12 Practical Tips to Help Second-Language Learners

There are currently more than 180 different language groups represented in America's schools. Students who speak English as a second language (ESL) constitute a significant percentage of the nation's school population: schools currently provide programs for nearly 3 million ESL students. As teachers, we face multiple challenges: We need to teach the content-area curriculum, while at the same time supporting students' English-language development, and helping them adjust to a new school and a new culture. The following are some strategies to consider as you try to meet the educational and social needs of your second-language learners.

1. Assess needs.
Within a few days of the newcomer's arrival, assess her English-language proficiency. Does she know letter names and sounds? Can she follow simple directions and answer simple questions? What has her literacy experience in her first language been? Ongoing, informal assessment will give you a clear picture of where the student is.

2. Empathize.
Imagine how overwhelming and alienating it is to be educated in an unfamiliar language and culture. The student grasps only some of what he hears and probably feels disconnected from the school community. After assessing his particular needs and sensitivities, you might decide to help the group understand and appreciate his position by arranging for an adult to present a short lesson to the group in the student's primary language.

3. Foster a sense of belonging.
Help the newcomer feel welcome. Make sure to say her name correctly, communicating friendliness and patience with a warm smile and relaxed body language. Discuss with the rest of your class how they might help the new student adjust to the class and its routines. If you can find someone who speaks the student's native language (another student, a parent volunteer, or school personnel), have them write or record a welcoming message in that language.

4. Assign a buddy.
Ask a responsible and friendly student to help the newcomer find his way around school, master classroom routines, get involved in games at recess, and understand directions. Arrange for different students to be his buddy for various parts of the school day, or rotate the responsibility on a weekly basis, so that a number of students can share the experience. Try to be particularly vigilant about certain problems that may arise, such as finding the right school bus at the end of the day, counting money at lunch, and so on.

5. Use "sheltering" techniques.
Sheltered English is, in part, an approach to teaching ESL students so that they can comprehend and participate in as much classroom learning as possible. When you speak to her, slow down your rate of speech and repeat directions several times, checking periodically for understanding. Whenever possible, use simple, subject-verb-noun sentences, visual references (words written on the board, pictures, photos, maps, diagrams, charts, and so on), and physical gestures or pantomime as you speak.

6. Teach key words.
Make sure the student knows basic school-based words such as student, teacher, principal, bathroom, nurse, book, reading, math, writing, board, homework, clock, cafeteria, lunch, playground, recess, and bell. You might draw pictures on index cards and label the objects on the back. Keep a box with these cards in an accessible place in the classroom and add new vocabulary words as needed. Also, be sure the student knows how to ask for help in various basic contexts: if he's sick, if he doesn't understand, if he needs to know what page the class is on, and so on.

7. Read and reread books aloud.
Read aloud to the student (or have a buddy or volunteer do so) to help her learn the language, build curriculum concepts, and expand vocabulary.
Choose high-interest books with strong visual cues that correspond directly to the text; use patterned, predictable books when possible. Find books that she can read independently, using her reading level and interests to guide your selections.

8. Provide opportunities for success.
For instance, the student might read a story to the class in his native language, display an outstanding art project, or act as the captain of the soccer team for a day. Give the student simple, nonverbal classroom jobs, such as passing out or collecting papers. Encourage participation in less language-demanding subject areas: music, art, physical education, and certain areas of the math curriculum (such as computation). When the class is working in small groups (this type of interaction with native English speakers is ideal because the student gets many opportunities to speak), give the student a specific, manageable role such as being responsible for the supplies or creating a chart or time line.

9. Keep track of language progress.
Keep a portfolio of the student's work throughout the year. You might audiotape conversations with the student at different times of the year to show him how he has progressed.

10. Value bilingualism.
Support continued literacy development in the student's first language, because literacy skills in the native language enrich English-language development. Encourage the student to continue reading and writing in her native language and invite her to practice this during free-reading time.

11. Encourage the family's involvement.
Different cultures have different perspectives on family involvement in school. Help parents of ESL students feel part of the community by first arranging for an interpreter (or inviting them to bring one) at your initial conference. Explain certain school procedures and expectations that may be unique to American schools. Find out what special skills, talents, or interests families might be willing to share with the class. If possible, have school communications translated into the parents' native language.

12. Foster an appreciation of cultural diversity.
Consider a whole-group social studies unit on family origins and cultural heritage. You might display a world map on the bulletin board and have all students put pushpins with their names on their families' countries of origin. Students might interview a family member, plan an international food festival, teach the class several words from another language, create country maps, and so on.