TOOLKIT FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

TIPS ON TOUR
 VISUAL CUES
o Use gestures to point out specific objects in the cases
o When playing a video on the iPad, motion to the case to connect the topics
 Ex. DeFord Bailey’s harmonica / Jimmie Rodger’s guitar / Minnie Pearl’s
dress / Jim Reeve’s jacket
o Use visual motions to act out instructions
 Asking students to be quiet by placing finger over lips / pointing to ears to
cue for them to listen to the information
 SIMPLE LANGUAGE
o Offer explanations of the material in varying levels of complexity
 Use questions to explore various levels of knowledge
 English: “In comparison to Jimmie Rodgers, how is the music from
cowboy movies different?” / English learners: “How is cowboy
music different from hillbilly music?”
 English: “What laws in the US prevented DeFord Bailey from being
famous on television?” / English learners: “How did DeFord
Bailey’s skin color change his life?”
 English: “Can you compare and contrast Elvis’s and the music
produced from the artist making music in the Nashville Sound
style?” / English learners: “Is the music of Elvis different from the
Nashville Sound music? How?”
 AVOID CALLING ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS WHO SEEM UNCOMFORTABLE

 EXTEND WAIT TIME BETWEEN QUESTIONS

 ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT IN ANY LANGUAGE

o Utilize other students/teachers/chaperones as translators – the English language
learner will feel more comfortable and another student could be offered a great
chance to show leadership skills and connect with a peer
 BE AWARE OF MICROAGGRESSION
o These are subtle remarks and actions that could communicate fear and stress to
the English language learner
 for example: talking to them as if they are younger than they are,
speaking to a translator when you are asking the student a question,
making an assumption about the culture of the student
 EMBRACE MISTAKES
o Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and ask questions! It creates a connection and
supportive environment on tour!
 AVOIDING PANDERING
o Opportunities for other students and guides to learn
 Ask students to teach phrases/words in their language in relation to the
museum artifacts/experiences
 Ex. Guitar / train / radio / music / etc.
o Don’t call obvious attention to the students who do not speak English as a first
language
 Connect individually to the students to acknowledge the difference in
language and understand their needs
o Use museum exhibits to support diversity and inclusivity
 DeFord Bailey: a black man that earned success before Civil Rights
movement who is now in the Hall of Fame
 3 Core Instruments: The guitar, banjo and fiddle are all from different
countries and cultures which is a good entry point to emphasize the
importance of embracing other cultures and experiences
 TV & Movies: Although a lot of the people featured on the films and TV
shows during the 1940s/50s look the same, you could use this as an
opportunity to explain that women, like Minnie Pearl, eventually had
roles on these shows and movies. Also, you could bring attention to the
way the entertainment business has evolved to show more cultural
experiences. Movies and TV also caused people to move to larger cities to
share the stories which is another way to increase diversity and inclusion.
 VOCABULARY LIST
Museum = Museo (moo-seh-oh)
Hall of Fame = Salón de la Fama (sah-lohn de la fah-mah)
Instrument = Instrumento (eens-troo-mehn-toh)
Musician = El músico / La música (moo-see-koh)
Banjo = Banyo (bahn-jo)
Guitar = Guitarra (gee-tah-rrah)
United States = Los Estados Unidos (ehs-tah-dohs oo-nee-dohs)
Immigrant = El/La Inmigrante (een-mee-grahn-teh)
The South = El Sur (soor)
Train = Tren (trehn)
Poverty = Pobreza (poh-breh-sah)
Family = Familia (fah-mee-lyah)
Cowboy = Vaquero (bah-keh-rohs)
Movie = Película (peh-lee-koo-lah)
Wave = Onda (ohn-dah)
Volume = Volumen (boh-loo-mehn)
Suit = Traje (trah-heh)
Map = Mapa (mah-pah)
Character = Personaje (pehr-soh-nah-heh)
Horse = Caballo (kah-bah-yoh)
Song = Canción (kahn-syohn)
Technology = Tecnología (tehk-noh-loh-hee-ah)
Medal = Medalla (meh-dah-yah)
Vocabulary Resources: https://www.wordreference.com/ and https://www.spanishdict.com/
*El = masculine / La = feminine
 Research that Connects ELL to Museum Exhibits
Guadalajara by Tito Guízar - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST0WKK-XkGw
Tito was born on April 8, 1908 in Guadalajara, Mexico. He performed this song in a Roy Rogers
cowboy movie called On the Old Spanish Trail. This movie is about Roy Rogers trying to capture a
suspected outlaw with a reward of $10,000 which he plans to use to pay a debt. Tito’s character is the
supposed outlaw but Roy Rogers frees him when he finds out he is falsely accused. Tito also made
movies in the cowboy style in Mexico and was relatively well known.

Elvis Presley singing in Spanish - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqOCAZGxb4w

 Elvis performed Guadalajara in the movie Fun in Acapulco which was released in 1963. He was
acting in lots of films when his rockabilly music was thriving during this time.

Johnny Cash singing in Spanish - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QULrbq-bq98

Johnny Cash or El Hombre de Negro, sang one of his biggest hits, “The Ring of Fire” on his
Spanish album called Johnny Cash Canta en Espanol which was released in 1963.

George Strait + Texas + Influence of Mexican Culture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt-f7K_suBc
George Strait is from Pearsall, Texas and heavily influenced by his home state. He has said that he tries to
sing every song about Texas that he loves. He references how the size of Texas allows for multiple styles
of music and is influenced by many different communities. Texas specifically celebrates Mexican culture
because of sharing a border with the country. Food, music, language and more are constantly changing
and combining both the American and Mexican cultures. George Strait connects his musical genre to a
traditional Mexican style of music in the song above. The song is called El Rey, and he performed a
Vincente Fernandez version of the song. Strait has long loved Mariachi music and wanted to attempt it
himself as he tried to learn Spanish and connect with another audience.

More Resources
These resources are from the TN Department of Education and MNPS standards that focus on
giving support to ELL students. The supports and ideas mostly connect specifically to the
classroom, but there is information about some of the tips listed above that elaborate and clarify
the ideas and topics.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AXbIiFYoFTEeL1JPixGAWNVCq70pdNz9/view
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/reports/teaching_literacy_tennessee_english_learner_comp
anion.pdf