Asking ELL students to speak about their goals and ambitions can be an excellent process by which an ELL instructor can assess the ELL learner. The whole concept of introducing English language to someone can be made pleasurable when students talk about themselves without thinking about learning a difficult language. Even though adult ELL learners join language classes, they like the idea of being part of the teaching process; therefore, adult learners or older students can be put in charge of cluster groups where they can be asked to discuss among themselves the immediate challenges they have in their lives. For most learners, vocabulary and grammar are the two formidable hurdles in ELL learning.
Most ELL learners have been exposed to English previously. Since they do not use English on a daily basis in conversations, they need the practice with English aloud. For job-oriented and exam-oriented usage, they need to brush up on their English language skills and learn to speak English fluently, within a short time frame. Equipping ELL learners with learning skills, reading skills, listening skills, and speaking skills, is a herculean task. It becomes more difficult when the time frame they have is very brief. Since grammar is the foundation of the English language, ELL learners should be taught the basics. Once the foundation is placed, it is easy to build the structure. Stress to the ELL learner that he or she must speak in complete sentences. When students begin to use English orally on a daily basis, they become learners of English language for life. The success as an ELL learner is directly proportionate to the effort he or she is willing to make on a daily basis.
