Teach ESL to Kids

What can you do when you have zero proficiency in ESL students? It’s hard to face a classroom of students that don’t speak any English at all, especially when most ESL classes are designed to be immersion classes and you’re not supposed to speak their native language at all.

Still, it’s quite common to get a new student or class that doesn’t speak any English at all.

If it’s just one or two students being introduced into a class that is already starting to speak, your job is much easier. You’ll be able to have the other students model the type of behavior that you expect. For example, they’ll show the new student how they are expected to repeat after you.

A whole new class of students that speaks no English at all is a bit more intimidating and requires a bit more work.

To handle this, think about what you might do if you were in their shoes. Imagine you are in a classroom and you don’t speak the language at all. You may be listening for words that you recognize. You may be watching intently for a sign as to what you’re supposed to do. Here are a few ideas:

*Point to yourself and say your name. This seems to be a bit of a universal sign for “My name is”. There should be at least one student that figures this out and is able to do the same for his or her name.
*Use flashcards. Pictures are easy to understand. The child knows that they are here to learn English, so they will know that when you show a flashcard and say a word, it’s the English word for the picture.
*Teach foods. I don’t speak many foreign languages, but I’ve noticed that a lot of different languages use the same words for foods, often with a slightly different pronunciation. Banana and pizza, for example, often easily translate. Using foods will make the students feel more comfortable because there are probably a few that that will “know”.

Love,
Shannon Sensei

Who remembers playing “What time is it Mr. Fox?” when you were little?

This is a great game for practice asking the time and for counting. It worked pretty well for students 2-6 years old for me. Basically, they have to be young enough to still think it’s pretty fun to be chased. It’s also good for new students, because they do it as a group and don’t have to worry too much about being singled out.

In case you don’t remember how to play:

1. Play outside or in a large area. Students all line up and one end of the area and the teacher stands at the other. The teacher should have his or her back to the students.
2. Students shout “What time is it Shannon Sensei?” (You can use Mr. Fox or your own name.)
3. You choose a number 1-12 and say “It’s __o’clock.”
4. Students then walk that many steps.
5. They ask again.
6. Repeat until you feel they are quite close to you. Then when they ask what time it is, you say “Dinner time!” and chase after them. For younger kids, it’s a little less scary to say “It’s tickle time!”

Have fun!

Love,
Shannon

Animals are so popular with young ESL learners, so ESL lessons on animals almost always go over well.

Here’s one of the standard lessons that I use when I want to teach or review animals:

1. Warm-up with short conversation questions that aren’t animal related.

2. Use flash cards to introduce the animals. With younger/newer students, you should say the word first yourself. Older students may want to show that they know it without prompting.

3. Use the word in a sentence. “It’s a ______” or “I like ______s”* are both good sentences to use.

4. Let each student have individual practice for saying the sentence. Go easy on them. Prompt if necessary.

5. Play a game that allows you to reinforce the concept. For animals, I particularly like The Circle Game and Big Karuta.

6. If you have time, play another game or work on another concept. If you’re at a loss, remember some of these easy activities for ESL students.

Love,
Shannon Sensei

*Note that in English, when you leave off the “s” when saying you like an animal, it has a connotation that you like to eat the animal. “I like rabbit.” means something different than “I like rabbits.”. When I’d practice this sentence with my two-year-old classes, I’d let them get away with it. However, with older students, I’d try to explain the nuances.