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Teaching Tips & Tricks, Uncategorized   |   Jun 19, 2013

Great apps for ELLs and students with special needs

By Angela Watson

Founder and Writer

Great apps for ELLs and students with special needs

By Angela Watson

The slideshow below features some of my favorite free and inexpensive apps that general education teachers can use to support English Language Learners and kids with special needs. The price for each is under the blue “View in iTunes” button. Click on any app’s icon and you’ll be taken to iTunes where you can download the iPad/iPhone versions.

Here are some of my other favorite apps:

10 awesome apps for K-6 literacy
5 free apps for digital storytelling and sharing kids’ ideas
5 apps that encourage social play and collaboration

apps-for-ell-students

What apps have been helpful for your ELL/ESL/ESOL kids and students with special needs? Please share your favorites in the comments!

Angela Watson

Founder and Writer

Angela created the first version of this site in 2003, when she was a classroom teacher herself. With 11 years of teaching experience and more than a decade of experience as an instructional coach, Angela oversees and contributes regularly to...
Browse Articles by Angela

Discussion


  1. It’s so hard to find good resources for English language learners. We were fortunate enough to obtain a few iPads in my high school class of ELL’s this year. My students love “Sentence Builder”- it helps with vocabulary and parts of speech- and “Text Grabber”- they take a picture of text on a page and it translates the words for them. This especially comes in handy in their content courses to help with worksheets, handouts, etc. when I’m not there to modify work for them. And of course, their most used app is Google translate, although I try to wean them off this as they become more proficient. 🙂

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