101 Instant Ideas for Working With Learners of English

Presented by Valerie Mulé

* By Faye Schmelig

1. Learn to pronounce the student’s name.

2. Greet the student by name every day.

3. Encourage students to use each other’s names. Provide all students with labeled

seating chart, for example, or use nametags.

4. Create a low-anxiety environment where feelings of mutual acceptance and respect are encouraged.

5. Accept errors as a natural part of the learning process.

6. Paraphrase and model corrections without calling overt attention to mistakes.

7. Don’t be afraid to overteach. Repetition is necessary for language learning.

8. Assign a peer tutor (or buddy) to help the learner of English. Choose the peer

carefully. Look for someone who shows empathy and patience and who has good language habits.

9. Seat the learner of English towards the middle of the class where he can see what

others are doing and where you can see him easily.

10. Maintain frequent eye contact – even though he may avoid looking directly at you in order to show respect.

11. Find ways to involve the learner of English as a part of the class

12. Five the student plenty of opportunities to speak English, but never discourage

speaking the native language outside of class.

13. Encourage the use of the telephone. Teachers and peers can call the student at home.

14. Make sure the student’s physical needs are met.

15. Have peers take the student on a tour of the school.

16. Do not over-praise, criticize, or use a condescending tone.

17. Establish and maintain classroom routines so that learners of English will know

what to expect without having to rely totally on language.

101 Instant Ideas for Working With Learners of English

Presented by Valerie Mulé

* By Faye Schmelig

18. Label classroom objects. Invite students to provide names in their native languages.

19. Give directions (and problems) step-by-step so that students can deal with each

element individually.

20. Write assignments and page numbers on the board.

21. Summarize and review often (in small groups and as a whole class) to reflect on what happened and what was learned.

22. Don’t place the student in the lowest groups simply because of language. Evaluate

placement frequently. (High achievers make good models!)

23. Allow peers who speak the same native language to translate new concepts

24. Do not give a grade for something that was not taught. (When a student does not understand the language of instruction, how can he be judged on what was taught/learned?)

25. Avoid timed tests. The student may know the information but requires more time

to read or express it.

26. Select vocabulary words from each unit to teach (or have a tutor teach) before the new unit is introduced.

27. Encourage students to keep a vocabulary file of important new words.

28. Be aware of idiomatic expressions, which cannot be interpreted literally (Are you

pulling my leg?)

29. Try using music. Music reaches the subconscious mind 80% faster than the spoken word!

30. Have learners of English teach the class some words in their native language.

31. Teach the class a lesson about the student’s native country.

32. Check often to see that the student is on task, knows what the lesson objective is,

and how to go about doing it.

33. Rather than asking “Do you understand?” use carefully constructed questions and clarification techniques to check comprehension.

101 Instant Ideas for Working With Learners of English

Presented by Valerie Mulé

* By Faye Schmelig

34. Avoid yes/no questions. Your students may feel it is disrespectful to disagree with you.

35. Try to overcome any personal anxiety you might feel in not being understood.

36. Teach proper school and classroom behavior through demonstration and modeling

rather than through criticizing students in class.

37. Use your school’s ESOL teacher! She can be a valuable resource.

38. While maintaining classroom routines, vary the ways in which lessons are presented.

Lesson Presentation

39. Use media and visuals.

40. Do demonstrations.

41. Use films, videos, and multi-media.

42. Use cassette tapes and language masters to create your own materials.

43. Reduce teacher talk.

44. Increase student talk.

45. Increase student to student interaction.

46. Use cooperative learning strategies, small group and pair activities.

47. Begin new lessons with warm-up discussions

48. Take advantage of what students already know about a topic

49. Have small groups brainstorm what they know about a topic and share with the

class, categorizing all their words/ideas.

50. Employ frequent “hands-on” experimental activities.

51. Relate lessons to students’ real life experience and build upon prior knowledge.

52. Encourage participation by a learner of English by letting her know ahead of time what you will ask her. Preparing an answer/response in advance will help to give the student confidence. As confidence increases, so will participation.

101 Instant Ideas for Working With Learners of English

Presented by Valerie Mulé

* By Faye Schmelig

53. Make use of role-play, simulations, and games.

54. Make sure the essential meaning of any communication is understood. This can

be accomplished through the use of pictures, facial expressions, gestures, concrete referents, clarification techniques, and negotiation of meaning.

