Teaching Esl Students
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Danielle Said:
how you view your ESL students if you are teaching ESL classes?We Answered:
I have my TESOL endorsement ... My kiddos (middle school) are polite, vulnerable, and wanting to know all they can. Many are self conscious of their abilities--and are afraid to take risks. I view them as capable students. However, many students don't want to do more to be English-proficient than sit in class. Some will not apply themselves. Others, however, do whatever they can to immerse themselves in the language. When teaching ESOL, it's important to remember that they should not be identified by their language, but by their culture.Sara Said:
I'm teaching ESL students about physical appearance. What's a good song I could use for a gap fill?We Answered:
First of all, to the person above me: ESL means "English as a Second Language".Secondly, I think "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" works, if that's what you're looking for.
Ann Said:
Need tips/help for teaching ESL students (3-4 year olds).?We Answered:
This can be hard at first, especially when the children are trying to communicate with you and get frustrated, or they are scared because they don't know what's going on. Use pictures to communicate what is going on in the classroom or schedule--for example, you can have a picture of someone washing hands, then go the sinks and show how to do it as well as how to say it. You can use pictures to signify it is time to eat, time for a nap, time to read, time to go outside, anything. Along with saying the word in English and having them repeat it will help them build vocabulary.You can also make games using the pictures, where the children take pictures, find the item in the room that matches that picture, then says the word for that picture. For example, you could have a picture of blocks, then have the child take that picture and find the real blocks on the shelf in the room, then say "blocks". Using stickers or a fun stamp or even a piece of candy can be a real motivator for kids this age.
Music is especially effective with children for learning English as well, especially if you can find music that has the songs in English and in their native language. Greg and Steve have great music for kids, and at least one song in both English/Spanish. Look at your local library to see what other music resources there are. Kids learn by singing as well, so starting with the alphabet song while pointing to the letters, then having the kids see if they can remember the letters you randomly point to afterwards would be a great thing to do. Not only do these kids need to learn English, but some culture as well, so teaching songs like "The Teensy Weensy Spider" and "Wheels on the Bus" will give them that.
Finally, books on tape are great for kids learning english, especially if they are read slowly. They even have books on cd now, so you could copy a bunch of stories off onto your own cd's, have copies of the books, and have the children follow along while it's read. These are especially effective because they tend to have music with the story, so it seems really special to the kids and they pay attention more.
Don't forget that kids this age need to alternate quiet/still activities with active activities. The active activities can help with English as well--you can call out an action word like "jump" or "hop" or "twirl" and have the kids mimic you doing the action, then say "stop" and have them stop. Seems pretty simplistic, but kids enjoy things like this.
I would recommend you researching books that can give you more activities for young ESL students.
Margie Said:
ESL teachers, what is your best strategy or teaching tip for intermediate and advanced students?We Answered:
Here are some ideas I use in my own classroom:Praise-Question-Polish (PQP)-PQP is a framework used to assess understanding and evaluate learning. It has three columns for student responses to specific lessons, texts, topics, or focus studies. The praise column is for positive comments, the question column is for recording ideas that are not clear, and the polish column is for suggested changes to improve understanding.
Literature Study-Literature discussion groups give students a chance to talk about their perceptions and interpretations of a selected text. After reading the selection and responding in a literature log, they meet to discuss ideas and insights. After discussion, group members decide how far they will read and what they will consider for the next discussion time. Different students serve as discussion leaders.
Text Sets- The text sets used in literature study circles are usually multiple copies of the same text to provide a focus for shared meaning. However, text sets may be a collection of different books on a related topic. Using sets of different texts encourages students to compare, contrast, and make connections in a reading discussion group. Related poetry may be included as text sets as well as different versions of particular fairy tales or collections of books by the same author.
Say Something-this a reading activity that invites conversation and discussion by partners or small groups of students. Each person receives a text for reading and responding. The participants decide cooperatively how far to read before stopping to talk about the author’s ideas. Someone is designated to speak first, or to say something related to the text. Each person listens and responds with comments, reactions, or questions. They may reread the text to clarify understanding or answer questions.
Partner Reading-Partner reading encourages the sharing of ideas. Sometimes partners take turns talking about their perceptions, questions, and insights. Partners of different ages and abilities work well together. The teacher may be a student’s partner to assess individual needs and strengths.
Reciprocal Teaching-Reciprocal teaching is an instructional activity that takes place in the form of a dialogue between teachers and students regarding segments of text. The dialogue is structured by the use of four strategies: summarizing, question generating, clarifying and predicting. The teacher and students take turns assuming the role of teacher in leading this dialogue.
Additionally, you might find some ideas at this link:
http://bilingual.dadeschools.net/BEWL/pd…
Julia Said:
Some tips on teaching brainstorming techniques to ESL students?We Answered:
This website has some good information:http://eslbrainstorming.webs.com
Another resource you might try:
http://www.eslflow.com/brainstorming.html
It's not ESL related, but Charles Cave has a good website on creativity:
http://members.optusnet.com.au/charles57/Creative/index2.html
Happy brainstorming!!!
Tracey Said:
when teaching pronunciation to ESL students, would it be better to concentrate on phonics rules or phonemes?We Answered:
Hmm, I'm not a native English speaker myself. However, Spanish is pretty close to English linguistically so you should perhaps concentrate on weird words that have no reason why they are pronounced in a certain way, like the "G" sounds. I hate them. Yes, that'd be specific problems stemming from that the written English has grown inconsistent with the spoken. Not necessary a Mexican problem per se.Or, that depends on how advanced they are. Phonetics are perhaps the most important, but those can be learned different ways.
Mike Said:
teaching esl students?We Answered:
I think the age....if the students that you teach, have already gone through the critical period, then it is challenging for them to learn the language as you would like them too, another difficult situation when teaching English as a second language is that even when you try not to use their first language, they really expect you to use it...so you have to adapt and find strategies in which they can use their first language as a reference in learning that second language...even when you avoid using it yourself.