Episode 107 - The Heart and Art of Teaching ELs in Regular Education Classrooms with Zach Camenker
My guest Zach Camenker, and I explore the challenges and joys of teaching English learners in a regular classroom. Zach, an English Language Arts teacher, shares his struggle with the repetition of the curriculum and his passion for reading instruction. The importance of adaptability, feedback, and collaboration in setting up a successful classroom environment for diverse learners is stressed. We discuss the need for better preparation for teachers facing ELL students and Zach's personal reasons for pursuing a master's in TESOL. Both of us reflect on the value of making connections with students and the pressures of meeting curriculum standards. Zach expresses his career aspirations towards leadership, illustrating his extensive involvement in educational extracurricular activities. The episode highlights the complex balance between following the curriculum and addressing the individual needs of English learners.
What you will hear about in this episode:
- Challenges faced by mainstream teachers with ELL students
- Benefits of feedback and suggestions from colleagues and students
- Challenges due to students' lack of cultural and historical background knowledge
- The balance between connecting with students and delivering curriculum
Show Notes:
Simply Ieva Offers:
🥳 On-Demand Digital Library “Light The Way to EL Teaching Success” 🥳
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- Free Audio Training - 3 Mindset Shifts for Instilling and Living Out a Belief that All Teachers are Teachers of Language.
- Book a $0 Consult Call - Lead ELs to Progress without Overwhelm
- Accommodate and Modify Your Lessons for ELs with Less than 1 Hour of Planning a Week - classroom teacher and admin checklist
- The ESL Teaching Roadmap – membership community for middle and high school ESL/ELL teachers. As a thank you for listening, use code ESLPODCAST for 10% off when you join.
- My TpT store
Related/Previous Episodes:
- Episode 81 - Unlocking ESL Success: the top 5 questions every general ed teacher asks
- Episode 99 - Why Less is More when Teaching EL Newcomers and Beginners
Connect with Zach:
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