Supporting ELL Learners

In a group situation we often forget about how much thought and the amount of processes that need to be mastered before a person can partake in a discussion. If a ELL student is mixed in with the a general education classroom, it can be even more difficult to recognize the struggles that an ELL student is undergoing.
I feel that in order to be a working member of a group discussion a student needs to have a strong grasp of the language in order to comprehend the topic at hand, the questions being asked in the group, the responses that other students bring, and the ability to respond to questions and answers that other students give.
It is amazing how difficult all of this is to put together when you are learning the English language for the first time. In order for a student to master this skill he is going to have to have a lot of support inside the classroom from the teacher, and probably a speech and language pathologist. It needs to be assumed that the student will not get a lot of the English language spoken at home because the parents are probably only fluent in their home language. If a student is in a good classroom with a good group of classmates that are understanding and helpful to the student it will also help in the process.