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