Have you ever wondered how much of your ESL student’s native language should be used in your classroom, especially if your student is a beginner and has limited skills?In this case, I am referring to a monolingualclassroom.The answer to how much of an ESL student’s native language should be used in the classroom varies from person to person and has been a controversial subject.In monolingual settings where the majority language is English, the language goal of ESL students is to acquire English as quickly and as effectively as possible, so these students succeed in and outside of school.
As an ELL teacher, I would suggest to classroom teachers that their beginner students complete writing pieces in their native language if they did not have enough English skills to complete the assignment in English. By doing this, you are valuing the student’s native language and the ESL student feels capable and has a better sense of belonging. I would allow students or teacher aids who speak the same language as the beginner ESL student to help the student by translating directions and summarizing classroom material if the student who is translating wants to do so. Many students feel embarrassed, uncomfortable, and do not want to stick out among their peers by speaking their first language in the classroom. In addition, translating content can be a lot of responsibility for the student who is responsible for translating. This is something to consider before asking students to translate for you. Although you want to continue to value the student’s native language, you need to decrease the number of times the native language is used in the classroom. This is not intended to devalue the student and their first language, but to ensure that the student learns English and becomes confident with using English, so that they become successful in and out of the classroom. Decreasing the use of the native language decreases the dependency that the student has with their native language and on others who will translate for them. The only time that I would suggest translation is for tier three words that are confusing for the student. Tier three words are low frequency words that are subject-specific such as mitosis, hyperbole, amino acid, etc.. It is faster and easier to simply translate the word for the student, so the student understands the word quickly and easily. The student should be speaking their first language at home except when getting help with homework if this is possible.