In college, I had a professor who belittled anyone who answered his questions. After the 2nd week, no one would raise their hands. It taught me to be so gentle when it comes to correcting my students when they get something wrong. If a student mispronounces something, I'll usually just insert the correct pronunciation and smile, so they can just keep going. Once you lose a student's trust, it's almost impossible to get them back in any meaningful way.

Something that I don't do is force students to read aloud, if they are truly afraid to do so. I was incredibly shy as a young child and it was almost traumatic for me to be put on the spot. I also have seen how students will mock other students who are reading aloud when they make a mistake. I make it clear that I will not tolerate that behavior and I remind them that we are all still learning and that we can't get better without practice.

I've had this conversation with both MS and HS students over the years: code-switching. We talked about whether or not it is authentic or a fake version of ourselves. When is it okay to use slang or dialect that isn't "school appropriate"? I used myself as an example and we discussed how I can be the various true versions of myself, but I know when to switch between how I express myself.

Years ago, I asked my mother if she thinks in Spanish or in English. She was born and lived in Puerto Rico until she was a teenager. She has been in the US for more than 50 years and speaks perfect English. She said that for things are are more difficult, like math, she will do the calculations in Spanish, then translate her response into English. She said she is less likely to make a mistake if she thinks it in Spanish first. I think this is why I've always let my ELLs write their responses in English first and I'll gladly give them all the time they need to translate their final responses into English. I know it'll give them their best chance at the producing their best answers.