Today I stopped by a classroom to talk to a teacher about one of our students. As I entered the room, she was looking at an upcoming professional development schedule on her computer and shaking her head. “This is all good”, she said. “But I could really use some information on strategies for reaching English learners. As in, how to work with someone who has little to no English in my class”.
This one sentence made me realize that what I think is natural in teaching English learners, does not necessarily come easily to others.
The 5 strategies that will help you reach your English learners (new or returning) in any classroom.
- Be welcoming. The fact that a person does not know the language yet, does not mean they cannot feel the vibes coming from others. Smile, greet them every day and ask them how they are. In addition to showing human attention, this also teaches English learners simple phrases of politeness, how to ask and answer questions in English.
- Use lots of visuals. Seeing is believing:) For all age groups, visuals provide meaning to words that otherwise make no sense, and create a context for topics that the students might already be familiar with (you never know what they know!). Repeat everything from a different angle as many times as you can.
- Avoid idioms. “I’ve got your back, kiddo!” or “You crack me up!” are sure to leave your students more confused than reassured.
- Encourage first language development. When a child knows concepts in his/her first language, they can transfer them to English. In many cases, learning in one’s first language is not possible but it can still be fostered at home. For younger children, parents can read books, speak, sing and play in their first language. For older ones, reading curriculum books in the language they are more comfortable with (provided there is a translation of the book), will help them understand the story and its elements. The students will then be able to share their thoughts in the classroom in English. This will be an overall good experience for the psychological and emotional atmosphere both at home and at school.
- Learn about their language and culture. You don’t have to take a college or online course in the language of your student (unless you want to, of course:). Even a “hello”, “thank you” and “good bye” in your student’s language can break the ice. And once the ice is broken, you will be able to learn about what an asset your student is to your classroom.
Sounds simple, right? But for some reason we so often get caught up in assessments and evaluations that we forget that a student is learning English through content and just a few tricks can make it more accessible.
I hope these five strategies for reaching English learners in your classroom will help ground you. And be a beautiful starting point.
For more information about teaching English learners, check out the blog post about how to teach ESL beginners in seven easy ways.
How do you help your ELLs?
Do you have any special tips or tricks that you would like to share?