Professional Standards for TESOL
Case Narrative 5
This case narrative is of an ESL teacher working in a government year 11 and 12 college providing ESL support to students newly exited from a Secondary Introductory English Centre. Evie is able to identify the needs of students and select the resources and strategies to meet those needs.
Accomplished TESOL teachers- are sensitive to students’ cultural and community experiences, including migration and colonisation, and the effects of these on personal and social development
- know a range of teaching and assessment practices and resources, and can evaluate them in terms of the context
- advocate forand create a positive environment for cultural diversity, inclusive practice and English language learning
Evie recognises that migrant and refugee students come to Australia with a lot of “baggage” and it is important to be able to understand their bad days and their need for time and understanding during these times. It is important to be able to support them with basic needs if necessary because learning cannot take place while they are so occupied with other issues in their lives. Evie described her work in college with a 16 year old student, a refugee from Africa with no previous educational background.
He recently graduated from the Secondary Introductory English Centre which he attended for ten months. I first helped him find accommodation which was a pressing need and with my previous experience I was well equipped to help.
Strategies I used with him in the ESL class include teaching explicitly and building onto basics such as starting with notetaking, then paragraph writing and leading into essay writing which is so necessary in college. The level of work is tailored to his needs and he is developing very quickly, producing basic essays with good structure. His level of sophistication and use of a variety of vocabulary are of course limited at this stage but developing well with scaffolding. Brilliant for just one year of education!
At this age in an English class it would be assumed that students already have these skills. The ESL specialist identifies the student’s needs and works with them at an appropriate level, modelling and making expectations explicit.
I also determine which vocabulary will need to be developed into a glossary when I look at a piece of text we will use in class. In this way I can ensure that students will be able to engage in the text and I encourage them to skim read in order to understand the general meaning without getting bogged down with individual words. I explicitly teach the structures and genres expected in Standard Australian English; the language of schools and universities, and some colloquial Australian sayings.
I also assist him (and my other students) with other subjects in college. I do this through language help during tests, advocating on their behalf and negotiating extra test time, analysing assignment questions with them, preparing them well for oral presentations etc. Many of my ESL students are very confident speakers in the ESL class but because I insist on them using palm cards and not reading they actually are surprised how easy it is when they have to do it in other classes. So it’s vital to prepare them well to function independently in mainstream classes.
It is also an important skill to be able to talk to other teachers on their behalf and on their parents’ behalf as they do not have the language skills or the understanding of our educational system. It may be necessary to negotiate extra time or appropriate alternatives, as well as filling classroom teachers in on what they need to know to help these students achieve.
I find working with ESL students very satisfying because you see them progress and it’s a real breakthrough when they understand a joke you’ve made.