Wondering How to Teach Math to ESL Students? Start With These Four Tips

How do you teach math to ESL students?

“Math is universal.”

“I teach math; I don’t know how to teach kids to read.”

“That’s not my job. My job’s to teach math.”

Any of these sound familiar?

Have you said any of these when thinking about an ESL student in your class?

ESL students have the special challenge of learning a new language while learning core content. 

This means it’s your job to teach math to ESL students. And teaching math to English language learners doesn’t look the same as it does with native speakers.

Read on to learn how to teach math to ESL students. 

These tips will help them learn the language they need. And they’ll learn the math skills you need them to get, too. 

Teach the Numbers First

There’s no getting around it. To learn math, you have to know the numbers. 

Your ESL student may have a math background before they come into your class. Depending on their age and educational background, they could even be a math wiz. 

But without the words to talk about it, you may never know. 

Give them the foundation they need to show what they know.

Help them build their math skills. 

Start with teaching the numbers. 

When you teach math to English Language Learners, keep it simple. 

Start with the basic numbers 0-10. Continue adding more number vocabulary a little at a time. 

Keep teaching and practicing number vocabulary until you reach the highest value you’ll use in class. 

But remember, teaching number vocabulary is rote memorization. If your ESL students don’t use it, they’ll lose it. Make an effort to let them use their number vocabulary every day. 

Try these ideas to let your ESL student practice number vocabulary:

• Show them a picture of a number and have them name it before entering the room.
• Solve a problem on the board and ask your ESL student to say the answer.
• Practice saying phone and room numbers.
• Have your student count off a number line as an exit ticket.
• Let them skip count with a partner.

Practicing number vocabulary is quick and easy. Don’t overlook it when teaching math to your ESL student.

Another important tip: *Make sure your student understands the concept of the number.*

If your ESL student has interrupted education, they may need help understanding what a number represents. This is true even if they memorize the name. 

Teaching number names is the rock-bottom foundation for teaching math to English Language Learners. 

Don’t recreate the wheel. This lesson on math numbers has everything you need to get your ESL students started off on the right foot. 

Teach Math Vocabulary to ESL Students

What even is math vocabulary?

Anything – ANYTHING – you say that students need to understand to solve the problem.

Math vocabulary is huge. It has math-specific words. There’s multi-meaning words. Words from other subjects. 

To be successful in math, your ESL student has to understand *a lot* of words. 

It’s your job as the math teacher to pick out what words your ESL student needs to get the meaning and solve the problem.

Look at your standards and lesson. 

First, identify the math-specific words. These should be the easiest to pick out.

• Ratio
• Equation
• Linear
• Sum
• Solve

Find these words and explicitly teach them to your student. 

This would be a perfect time to build a vocabulary notebook. Any time you use a new math vocabulary word, add it to the student’s notebook. Then let them use it whenever they need it. 

Next – multiple-meaning words. You don’t know how many multiple-meaning words are in math until you start to look for them. 

And multi-meaning words can be devastating to an ESL student learning math. 

Teach them how YOU will be using them in class. Add them to their vocabulary notebook.

• Table
• Product
• Multiple
• Graph
• Couple

Find the multi-meaning words in your lesson and frontload your ESL student with them. This should stop you from getting a picture of a dining room table with numbers on it as an answer. 😂

Be Mindful of How You Talk to ESL Students

Your job is to teach math to your ESL students. 

Yes, you want to expose them to all the correct vocabulary. 

And model your thinking as you solve the equation. 

But all those words make your lesson sound like you’re giving it to Charlie Brown’s class “Wha, Whaa, Whaa, Wha, Wha, Whaaa.”

Stop emptying your math dictionary in every lesson. Instead, focus on giving clear, simple directions.

Use the new math vocabulary words you’ve been teaching your ESL students. But use one at a time. 

Give a simple step using math vocabulary. Then wait.

And wait.

And wait a little bit more.

Then when you feel awkward because you’ve waited so long….

Wait a little more.

Now move on to the next step. 

The waiting process can be painful. But ESL students need more wait time to process the language first. Then they use the language to make sense of the content. 

Here’s a good rule of thumb: native speakers need 3-5 seconds of wait time. ESL students need 8-10 seconds. But, ESL students learning something new – content or vocabulary – need 12-15 seconds of wait time. 

When teaching math to ESL students, make your instruction as simple as possible. Don’t go heavy on the vocabulary. And practice extended wait time. 

Let Your ESL Students Respond in Different Ways

Giving instruction is only a fraction of a math lesson (see what I did there 😉).

You’ve done the “I do” and the “We do”…

Now it’s time for the “You do”.

When you teach math to ESL students, the modifications can’t stop with your instruction. ESL students need modifications in how they show you they understand the material.

Learn your ESL students’ English proficiency levels first. Every ESL student has an Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) that tells what they can do in English. 

From that, modify what you expect them to do to show you what they know. 

Here are some ways to modify your ESL students’ output^[1]:

• Yes/No response. Beginner-level ESL students don’t have the language to explain their answers. Ask low-level questions that show they understand the new vocabulary and concepts
• Sentence frames and word banks. Give students the words you want them to use so they don’t get lost trying to recall the specific vocabulary. Lower-level ESL students can put a few words together but need help with sentence structure. Example: This is a _[rational number] because __[you divide by 2]. 
• Partner work. Let ESL students talk it out with a partner before answering a question aloud or turning in an assignment. 

It’s common for ESL students to develop receptive language skills before productive. That means, they’ll understand what you’re saying before they can respond. 

Let them respond as best as they can while you continue to help them learn math content and language. 

You don’t have to struggle to teach math to ESL students. Adjust your language and output expectations while keeping the content the same. 

To help you introduce your ESL newcomers/beginners to numbers and number words, grab this done-for-you worksheet!

[1] 10 Ways to Help Ells Succeed in Math | Scholastic.