Finding instructional strategies that work for a completely English-speaking class is difficult enough – let alone a bilingual class. There is a key component to strategies for ELL students that work – and that component is movement! Many ELL teachers do not know about the benefits of kinesthetic learning for their students or do not know how to incorporate it into their instruction. Math & Movement is here to help with strategies for teaching ELL students!
To clarify, the acronym ELL stands for “English Language Learner.” The acronym ESL stands for “English as a Second Language.” These two will be used interchangeably throughout this article.
Why is it important to support bilingual students in schools? It turns out that English language learners are one of the fastest-growing student populations in the US. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the percentage of English language learners in US public schools increased to 10.6% (5.3 million students) in fall 2021, up from 9.4% (4.6 million students) in fall 2011.
The NCES reported that Spanish was the most commonly reported home language of ELL public school students in fall 2021. Approximately 4 million students’ native language is Spanish – which is 76.4% of ELL students and 8.4% of all public school students. Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, and Russian follow as the next most commonly reported home languages.
It is evident that ELL students make up a significant part of classrooms across the country. Finding instructional strategies for English language learners is integral to our education system.
Why is movement a strongly recommended teaching strategy for ELL students? A 2009 study concluded that the kinesthetic learning style was the most preferred learning style among ELL students (Mulalic et al., 2009). Studies in 1987, 1990, 1993, 1997, and 2001 corroborate that ELL students in the US favor kinesthetic learning styles over all others (Gilakjani, 2012). The research backs up movement-based learning strategies!
“Student performance [in the US] hinges on proficiency in English to understand, internalize, and activate knowledge and skills,” Education Week states in an article about language inequity. Couple these pre-existing communication and comprehension challenges with pandemic-related learning loss, ELLs can really be behind their peers.
Physical activity increases blood flow and oxygen levels in the brain, which in turn boosts learning comprehension and memory retention. More scientifically speaking, exercise stimulates the brain to produce more of the chemical BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor), which supports the development of new neurons and their connections. This means more learning!
Furthermore, exercise reduces stress, including the stress associated with academic challenges. Students see play-based learning activities with movement as fun and enjoyable.
The Math & Movement program was recently determined to be statistically significant in enhancing math confidence and self-efficacy! Check it out in the peer-reviewed published article.
Additionally, kinesthetic activities work to increase student engagement. In an 8-week study of 492 elementary students by the National Math Foundation, kinesthetic activities significantly increased student engagement compared to traditional activities. Movement-based learning activities included active math movements and jumping on Math & Movement floor mats. Traditional activities included whiteboard work, flashcards, and worksheets.
When students are engaged in their lessons and feel confident in their academic abilities, they are less likely to be absent from school as well! Movement-based learning strategies bring a variety of benefits to ELL students.
In February 2023, Education Week posted a poll asking teachers if they felt they had enough training to teach English learners. Of 1,248 responses, 36% said yes, and 61% said no. These results lend to an unsettling takeaway—most teachers do not feel equipped to teach ELL students.
Luckily, Math & Movement is here to help make kinesthetic strategies for teaching ELL students possible in every classroom. Educators can get started by encouraging students to simply move more throughout the school day. Even short movement breaks can benefit students.
Active math movements can be done without any additional materials at students’ desks or while traveling in the hallway. Our active math movements bring auditory skip counting practice and cross-body movements together to energize sleepy minds and enhance math skills. Cross-body movements engage both sides of the brain while giving your students some physical exercise. Learn how to do these quick movement activities in our Training Manual!
Want to get started with movement-based learning right now? Enter your email to get our training manual with over 250 active math movements. No materials necessary!
See how simple adding movement can be!
Math & Movement has a wide variety of kinesthetic learning materials available, including floor mats and stickers. We also offer kits, which are collections of our materials for specific grade levels and subjects.
Furthermore, we offer professional development training webinars and a wide selection of lesson plan ideas on our activity database. We aim to equip every teacher with movement-based learning strategies!
“I have been using math and literacy mats in my classroom. My students love the mats. The movement helps the students in a myriad of ways,” Alicia says. “Students learn, have fun, and work together with each other. The mats are great for collaboration and problem-solving.”
We’re sharing some of Alicia’s experience and her top product picks! These products are also included in our classroom kits, so you can browse by individual items or complete classroom kits.
Students in Alicia’s class who were below grade level significantly grew their math skills with regular use of our math mats. Alicia especially likes the Skip Counting by 2s mat for younger students who are learning to count up to 20 and identify odd and even numbers.
This large format number line is perfect for counting up to 20 and learning multiples of 2. Each block contains the numeral, number word, and the corresponding number of symbols for multi-dimensional learning.
