Teaching Strategies For ESL Students
(No surprise here, these are great strategies for all your students)
Your ESL child is bound to be overwhelmed by the language barriers in the first couple of months. If at all possible create a quiet space or center that your student can use at times during the day. Some possible materials:
A computer- with bookmarked sites that are highly visual (National Geographic etc.)
Music
Picture Books
Books in the student’s first language
Puzzles, games that can be done individually or with a partner
A picture dictionary
Provide opportunities for active learning with lots of oral language.
Use visuals always.
Provide opportunities to watch movies or shows (good kid shows on t.v. ) to develop vocabulary.
Do not ask for written work until basic oral interaction is secure.
Use games and drama activities to help build vocabulary and comprehension.
Use music, rhymes and chants to increase vocabulary.
Use phonemic awareness not phonics as a decoding strategy.
Create a word bank.
Read frequently to student, create shared reading opportunities.
Have the student retell a story or part of a story when the student has some vocabulary.
Stress accommodation rather than modification. Eg. Maintain the original concept or intent of the lesson but focus on the minimum content you would like ESL student to learn.
Identify specific skills, concepts and process that the ESL student could learn or participate in.
Make activities meaningful and lessons simple and sequential.
Plan time for individual, small group or partner work in each lesson. In that way you or other students may be able to help your ESL student.
When a student has some basic conversation written activities can be incorporated. Writing assignments should be short, realistic and relevant. Some examples are:
Poems
Lists- grocery lists, shopping lists etc.
Cards- birthday, Valentine, Thank you. There are many sites on the internet that would assist a student.
Letters to family and friends.
Make extensive use of graphic organizers.
Focus on concepts and principles instead of facts through the use of graphic organizers such as compare and contrast, Venn diagrams, timelines etc.
Adapted from handouts from Sonia Yudcovitch, Differentiating Instruction for English as a Second Language Students pamphlet- ATA, ESL Guide to Implementation (K-9).
The ESL Guides to Implementation for K-9 and Senior High School are excellent resources and should be in your school.
Teaching English Language Arts
Some Challenges…
· Use of homonyms, synonyms, metaphors.
· The many exceptions in grammar rules.
· Imagery and symbolism may be difficult to grasp.
· Use of language particular to the area (idioms).
Suggestions…
· Provide vocabulary lists with specific terms or vocabulary to be discussed (plot, setting etc.)
· Websites that may provide further reading or some visual explanation.
· Cloze notes (e.g. A ______ may be called the plan of a story.)
· Television shows or movies with sub-titles
Math
Some challenges…
· Previous learning may be rote with little individual experience with pen and paper.
· May have been taught a different method.
· The use of a decimal point and comma vary from culture to culture.
· Little experience with our measurement system (abstract).
Suggestions…
· Visuals including diagrams and charts
· Websites that may be interactive.
· Some worksheets, include games and puzzle
· Math vocabulary sheet
Science
Some challenges…
· Vocabulary- many terms. Even if the student knows the words there may be a different meaning.
· Guessing and drawing conclusions (many cultures discourage “guessing”).
· Directions for activities, labs, etc. are often multi-stepped and difficult.
· Especially in middle and senior grades the curriculum may covered very fast.
Some Suggestions…
· Vocabulary lists before units and if possible before class.
· Lots of visuals.
· Websites
Social Studies
Some challenges…
· May be the most challenging of subjects. Terms such as democratic, free will, freedom of expression may not be cultural norms.
· Debate may not be familiar.
· Skills such as analyzing, synthesis etc. may require thinking and using higher language levels.
Some Suggestions…
· Minimize written assignments and modify the length of the assignment. An essay may changed to just writing one paragraph.
· Extra time for assignments.
· Websites
· Allow for a variety of ways to complete an assignment (poster, cartoon strip, graphic organizers, etc.
· Vocabulary lists