New Esl Class Help Help Help

[Unregistered]

Help!
I Am Starting With An Esl Class 2nd Grade And Would Greatly Appreciate Any Pointers You Can Share. They Are All Spanish Speaking And I Am Not!! They Do Speak English And Are At Various Levels Of Reading And Such. This Is My First Esl Class And I Am Really Excited And In Love With These Kids, Please Help Me With Any Ideas So I Can Do My Best
Thanks In Advance
Kari

[Andrew Peck]

Dear Kari,

You sound enthusiastic which is very good news because you're going to need to be. Kids the age you're describing will swallow up anything you do with them at an amazing rate.
Advice is as follows: Don't worry about not speaking Spanish. You're learn the things you need to learn quickly enough (I find that when teaching ESOL to kids, learning how to tell them to sit down and telling them when their homework is due in their own language is kind of essential as it stops them playing the "no speakie english" card)... but the lesson is not for you to learn Spanish, it's for them to learn English, so chill out. The level of language will have to be degraded from what you normally use with children of their age who are native speakers but remember that they are still intelligent kids, so don't sap the content from the lesson or they'll be bouncing arround or sleeping. I find that a quick step that gets kids interested in themselves and therefore the lesson is working on something like "I want" or "I want to be" (depending on the language level of the kid, you may just want to go with their favorite toys or who they think is pretty. I guess what I'm really saying is that don't worry about the kids not liking you, because if you do this right the lesson should be all about them and even 6,7,8 year olds have an ego these days.

The one thing that can make ESOL learners really puzzled is when you talk to yourself or write on the board and then change your mind. Hesitancy, especially verbally, can be a killer as the kids don't know that they're not meant to learn what you're saying... no umming or talking to yourself it WILL confuse them.

ESOL classes should be fun. Get a bag of different coloured tennis balls (or something else that isn't painful) and warm up by saying "Throw me the X ball"... there's quite a nice chunk of grammar in there, and you can vary it each week using different verbs (throw, give, pass, take)... nice simple warm up game that can be done with any available objects... it can also make a good way to vocabulary test nouns without a written test as you'll see who gives who the right object and who sits stunned.

You sound as if you'll do great, as your enthusiasm is overwhelming.
I do the same job as you... grade school ESOL... on the tibetan plateau with Mongolian speakers... if you want you can drop me a line via email:
britishvisitor@yahoo.co.uk and I'll keep in touch.

[glynnis]

I am currently teaching 1st grade in SC, but before my move to SC I taught ESL 2nd Grade in Houston, Texas. I had never worked with ESL students when I landed that job. I was very nervous going into this. My first year in ESL, I had 9 different languages in my room. All but one spoke English fairly well. The one that didn't spoke Chinese. Luckily I had a great mentor who was the Bilingual teacher for 2/3 grades. Keep things simple, but don't make it too simple. Make sure you have many visuals and pictures. I learned that many of the things I used in teaching Kindergarten could be adapted and used to teach ESL. I wish you the best of luck! It is so much fun teaching students with different backgrounds and learning about their cultures. I miss teaching those students.

[Unregistered]

Hi Kari, I´m studying to be a ESL teacher, from Argentina and in the institute where I study there are many foreing teachers and the maily problem is the speed when speaking. If you have a lower level you should consider to use lots of visual aids and realia, they really like it!As well as songs and games.
Good luck! It´s gonna be ok!
agus

[Unregistered]

They Are All Spanish Speaking And I Am Not!!

It sounds like you are teaching ELD, which doesn't provide for instruction in a student's native language. So the fact that you don't speak their language should not be a hindrance.

I suggest doing a google search on SDAIE.

