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EP226 — Your ELL Student Isn’t Stuck: How to Identify What’s Actually Getting in the Way

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EP226 — Your ELL Student Isn’t Stuck: How to Identify What’s Actually Getting in the Way

October 16, 2026

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AI Hacks for Any Teacher Working with ELLs

You pasted a prompt into ChatGPT. What came back looked great. Then you held it up next to your actual students at their actual levels,…

Sometimes it's not the student. It's one piece of

Sometimes it's not the student. It's one piece of the system we're teaching inside. 👇

The ELL Success Cycle quiz takes a couple of minutes. It shows you whether your biggest gap is knowing WHO your students are, WHAT to teach, HOW to teach it, or WHEN to check progress.

DM me QUIZ and I'll send it over.

Think of the one student you keep coming back to.

Think of the one student you keep coming back to. 👇

If you had to guess right now, which one is getting in the way?

A) Their level is misidentified
B) We're working on the wrong domain
C) The scaffold is too high or too low
D) Something outside school is heavy right now
E) The support stops at my classroom door

Just drop the letter. There's no wrong answer, and you are definitely not the only one with that student.

🎧 EP226 in bio.

composite score is an average, and your student do

composite score is an average, and your student doesn't write at an average. 👇

When a student seems stuck, check their actual production in the one domain you're worried about against the Can Do Descriptors. If it doesn't match the label, that's your first adjustment.

I made a one-page, simplified version of the Can Do Descriptors you can use this week. DM me WIDA and it's yours.

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The student you keep coming back to probably isn't

The student you keep coming back to probably isn't stuck. Something specific is getting in the way. 👇

Swipe through the five barriers I see most often, then pick the one that sounds most like your student. That one barrier gets one targeted move this week.

🎧 The full process is in EP226. Link in bio.

First year teaching ELLs? Start here. 👋 You don't

First year teaching ELLs? Start here. 👋

You don't need to know everything on day one. You need a few strategies that work, and a place to come back to when you're not sure what to try next.

The Go-To Guide for Successfully Teaching ELLs gives you the basics in one quick read, so you can walk into class feeling ready.

DM me GUIDE and I'll send you the free PDF. 💬

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Simplifying a text isn't wrong. Stopping there is

Simplifying a text isn't wrong. Stopping there is 👇🏼

Use the AI-simplified version as step one, then build the scaffolds back in until your ELLs are reading the real thing.

🎧 EP 224. Link in bio.

Ready to get your school to provide Equipping ELLs

Ready to get your school to provide Equipping ELLs for you?

DM us PARTNERSHIPS, and we'll send you an estimate!!

Not sure if you have funds? Fill out the form, and we'll help you find them!

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Here's what's waiting for you in the Equipping ELL

Here's what's waiting for you in the Equipping ELLs All Access membership for the month of🍂OCTOBER🍂

Want access to our whole system (assessments, curriculum, ready-to- go ENGAGING lessons, scaffolds for grade level content,on demand PD, personalized email support, and so much more?!

DM us ROUTINES & we'll send you a sample of our favorite routines for K-12 ELLs.

Want to find a way to get your school to pay for it for you?

DM us PARTNERSHIPS, fill out the form, and we'll be in touch!

Esl ell mll multilingual bilingual education elementary middle high school curriculum coaching professional development

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