As a new ESL teacher, starting out can feel overwhelming and even confusing. As an ESL teacher who has been teaching overseas for almost 8 years, I have a few tips to help you get started as a first year, returning, or new to the field ESL teacher!
Tip #1: Establish classroom routines with predictable structure
As an ESL teacher, one of the most important things you can do for your students is to give them predictability. It is likely that students will feel confused or lost, and since everything will be in English it is good to give students routines so they know what to do and when, even if they don't understand the language.
Class Dojo is a great resource for classroom management. A rewards system which doesn't cost the teacher extra money can be found here!
Tip #2: Use songs or timers with music to indicate transitions or work time
Music resonates with people, and can make us want to get up and move or sit down and focus. Music can be powerful and it speaks to what is coming next. Have you ever watched a scary movie with no sound? It makes it much less suspenseful. So, music allows us to get into the mood of things. I find timers or songs on Youtube and insert these into Google slides to help bring structure to my day. For example I use this break time song when I give students a short break. I use this timer when I want students to focus on cutting quickly and this timer for writing or independent work time to help them focus. Any timer with specific music will indicate what it is time to do for kids and helps keep me on track, too! Just be sure to pay attention to the bpm (beats per minute) when choosing music. Faster bpm means kids should be up and moving around while slower bpm means kids should sit down and focus.
Tip #3: Allow students to have support in their native language
지금 이것을 읽을 수 있다면 정말 멋져요~ Can you read this? Do you know what language it is? Chances are if you can understand, you are either bilingual or you used technology. Nowadays technology allows us to provide support to students in ways we never could have dreamed of in the past. Yes, we want students to level up in English as quickly as possible, but throwing English at them without their understanding isn't going to help them. Research shows that providing support in students' native languages is one way to increase academic effectiveness (Goldenberg, 2013). With the resources we have and the goal of learning, we should use every opportunity to help our students understand!
Check out my TPT store for more Korean-English bilingual educational resources.
Tip #4: Make the environment welcoming and show them you care about their language and culture
Take some time to find out background about your ESL students and put forth a little bit of effort to show them you know about them. For example, learn how to say hello in their native language and greet them on the first day. Not only will this likely bring a smile to their face, but it will help lower their affective filter, which according to Krashen, is something students must lower before they feel comfortable enough to even try to speak or produce language in the classroom (Second Language Acquisition).
Tip #5: Adjust your speaking and tone as if you are reading a storybook
We have probably all seen a movie or show on TV where some (probably American) person starts shouting at a foreigner in English. Of course someone will chime in and say, "They aren't deaf! They just don't speak English." Though this shows a certain level of ignorance, there is something to say for adjusting tone of voice and language for non-native speakers. They do not have the same language knowledge and English may be very difficult to understand for new learners of English. The best way to speak to English learners is to try to speak as if reading a book. Emphasize key words, show actions, and try to give them something they can comprehend. Even using simple one or two word commands can help. Using "Would you please hand me the scissors over there on desk?" As opposed to, *point to scissors* "Give me the scissors please," can make a world of difference in understanding to an English learner.
I hope you enjoyed these 5 tips! Have a comment? You can leave on below! Good luck with teaching English learners!
References:
Goldenberg, C. (2013). Unlocking the research on English learners: what we know-and don’t yet know-about effective instruction. American Educator, 37(2), 4.
Second language acquisition. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-language_acquisition
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