The following strategies are for classroom teachers, teacher aids in the regular classroom, and ESL teachers.
Classroom
ESL students should sit in front of the classroom, so he/she can easily see and hear you.
Provide a buddy for the student.
Bring in the student’s parent(s) to talk about their language and culture.
Provide manipulatives and hands-on activities.
Provide demonstrations.
Have a peer teach the student basic vocabulary words after they finish their work or when they have time.
Have the ESL student read to a peer if they feel comfortable in doing so or have a peer read to the student when they have time.
Establishing a Sense of Belonging
Label your classroom in the student’s native language and English.
Display pictures of the student’s native country.
Display a flag (real, student made, or picture) of the student’s native country.
Read literature about the student’s native country.
Celebrate holidays from the student’s native country.
Have peers greet each other in the student’s native language.
Have peers use simple words or phrases from the student’s native language throughout the day/week (Thank you. You’re welcome. Please.)
Have the student share an object from their native country.
Have peers share an object from their native country or from their heritage if applicable.
Provide group work. Focus on what the student can do during group work. The student can be the time keeper, can draw or color for the group, or can label words for the group.
Speaking and Understanding
Use gestures, facial expressions, pictures and/or objects while speaking to your student. For example, while asking, “Do you like to draw?”, pantomime drawing in the air.If you state, “You need a pencil”, show the student a pencil.
Emphasize key words in a question or statement. “You need a pencil.”
Rephrase what you are saying. When giving directions and you say, “Only do the even numbers.”, you can rephrase this direction by saying, “Only do numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, …”and write these numbers on the board.
Paraphrase your question or statement into simpler words while emphasizing key words.
Repeat questions or statements at a slower pace as many times as necessary emphasizing key words.
Give the student a lot of wait time to answer a question. The ESL student needs a lot of time to process what you are saying. The student may be translating English to their native language and then their native language to English if they are required to respond. This takes a lot of time! Give the student at least 30 seconds of wait time.
Speak slowly and clearly to the student. If you speak slower than you usually speak, you are probably speaking too quickly. You do not need to speak louder! Use simple English such as short and simple sentences.
Sentences should be short and should include basic grammar and basic vocabulary words. Avoid using abstract language such as phrasal verbs or idioms.
Simplify directions using simple words, short sentences, pictures or objects, and few steps. Write the directions on the board and use pictures or objects where applicable.
Avoid using pronouns like he, she, we, they or it.
Reading
Begin with similar sounding consonant names in the student’s first language and with the most common letters.
Begin with similar sounding consonant sounds in the student’s first language and with the most common sounds.
Begin reading basic, repetitive texts.
Texts should be at the student’s instructional reading level. Texts should contain graphic elements such as pictures, glossary, captions, etc. and should be about universal subjects (food, animals, people), so the content is easier to understand.
Vocabulary words should be taught/reviewed before reading.
Background knowledge should be provided if there are differences between the American culture and the student’s native culture in the text. Perform a picture walk before reading a text discussing vocabulary words, sight words, and/or pictures.
Writing
Give the student an alphabet chart to refer to.
Provide a written model for the student.
Provide sentence starters for student if applicable.
Provide child friendly/student dictionary whether it is a word dictionary, picture dictionary, or both.
Modify the student’s spelling words by giving spelling words at his/her level or by giving the student less vocabulary words by picking the most important/easiest.
Give opportunities for the student to write about what interests them. Often ESL students will write about their country and/or culture.
Use sentence strips to help students with grammar. Laminate them so you can reuse them. Cut sentence strips into pieces and write each word on a piece of sentence strip. The student can unscramble simple sentences.
Modifying Student Work/Quizzes/Tests:
Give simple directions.
Do the first question together.
Focus on key concepts/vocabulary words.
Give the student less work/questions.
Give the student extra time.
Use multiple choice, true/false, matching, labeling activities, or a word bank.
Use graphic organizers.
Allow the student to use a bilingual dictionary.
Grading:
Grade the student on content, not their English.
Give the student “NA” (Not Applicable at this Time) if you are unable to assess the skill. In the comments section, say something like, “Some skills were unable to be assessed at this time due to (child’s name) language skills." Focus on what the student can do. In your comments section, mention the positive characteristics and behavior of the student such as motivation, intelligence, being a hard worker, being attentive, etc.
Remember To:
Respect the child’sSilent Period. Do not force ESL students to speak or to repeat what you say.
Encourage the ESL student by smiling and praising the student whether it is after they speak or when looking at their work.
Provide a safe environment.
Focus on the student’s meaning, not their grammar. Do not make the student correct their English unless they feel comfortable to do so and do not overtly correct the student unless they feel comfortable with you doing so.If the student makes a mistake, model the correct language.