[Unregistered]

Hi Kari, I've been teaching ELA (English Language Acquisition) for the past 17 years, I admire your enthusiasm and desire to learn to do what's best for students! A few things to know though is that learning a language takes time. Stephen Krashen, one of the most prominent ESL theorists suggests it takes between 5-7 years to learn a language (conversational and academic). Remember that your students will learn conversational (playground) language quickly. This is when you or others, should not make the mistake of thinking they now know English. This is when your students need the most support, lots of visuals, tactile realia, descriptions, gestures, breaking things down into comprehensible chunks. Do not water down lessons and lower expectations. Alter expectations to create understanding. Another important piece is understanding the culture and background history of your students. They may not meet your expectations due to culture. See how much schooling your students have had in their prior country. That will provide you with info on what you need to teach them. At first, use a lot ofTRP (total physical response) speak in clear, simple sentences giving commands combined with gestures. ex: Maria sit down, please. or Open your book. (guesturing while you say this) Remember you are the model of correctly spoken English so don't use partial sentence or clipped phrases. Also create a comfortable, low risk environment, New English language speakers (and their parents) often feel uncomfortable speaking aloud, or especially in a group. Don't single out these students to speak, answer, read loud, etc. in front of others. Last, create a bond with your students, knowing you want to learn about their country, their background, their language, and that you care about them will make them feel comfortable with you. I know of many great web sites you could check into. If you're interested contacat me at scottsueness@juno.com or read Reading, Writing and Learning ESL (I think that's the title) by Susan Peregoy or look for one called something like Issues of Povery by Ruby Payne.

[Beth]

Spanish for Educators by William C. Harvey is a must have book for ESL teachers. It has phrases translated for ease of use and basic spanish words...it is a WONDERFUL book. look on amazon...i got one for 5 bucks ...can't beat that!

[Unregistered]

Again, you are not supposed to speak any of the students' native language in an ELD class. So why would the teacher need to know Spanish when he or she isn't supposed to use it?

[Unregistered]

I had 3 ESL students in a class with 17 non ESL students. We were given no materials , training, or direction. We were to just pass them (according to state laws). Well, Here's what I did.

I went to a teacher store and got workbooks for teaching these students.(Now you could probably get materials off of the internet). The activities had both spanish and english so that they could translate pretty much on their own. I also found great flash cards that had pictures on them and on one side english and one side spanish so they could practice visually as well.

I even had some of the non ESL students sit with them and play games categorizing the flash cards and helping the ESL students pronounce the words in english. This worked out great. They loved it and learned very quickly! Hope this helps a bit. It was better than letting them sit there and feel left out.

[Unregistered]

I have found that singing works.
Some CD's with good cross over music-done once in English and in Spanish

Greg & Steve- Days of the Week (We All Live Together Vol 4 CD) and Months of the Year ( We All Live Together Vol 2)

Frog Street has a good CD Sold on Spanish and they have the color songs which are great.

Dr. Jean has Ole! Ole! Ole! I use this stuff all the time.


I have been teaching ESL classes for 4 years. We sing a lot. Spanish is easy to work with. It is African languages that I have a problem with.


Roz Freedenberg
Dallas TX

[ESL/Bilingual teacher]

I have been teaching for several years and yet still come across educators that are ignorant and yet have much more to learn about connecting with students. When a teacher makes an effort to learn the language other than English, he/she is making great connections with his/her students. Students feel important and culture valued as their teacher learn the simple phrases other than English.


Again, you are not supposed to speak any of the students' native language in an ELD class. So why would the teacher need to know Spanish when he or she isn't supposed to use it?

[k12newb]

I've been using it with the kids, and they loved it:
http://www.babykb.com (Have your volume on)

hope it helps!

[Unregistered]

I have been teaching for several years and yet still come across educators that are ignorant and yet have much more to learn about connecting with students.

And some teachers have a lot to learn about ELD. Learning some catch phrases is one thing; providing contextual clues in a child's native tongue is another. Again, ELD does not provide for teachers using a child's native language while teaching them English. If students find out that you speak their native language, they will constantly feign ignorance so that you will do so. This doesn't help them learn English.

There are plenty of ways to connect with kids without resorting to speaking in their native language. And how is one to help the lone Laotian kid in class?