University of Kwazulu-Natal

10 Tips For Teaching English Learners A Walk In The Chalk

Bonisiwe Shabane
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10 tips for teaching english learners a walk in the chalk

Tools and Techniques for better instruction Classrooms across the United States are becoming increasingly diverse with increasing numbers of students whose primary home languages are not English. State-reported data in 2008-09 estimated 10 percent of the US school-aged population (PreK-twelfth grade) as students identified as limited English proficient. Terms more widely accepted and used are English-Language Learners or simply English Learners (ELs). To adequately assist ELs in learning both content concepts and English simultaneously, all educators need to view themselves as language teachers. Here are 10 tips for supporting ELs in general education classrooms.

Increase your understanding of who your students are, their backgrounds and educational experiences. If your students have been in US schools for several years and/or were educated in their country of origin, are literate or not in their native language, may provide you with a better understanding... Understanding more about the students' families and their needs is key. When ELs have siblings to care for afterschool, possibly live with extended family members or have jobs to help support their families, completing homework assignments will not take priority. Teaching English as a second language is a task that is often easier said than done. Even for an experienced teacher, successfully leading your first ESL class can be challenging.However, teaching ESL, at its core, is the same as teaching fluent students because you still need to apply basic classroom...

Your lessons need to be structured to cater to an array of learning needs too. But you’ll also face some unique challenges when working with English language learners.Teaching language skills while compensating for different cultures, learning styles, and educational backgrounds, all while trying to break through language barriers, can... But with the right tips and tricks up your sleeve, teaching your students the English language can be an extremely rewarding experience.Let’s take a look at some essential language skills and teaching tips every... How to be a Pro at Teaching English as Second Language: Although you might be fluent in the English language, that doesn’t mean you’re qualified to teach others. Anyone serious about teaching English as a second language should obtain a bachelor’s degree (in any subject) and complete a 120-hour TEFL certification course.

Whether you choose to do your TEFL certification or master’s in TESOL online or at a physical college is up to you. After you’ve been certified, you’ll receive the resources you need to apply for teaching positions and set off on your new career, whether that’s in your home country or abroad. Native English speakers might not think that adding a few extra words to a sentence can cause confusion. But from the perspective of a foreign language learner with limited English proficiency, there’s a major difference between “put your book on the shelf” and “would you mind placing your book back on the... You can gradually introduce new English words once your students have the building blocks in place that will ensure they understand the basics of the English language. Visuals can be words on desks, handouts, and even drawings.

Regardless of whether you’re teaching kids or adults, visuals can help your students better relate to physical objects, which speeds up the process of picking up on words outside of their native language. A pictorial wall is also a great way to help expand the vocabulary of your students, and every great teacher knows this. You can also give your students time to watch movies in the English language, perhaps they could be subtitled to encourage active participation in the activity. In the ESL class, the old saying that a picture speaks a thousand words couldn’t be closer to the truth. Language learning can feel bland and boring if you’re going at it in black and white for hours on end. And this is the last thing you want your learners to experience, which is why you need to find fun ways of sprucing up each lesson with interesting verbal and written instructions.

Perhaps incorporating the interests of your students into the lessons helps them engage and broadens their understanding of the topic. Separating the class into teams that compete against each other is also a fun way to encourage students and ensure you’re adding an element of excitement to the learning process. And when learners are excited and interested in the subject, they find it easier to relate to the new language, which makes bridging the language barrier easier. Imagine trying to learn a classroom lesson when you don’t understand the language in which it is being presented. Teaching English language learners requires specialized strategies; and at the most basic level, one of those strategies is to “put yourself in their shoes.” More than 5 million children in U.S.

schools are classified as English language learners (ELLs), according to the Department of Education. These students face the dual challenge of learning the material while also learning the language, as their teachers face the added challenge of using the right educational strategies to help them succeed. Some of the most effective English language learner strategies start with common sense and respect for cultural differences. Simply getting to know the students is considered to be an essential part of the process. For educators who teach English language learners, developing a deeper understanding of their unique needs and the best practices for teaching them has many benefits. These include:

Here, we will review a range of time-tested English language teaching strategies that benefit students and educators alike. During the summer, I am sharing thematic posts bringing together responses on similar topics from the past 11 years. You can see all those collections from the first 10 years here. Today’s theme is teaching English-Language Learners. You can see the list following this excerpt from one of the posts: In the next decade, schools just might appreciate English-learners for whom they are and the language skills they possess.

Read more. Using drama, sentence frames, and academic conversations are a few teacher-recommended instructional strategies for intermediate ELLs. Read more.

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