55. Use total physical response (TPR) techniques. (Students are given directions and

asked to respond physically rather than verbally.)

56. Do experiments.

57. Use charting and graphing.

58. Use drawings (life-cycles, story sequences, historical events, math story problems, etc.)

59. Have pairs or small groups write problems or create quizzes for each other.

60. Write legibly. Remember that some students are not accustomed to the Roman

alphabet.

Cognitive Academic Demands

61. Be aware of student’s cognitive academic development. Although most students master social language in 11/2 – 2 years, it can take 5-7 years (or longer) to attain academic skills needed to succeed in the classroom.

62. Recognize that some student’s come from educational backgrounds, which

emphasize rote learning. That does not mean that the student can’t or doesn’t think abstractly, analyze, synthesize, or make inferences – but he may need encouragement and help in developing these skills for academic success.

63. TEACH study skills and learning strategies.

64. TEACH how to use the textbook.

65. TEACH the use of outlines.

66. Move from the known to the unknown, building upon skills the students have

already mastered.

67. Begin with the concrete and move to the abstract.

68. Begin with listening and speaking and move to reading and writing.

101 Instant Ideas for Working With Learners of English

Presented by Valerie Mulé

* By Faye Schmelig

69. Provide good, clear models (and practice using the models) before students are

asked to write papers, reports and special assignments.

70. Stimulate active listening and provide practice in note taking.

Adapting Materials

71. Increase the percentage of inferential and higher order questions asked.

72. Be aware that the level of texts, workbooks, and materials may not be appropriate for learners of English.

73. Adapt and simplify materials without “watering down” the content.

74. Reduce the amount of language.

75. Highlight the main points.

76. Eliminate any unnecessary detail.

77. Place important pieces of information first, with supporting detail following.

78. Simplify vocabulary – but retain key technical or concept terms

79. Minimize synonyms.

80. Aid comprehension by using charts, graphs, maps, timelines, pictures, drawings,

etc.

81. Avoid problematic grammar structures when possible.

82. Use simple verb tenses (He went) instead of perfect tenses (He has gone).

83. Use active voice (Gail Sheehy wrote Spirit of Survival.) rather than passive (Spirit of Survival was written by Gail Sheehy).

84. Try not to use indefinite words like “there, “it, and “that” to begin sentences.

85. Be careful when using pronouns. Students often have trouble with antecedents.

86. Try to avoid the use of complex sentences. Put clauses in separate sentences.

87. Negate verbs rather than using words like “hardly”, “seldom”, “no longer”.

101 Instant Ideas for Working With Learners of English

Presented by Valerie Mulé

* By Faye Schmelig

88. Try to use simple word order. Students are most familiar with subject-verb-object pattern.

89. When adapting or writing material in prose form, place the topic sentence first.

90. Teach key features which alert students to the type of information which is likely

to follow, for example: first, next, then, and last indicate sequence; but signals contrast; because often indicates cause and effect.

91. The structure of the text material often suggests formats for adaptation. A

biographical prose selection, for example, might lend itself well to a timeline, a description of a country’s natural resources might suggest a map with a key of symbols or pictures.

92. Be aware that cultural bias often exists in materials. By adapting materials a

teacher can eliminate that bias and control the cultural information presented.

Other Instant Ideas

93. Remember that every crisis has both a danger and an opportunity aspect. Focus on the opportunity!

94. Learners of English carry a triple burden. They must master the learning of

language, the language of learning, as well as cultural and extra-linguistic challenges, in addition to content/subject matter.

95. Be careful not to assume, that all students have the same background knowledge!

96. Content area teachers must become more sensitive to the language problems their

students face.

97. Language teachers need to help their students become better prepared to succeed in academic classrooms.

98. The time has come for us to be collaborative, complementary, and supportive of

each other – teacher-to-teacher, teacher–to-student, and student-to-student.

99. Math and science professionals, not just language teacher, are calling for an approach to education that emphasizes communication skills for ALL students, and that language activities be incorporated into all content area classes.

100. All 101 of these instant ideas can benefit all students in your classroom – not just those who are learning English. 101. The single most important factor in the classroom is: the teacher’s state of mind.

Keep happy! Keep positive!