Today I spent the day with another teacher planning lessons that would reach our English learners in the classroom. And, honestly, I feel very accomplished because even though we did not have enough time to plan for the entire year ahead, I was able to share my knowledge of strategies that can be used and…
Collaboration between ESL and mainstream educators is key when working with English language learners. But it is not always an easy task. Some time ago I wrote a post, which was geared more towards mainstream teachers, who have English learners in their classrooms. In this article, I will dive into the collaboration between mainstream and ESL…
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…
Congratulations! You are the new ESL teacher! You are the new ITINERANT ESL teacher. Your administrators are happy you are here to take on the task of teaching English to the students who don’t speak it and your non- ESL colleagues smile at you and ask you questions that make you realize that they have…
Language is all about communication. How, then, do you teach beginner ESL students to communicate in a language that only one of you speaks? In my previous post, I talked about what to teach beginning English learners. Today, I would like to focus a bit on the strategies that you can employ to successfully reach…
Teaching ESL beginners is a challenge. At the same time, it is so worth taking it! If you are an English (ESL) teacher, the following situation may be familiar to you: a new student starts school (possibly half-way through the year), one who has never studied English and now he/she has to learn it FAST.…