English learners come to us at all times of the school year. They also come at different English language proficiency. In the U.S., in many cases, they are placed in regular classrooms, which means that they will be learning both the language and the subject matter at the same time.
It is overwhelming for a student, no matter the age, to start school in a new country, new environment and in a new language. It is no less overwhelming for the classroom teacher.
Questions like these are constant:
How do I reach my new student?
Does he/she understand what I am saying?
How do I make sure they feel comfortable so they can learn?
How do I assess the ESL student?
Do I adapt the curriculum and if yes, then how?
What are the resources available to me and to the student?
Here are some of the ways to ease the overwhelm for both you and the student.
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Work with the ESL teacher
If you haven’t already, find out who the ESL teacher is at your school and reach out to them. I usually get in touch with classroom teachers, who have ESL students, right away. He or she will be able to answer all of the above questions and more!
- Let the ESL teacher know what you are working on in class, so he/she can continue or pre-teach the material.
- Make a plan of how you are going to help the ESL student together.
- talk to each other – in person, via email, google classroom, do presentations together, etc. Communication between the two of you will be the key to your ESL students’ success.
When you work collaboratively and constantly, the progress of your ESL student is almost immediately apparent.
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Be aware of and respect the “silent period”
When someone who has never studied or had exposure to the English language before starts school in English, it is natural for them to be quiet. Why? They do not have enough words in English and all of their senses are trying to adapt to the new environment and the new sounds. Naturally, they will not speak and this period is called “the Silent Period”.
Sometimes this lasts a week, and sometimes it can be months. It all depends on the student and their unique situation. I once had a student who did not speak to anybody but me for almost the entire school year. On the other spectrum of things, I have students who try to use their newly discovered English words and sentences right away! However, it is very important that you are aware of this phenomenon and honor it. The fact that the student is not saying much, does not mean that they do not understand. And remember that non-verbal communication is just as important as words.
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Allow native language usage in the classroom
This statement has caused many debates, it’s true. But here is the thing: in school, in order to communicate, a student will need words. Some words are too abstract to point to, act out, draw or show photographs. Also, time is limited and if you want to convey a message, you will have to revert to the native language. So, in my opinion, it is okay to use the first language, especially when a student is just in the beginning stages of language acquisition.
In addition, to all the visuals in the classroom, teachers can use a translation tool such as google translate. Although not ideal, it helps convey the word meanings and is helpful when someone is just starting to learn English.
Caution: you should not rely on the translator ALL the time. It can easily become a crutch and will harm language learning rather than encouraging it if used for every little thing. I usually make a deal with my students that they will be able to use whatever first language support for the first few months until they have enough simple words to express themselves. After that, we stop using it and amazingly, we are able to communicate with no problem!
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Visuals, visuals and more visuals!
I already mentioned in one of my recent blog posts and I will likely repeat it again:) Whenever you read about teaching English language learners, using visuals is one of the most important advice you can get. And if you think you are already using visuals, think again. Do you show the instructions? Do you point to the maps? Do you draw out the concepts or show diagrams?
Nothing can go into the thin ether, so to speak. It is hard for the ESL students to grasp the oral directions no matter their proficiency level. Therefore, instructions, directions, classroom procedures, daily plan/schedule, and content have to be supported by whatever physical action or picture is available to you. And repeat.
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Know about language proximity
Research shows that learning English is more difficult for speakers of certain languages than others. This is because languages, which influenced the development of the English language (such as Latin, French, German and Scandinavian languages) are closer to it than, say, Asian languages (Chinese, Korean or Japanese).
Knowing this information can help you in a couple of ways. First, you can find similar words to English in other languages and point them out to your students (For example, famly – familia (Spanish), cat – Katze (German), alone – alene (Danish)). On the other hand, you can be aware of the mistakes typically made by the speakers of a certain language background and focus on how to eliminate them, one step at a time (for example, one of the most frequent mistakes made by speakers of Asian languages is elmininating -s in third person singular: She walk to school (not walks)).
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Simplify your language
What exactly does that mean? Here are a few ways you can do it:
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avoid using slang or idiomatic expressions. Words and expressions like hang out, cram, buck or twist my arm, up in the air, etc. are sure to leave your students confused.
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speak naturally without deliberately slowing down.
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for beginners, repeat the same instruction or concept using short sentences with words that carry meaning – nouns and verbs.
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encourage the student to raise their hand if they do not understand or have a question
Note: this last piece of advice works better when students already speak some English but even then, very often they do not know what and how they want to ask. Therefore, checking in and supplying them with possible questions is important.
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Pre-teach
Although we have a good grasp of the level of our ESL students’ language proficiency, it is amazing to see how many concepts or words they either know or don’t.
Usually, when there is a content lesson, the textbooks give you a certain new vocabulary that students are to learn.
For ESL students, there are a lot of more words that are necessary in order to understand the text. Words that are Tier 2 and go across curriculum such as connect, analyze, benefit, influence, etc.
Another helpful pre-teaching method is providing sentence stems to your students. Sentence stems (starters) are considered more of an elementary teacher’s bread and butter but it is essential for English learners of all ages.
Here are some examples that will allow them to feel the sentence structure.
I like _________ because _________
I already know that______________
The main points are _______________
Pre-teaching vocabulary and accessing prior knowledge are must-dos in teaching English language learners. And if you are unable to come up with a plan on how to do it, reach out to your ESL teacher and he/she will help you out.
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Group work
Allow your students to work in groups or pairs whenever possible. Even if they don’t say much, they are able to do and working in groups gives them the exposure to the language and allows them to use their critical thinking.
The ESL students also learn social cues and communication patterns from working in groups. They pick up the necessary vocabulary – both social and academic – because it is repeated and they are learning to solve problems.
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Use the Can-Do Descriptors
In the ESL teaching world, our students take the annual ACCESS test, which helps us see their language development progress. Along with the results of the test, WIDA consortium has developed a tool that is helpful to ESL and classroom teachers alike. The tool is called the Can Do descriptors.
Can Dos break down what each student is able to do in their respective language proficiency level. It allows the teachers to adapt their teaching and the student to be able to show what they already know and continue mastering their English language.
If you are wondering what they look like, WIDA has broken them down by grade level and has a detailed description on how they can be used.
What are your biggest concerns as a classroom teacher with ESL students?
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