This article was a great read! I am working with my first English Language Learner this year and am trying to learn as much as I can. I have found tip number one to be extremely helpful - making the students laugh. I try to incorporate my sense of humor into all of my teaching as I think it make students feel at ease. I have found that laughter is the universal language - even if my students cannot understand my words as well as I would like them to, they can understand my body language, laughter and facial expression! This helps them to feel at ease in their environment and open their brains for learning.

The ELL Director at my former school noted that the classroom teacher needs to consider the ELL student in the class as one of the smartest students for the following reason, "How many of us could survive/operate in an educational program that is not in our mother tongue and succeed? These students are doing just that!"

These tips are helpful. I am always looking for techniques from "the pros" who have been successful from years of experience. (I tutor ESL adults at several different levels)