Bridging the Communication Gap: Tips for Teaching ESL Students
In schools around the world, teachers are encountering record numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse students in their classroom (Wassell, Hawrylak & LaVan, 2010). In regards to linguistics, the 2010 National Census reported that 19.6% of people in America speak a language other than English. This leaves schools with a major dilemma. How do we educate the students if they barely understand us? In response to this, many schools have hired ESL teachers – teachers who are capable of assisting students with all levels of their education. The problem becomes that the ESL teacher cannot be the aide for every student, at all times. The classroom teacher needs to have a skill set that will allow them to be help the student transition and be successful.
According to a study I read one of the main obstacles of communication for non-English speaking students are anxiety and unwillingness (Tok, H., 2009). The student may have just moved to this country and must now attempt to adjust to a new culture, a new community, a new school. As teachers, we are charged with the task of making sure that all students are afforded the opportunity to succeed. This may prove a grueling task if the student is unable to speak the language.
In the following paper I will outline some of the steps I took in order to better assist the English as Second Language (ESL) students in my class. I had very large classes that typically contained three to four students who spoke very little English. I had many concerns with regards to safety and educating a student who could barely understand anything I was saying. There are so many techniques I could have used in this process but the three that I found most effective involved working with an ESL teacher, peer tutoring and laminated flash cards.
ESL Teacher
As I began my teaching, I worried that my lessons would not be challenging. I worried that my classroom management skills might be less than perfect. I worried that some of my lessons might fail. Never did I ever think I would have to deal with students who could not understand my lessons because they spoke little, if any, English. When I realized that this was going to be a prevailing issue that I would face, I went to the one person that I hoped could provide me with the most assistance – the ESL teacher in my school. One of the first things I would do is set up a meeting with the teacher and the student. During this time, I would find out the level of English the student was able to comprehend and find out what concerns the student had about school and transiting to this new place. From there the teacher and student would be able to provide me with insight on the culture that the student was coming from, physical activities that were like the ones that I would be teaching, and any other information that would make this move a more comfortable one for the student. I did this for many reasons, the most important one being to show the student that I cared and was willing to take the time to get to know them. Most of the time this proved a very valuable tool in creating a path for success for the student because I was able to take what I had learned from the meeting and make a decision concerning the student’s ability to function in my class from a language standpoint and I was able to determine who in my class might be a good candidate to work as a peer tutor.
Peer Tutor
A study in the Putting Research to Work in Elementary Physical Education textbook for one of my graduate courses showed the usefulness of trained peer tutors in regards to helping lower functioning students. I found students who spoke both English and Spanish to be very useful in my classroom. After meeting with the student and the ESL teacher and concluding that the incoming student could benefit from a peer tutor, I would decide who would be a good fit for the student and talk to the future mentor ahead of time. This way upon arrival to my class, I can introduce the two students to one another and let them know each other’s role in this program. The ESL student is to use the mentor as a means of communication and the mentor is to help keep the ESL student in the loop about what is happening and what is being taught that day. The two students would work together during all class times or on an as needed basis. Many times the peer tutor was most useful during the instruction period of the class and then the ESL student was able to work with other students in hopes of making new friendships and being able to play with students who may be more challenging. If the helper needed assistance from me, he or she could get my attention and I would go assist. This may mean my doing demonstrations or giving cues for the student to translate and express to the ESL student. With very large class sizes and very little time for instruction and practice, I have few opportunities to double check for understanding from all my students so the use of a peer tutor became invaluable.
Flash Cards and Posters
The peer tutoring procedures that I put into place were very useful for instruction and practice. But when it came time to do fitness testing, I wanted to make sure to keep this private and personal. So I created flashcards and posters that I had laminated and used for this section of my curriculum. The flashcards would have a picture of the fitness test and a translated explanation of the test on the other side. The ESL teacher was in charge of doing the translations for me. (My school allotted time during faculty meetings for teachers to work together across curriculums and this is when this work was completed).
If I had students from other countries I would have the ESL teacher redo the translation and I would adjust the flashcard. These flashcards were also great because it provided the student with a demonstration that did not require me to touch them, which is very important to a high school student. And it allowed me to have the student test while I was still able to focus on the actions of my other students. It also allowed the student to maintain privacy when it came to test results.
Another thing I did was create posters that had all the test results on there with pictures to represent each test and whether the scores were for boys or girls. The following is an example of a poster I might create to help the ESL (and visual learners) in my class.
| Age (anos) | | Back Saver Sit & Reach | Push Up |
| 13 | 11:30-9:00 | 10 | 7-15 |
| 14 | 11:00-8:30 | 10 | 7-15 |
| 15 | 10:30-8:00 | 12 | 7-15 |
| 16 | 10:00-8:00 | 12 | 7-15 |
| 17 | 10:00-8:00 | 12 | 7-15 |
This may seem a daunting task to some, but no one ever said teaching was suppose to be easy. And I found great success when students knew and understood what was expected of them.
As I previously stated, I had large class sizes that contained several students who would have fallen between the cracks if I had not taken steps to help ensure that the opportunity to succeed was afforded them. I would not be able to tell my principal or the parents of the student that the reason a child failed was based on his inability to participate in my class. The personal interviews and special steps I took to create educationally sound tools to use in my room allowed students to feel accepted and welcome in the classroom and hopefully showed them my level of dedication to my job and to their learning.
References
Tok, H. (2009). EFL Learners’ Communication Obstacles. Electronic Journal of Social
Sciences, 8(29), 84-100.
Wassell, B., Hawrylak, M., & LaVan, S. (2010). Examining the Structures That Impact
English Language Learners’ Agency in Urban High Schools: Resources and
Roadblocks in the Classroom. Education and Urban Society, 42(5), 599-619.
