Tips for Teaching Students Who Speak English as a Second Language

Things to consider with ELL students…..

• Limited lecture comprehension. When a teacher instructs the entire class, content and meaning may get lost. Students most likely sit in the back of the class and/or the teacher uses phrases that only native English speakers understand.

• Reluctance to use professor office hours. Knocking on the professor’s door, or scheduling an appointment may make the student feel as though they are an inconvenience. Explain to the student that most professors want to hear from them and it is never an inconvenience to visit during office hours. If there is a conflict, email the professor, and possibly make alternative appointment times. Most professors will accommodate students, if the student simply asks.

• Potential plagiarism. There are times the student will do anything to get the English language on paper, including copying and pasting without truly understanding the consequences.

• Reluctance to bother you with questions, but student will respond to your invitation. Invite them! Express interest in the outcome of their assignments and offer assistance when necessary.

Don’t Assume They Understand

• You are not insulting the intelligence of a student by checking for understanding. Too many times we feel that correcting a student is negative communication, when in reality it is extremely helpful.

• You can always say, “I never assume my students know everything, so please repeat back to me what you think this means.” Ask questions such as, “What do you think this question is asking you to do?” “In your own words, tell me your understanding of this passage and what it means to you.” Then if it is correct, commend them on their understanding. If it is not correct, tell them they are close but not exact – then tell them the precise meaning.

• Almost always, students will pretend they understand, rather than admit they do not. Put yourself in their situation. Do you feel self-conscious when addressing another person in Spanish? Are you afraid you will mispronounce? They feel this way as well, and the easiest way for them to avoid this embarrassment is to pretend they understand.

Simplify Your Own Language

• Use as few extra words as possible. We tend to talk unnecessarily giving too many details and talking in order to fill in silent space. Please don’t do this. It is not necessary and it is confusing to the student.

• Repeating words and speaking louder will not help. Re-wording as opposed to repeating is acceptable especially with the use of hand gestures. Speaking louder is not going to help because hearing isn’t the issue, but understanding what you said is.

• There may be one particular word the student is not comprehending, so re-wording the phrase can be beneficial. Even English speakers have this issue from time to time.

Increase your own knowledge of student culture

• Learn a greeting in their language. They will feel important because you took the time to learn this information. Buenos Dias, Arrivederci, Ciao, or bienvenido.

• www.googletranslate has a divided screen on your computer, that allows immediate conversation between the two of you (as you type, it translates). There is also a free TRANSLATE app available for iphones that you can speak directly into, or type the correct word in any language for translation purposes.

Cultural Adjustment to U.S.

• International students may or may not have a strong social network. They are hundreds or thousands of miles from home and the time zones are different. They may not be able to text at a moment’s notice like we do, therefore they rely on their newly formed relationships cultivated here in America.

• Phrases we use can be loaded with associations that may confuse international students who have limited English language knowledge. “It is raining cats and dogs,”and “this is as American as baseball and apple pie.” They may have no idea what you are referring to, and most likely they will pretend that they do.

English Language Learning

• International students may never have been immersed in an English language speaking environment. Have you ever been in a crowd and the people around you are speaking another language? It can make you very uncomfortable. Pay close attention to how you feel the next time you are the minority and you will have a better understanding of how our students feel cognitively, psychologically, emotionally and intellectually, in this unfamiliar cultural immersion.

Listening to and Speaking English

• Students may have limited exposure to rapid speech, accents, and contemporary slang. Every linguistic culture is different. Some dialects are fast and some are remarkably slow. Find a middle ground, where you can speak clearly, concisely, and understandably.

• Listening comprehension will be limited. Speaking English will be easier than listening to another person speaking in English. Please keep this in mind.

• Allow them the extra time they may need to think of the correct English word that expresses their thought. When you speak to your student in English, they are mentally translating what you have just said into their own primary language, determining the meaning, then translating it back into English, and contemplating whether their response will be correct. This takes a while. Be relaxed, patient, and allow the time for this process to take place.

Review Instructions Step by Step

Never expect a student to memorize three goals in their mind as you sit down to begin working on an assignment. Have the goals itemized for

your organization, but start off step by step with the student. They may not make it through the entire list that you had hoped for. Start with the most important, explain it, then move on as each section is mastered.

Explain the objectives for the session

• The student will focus on the process, expectations, and the outcome once goals have been established. The student needs to know what your session together is going to feel like and how they can gauge whether or not they are being successful with their interaction.

• Example: You might say, “Today we will check all due dates on Blackboard, begin a rough draft for Composition I, and respond to the math teacher’s email.” The student will be comforted knowing that he/she is doing what is expected of them.

Increase Wait Time

• Wait time is the few seconds of silence after a question is posed to a student, and especially important for you to provide.

• Give students time to think about and process information before you rush in and try to answer the question for them.

• Research indicates that ELL students need between 3 to 7 seconds to process the question once it is presented to them.

Writing

• Students who speak/write English as a second language are balancing grammar and vocabulary. The English language has many components that can make it difficult to the ELL student. We have words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently, for example, read, read, lead, lead, content, content.

• Be specific and clear with your directions. We tend to talk extremely fast, which creates confusion within the translation.

• Show examples of successful papers and explain what made the papers successful.

Write Legibly

• As a tutor, your handwriting serves as a model to the student.• The student observes as you write and watches your every move.• Be as neat as you can, and don’t forget to use punctuation when needed.

Try not to abbreviate, since they have not yet been introduced to that concept. Try to write your examples on paper, using the same format you would use on a college paper, such as titles, subtitles, punctuation.

Grammar Knowledge

• ELL Students:

• May already know many formal rules of grammar, which may lead you to think that they know more than they actually do. They may throw in the correct answer on occasion which could provide you with a false sense of student knowledge.

• May be very skilled in taking language tests. This is a good thing, as long as the success on the test reflects student knowledge of the English language.

• May not be able to apply grammar rules. The student may be able to quote what is correct, but when it comes to the application of grammar appropriately, the student might struggle.

• May make the occasional mistake, so reassure them when these occur. Praise them for their attempts and their improvements.

Grammar Mistakes

• Establish trust with the student first. • Model correct grammar but do not correct the student numerous times

when they make errors. • Correct grammar from the student will come in time.• Many students shut down when given any form of criticism, constructive

or otherwise. Give it time!! Encourage, motivate, and acknowledge progress.

Evaluating Activity

• Have ELL student interview you or you tell the student a brief story of your family, your pet, your learning style, then ask them to repeat back to you what you have just explained. This will enable you to evaluate the quality of their listening comprehension. You can even do this in writing, but expect the writing to be more difficult for the student to comprehend. Keep it brief and specific.

References

• Carmen, Chong-Gum, Ursula Chandler, Elena Izquierdo and Mai Le Nguyen. English As A Second Language Graduate Academy XIII. Springdale/Rogers Public Schools, and Henderson State University, 2006.

• Edutopia, What Works in Education: Do’s & Don’t for Teaching English Language Learners

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/esl-ell-tips-ferlazzo-sypnieski

• Science of Education: Akron Global Academy http://www.agpa.uakron.edu/p16/btp.php?id=wait-time