
Don’t Forget The Library is by Wendi Pillars.
Quote Of The Day: Junot Díaz On Libraries
Browsing the Stacks: A Photo Appreciation of Libraries is from The Atlantic.
Here is a collection of online learning games about libraries.
Here’s a game called Shelver.
Libraries and bookshops around the world: a video project. https://t.co/wHXg20xf9P pic.twitter.com/Xtsm5dbf8w
— Miguel Míguez (@onthesamepagelt) April 15, 2022
As always, feedback is welcome. Feel free to offer additional suggestions for this list.
If you found this post useful, you might want to look at previous “The Best…” lists and also consider subscribing to this blog for free.”
http://hubpages.com/hub/teaching-esl-students-library describes great ways for ESL teachers to use the resources of school and public libraries. Have a great National Library Week!
English Club has a post in its Survival English section for ELLs who want to start using a library in an English speaking country
http://edition.englishclub.com/survival/library/
And speaking of ESL and libraries, ESL-Library.com is working hard to make some of its content available online for student access. Stay tuned teachers!