What can I do to help my ESL students?

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What can I do to help my ESL students?

• Rebecca Manriquez
• ESL Specialist
• The Academy and Macarthur High School

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Get to know your students!Dont wait till you
have a parent conference to know about your
students background!

• Give assignments that will help you collect this
  information.
• Example Students interviews
• Be alert when the suggested topics are brought
  up- you will get your answers.
• Research on student cultural backgrounds
• http//www.celt.sunysb.edu/ell/tips.php
• http//www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/MCC/index.html

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All Content area teachers!Building Background!

• Internet4classrooms
• http//www.internet4classrooms.com/grade_level_hel
  p.htm
• 25 Quick Tips from Everything ESL
• http//www.everythingesl.net/inservices/twenty_fiv
  e_quick_tips_classro_70733.php

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Pig Latin exercise

• Discuss what is happening in the picture in
  Pig-Latin
• You may not speak English!
• Example
• http//www.idioma-software.com/pig/home.htm

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Maxine Cartoons http//suetn.50megs.com/fun/Maxin
e3.html1. What might Maxine be talking
about?2. Can you relate to Maxine?(Pig Latin
only!) Discuss in pairs!
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Be Aware of the Challenges ESL students have in
Math class

• Lack of background knowledge, vocabulary and
  expressions
• Content might be abstract
• formation of numbers varies from culture to
  culture
• use of decimal point and comma vary from culture
  to culture
• Students have no experience with our measurement
  system, It is an abstract to them.
• Many students have never seen or worked with
  manipulatives. They may not take a lesson using
  manipulatives seriously.

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• Students learn math by rote memory (just for the
  test).
• Math curricula in their countries may be
  primarily calculation.
• Word problems may not be introduced until much
  later.
• Estimating, rounding, and geometry are not often
  taught as early in other cultures.
• Mathematical terms do not always translate well.
• Mental math may be the norm. Students may not
  show work in addition, subtraction,
  multiplication and division or they may show work
  in a different way,

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Visuals for Math teachers with ESL students!

• http//nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
• http//illuminations.nctm.org/

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Be Aware of the Challenges ESL students have in
Science class!

• ELLs may lack of background knowledge in science.
  Our hands-on" approach is different from what
  they are used to.
• Drawing conclusions on their own may be difficult
  for ELLs. In their own culture students may not
  have been trained to make guesses.
• Vocabulary! (There are a special set of terms for
  the student to learn.) Even simple words that the
  student may know, could have another meaning in
  science.
• Example Base- opposite of an acid
• Material may be covered very fast
• Directions are often multi-step and difficult.
• Too many concepts explained on each page of a
  science text.

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• Cooperative learning may not fit in with students
  experiences in learning.
• Visuals may be confusing and difficult to
  understand.
• Sentence structure is complex and the passive
  voice is used in textbooks.
• ELLs are not used to science labs or equipment
• Students lack background in scientific method

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Science teachers with ESL students!

• http//www.hbschool.com/glossary/science/intro.htm
  l
• http//www.internet4classrooms.com/grade_level_hel
  p.htm

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Be aware of the challenges ELL students have in
Social Studies Class.

• Use of higher level thinking skills for reading
  and writing.
• Lack of familiarity with historical terms,
  government processes, and vocabulary.
• Social Studies text contains complex sentences,
  passive voice, and extensive use of pronouns.
• ELLs may not be used to expressing their personal
  opinions.
• Concepts which do no exist in all cultures are
  difficult. This includes privacy,.

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• democratic processes, rights of citizens, free
  will. (guns)
• No concept of movement within the structure of a
  society.
• ELLs are seldom asked to contribute an alternate
  view that reflects conditions in other countries.
  
• Use in our schools of timeline teaching vs.
  learning history by dynasty or period.
• Difficulty with understanding what is said by the
  teacher and being able to take notes.
• Amount of text covered and the ELLs inability to
  tell what is important in the text and what is
  not important

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Be aware of the challenges ELL students have in
English class.

• an abundance of idioms and figurative language in
  English texts
• density of unfamiliar vocabulary
• use of homonyms and synonyms
• grammar usage - exceptions to the rules
• word order, sentence structure and syntax
• difficult text structure ( a topic sentence,
  supporting details and conclusion)
• unfamiliar with connotative and denotative
  meanings of words
• use of regional U.S. dialects
• fear of participation and interaction with
  mainstream students

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• literary terms for story development are not
  understood
• unfamiliarity with drawing conclusions, analyzing
  characters and predicting outcomes
• imagery and symbolism in text are difficult
• ELLs may not have practice in expressing an
  opinion about text.
• use of regional U.S. dialects
• fear of participation and interaction with
  mainstream students
• story themes and endings can be inexplicable
• literary terms for story development are not
  understood
• unfamiliarity with drawing conclusions, analyzing
  characters and predicting outcomes
• imagery and symbolism in text are difficult

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Build Vocabulary!

• Flashcards
• http//flashcardexchange.com/
• Simple Vocabulary
• http//abcteach.com/directory/basics/flashcards/

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Help them take notes and build background!

• Videos
• Word Walls Vocabulary students can see
• Personal Dictionary
• Journals to reflect
• Record what you are instructing the students to
  do (with visuals)
• Skeletal Outlines (students fill out teacher
  prepared outline while watching a video,
  listening to the teachers lecture, reading from
  the book or internet)
• Pretest to show background knowledge and build
  from that!
• Write key vocabulary to help them get the idea of
  what the lesson will cover.
• Help them become active readers.
• Questions for them to check comprehensionstop
  and think about what they have read.

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TOP (Texas Observation Protocol) reading examples
of what an ELL student might understand in math
class.

• Good morning, class. Today we are going to
  studymath class. Its difficultgoing to need
  everyonesOpen your books to page one
  hundredtop of the pageTodays lessonyour book,
  in mathtwocylinderbookrectangle and two
  circlescylinder.

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What was actually said

• Good morning, class. Today we are going to study
  something brand new in math class. Its
  difficult, so Im going to need everyones
  undivided attention. Open your books to page one
  hundred seventy-two. At the top of the page is
  the word net. Todays lesson is about net. As
  it says in the definition in your book, in math,
  net is two-dimensional model. The net of a
  cylinder is shown in your textbook. Does
  everyone see the rectangle and two circles? That
  is the net of the cylinder.

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If you have an ESL student, you too are teaching
language.

• The language of Math
• The language of Science
• The language of History
• The language of Technology

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Thank you!District ESL Webpagehttp//www.irvin
gisd.net/bilingual-esl/Bil-ESL/Instructional/ESL_R
esources.htm

• Please contact me if you need further assistance!
• Rebecca Manriquez
• ESL Specialist
• The Academy/Macarthur High Schools
• 972-659-8103
• rmanriquez_at_irvingisd.net