#25 - Supporting English Learners in PE Without Speaking Their Language (Yet) with Kelly Donnelly

For all things Distinguished Physical Education:

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What would you do if 200 new students walked into your gym — most of them speaking a language you don’t understand?

That’s exactly what happened to Kelly Donnelly, a PE teacher in Denver Public Schools. In this powerful episode, Kelly shares how welcoming a wave of Spanish-speaking migrant students changed her teaching, pushed her outside her comfort zone, and strengthened her belief that movement is a universal language.

 

We talk about:

• How to overcome fear and anxiety when teaching ELLs
• Ways to build connection through shared experience
• Strategies for learning key phrases quickly
• Using movement to teach language and social skills
• The beauty (and challenge) of teaching beyond words

Whether you’ve worked with multilingual learners for years or you’re about to welcome your first, this episode will leave you inspired — and better prepared.

 

Secure your spot for the 2025-2026 DPE Virtual Book Study, facilitated by Gary Zaharatos and Jen Smith. Buy tickets here! Feel free to email [e-mail] for group discounts or any questions. 

 

If you haven’t already, be sure to join our Facebook group where we have assembled quite the group of experts, always willing to share their insights and help out colleagues with their problems of practice. Simply search for Distinguished Physical Education.