ESOL Classroom Strategies
I teach in a computer lab, an unusual setting for an ESOL English class, but with advantages. Every student has his own computer, so drafting and revising goes fairly quickly. Students also have ready access to the Internet for research. The overhead projection system linked to the teacher computer is useful for group brainstorming. Throughout the unit I refer to techniques I use regularly in my ESOL classroom. Here's a quick explanation of those techniques, with a little advice thrown in for good measure.
Groups
In ESOL classrooms the main behavior problem is chattering in the native language. A rule of thumb is to mix cultures and languages in group composition. The exception would be a beginning English-learner who would be paired with a same language speaker for translations. Grouping by pairs and threes avoids having two Spanish speaking students together in a larger group. I don't use formal tasks (recorder, etc), as groups in my lessons are quickly formed and dissolved.
Student Presentations
Speaking is an important goal for ESOL students. Being allowed not to speak is also an important consideration for any student with less than two years of English training. For public presentations, start with assigning students to speak in front of the whole class, then back down to speaking aloud for the teacher privately if the student is truly uncomfortable. Try to have a product for the student to hold in his hands and point to as he speaks, for example a poster or a small object. If a presentation is worth for example ten points, any other student who is not respectful of the speaker loses one point off her own presentation mark. Rustling papers, whispering to a neighbor, shifting in her chair, or tapping a pencil would all be considered disrespectful. After a few deductions, students learn to listen quietly to each other.
Brainstorming
A couple of years ago I bought several small white boards, about 2 feet by 3 feet, from Wal-Mart. Office Depot, Staples, and Office Max also carry white boards, or Lowe's or Home Depot will cut white board material to size. Students write their group brainstorming results on the board and can easily and quickly share them with the class. They like working in several colors. So far the novelty hasn't worn off, and we avoid the down-time of all waiting while someone puts her work on the board or overhead.
Learning to Find Supporting Details
Illustrating literature, either as detailed scenes or as cartoons of plot, motivates students to read for detail, a skill they badly need for standardized exams. A bonus is student perception that you are giving them a "fun day." An elaboration of this technique is to have students cite passages from the text on the illustration, for example with Yeats' poem in this unit, putting the words "hive for the honeybee" right next to the drawing of the hive. This activity also introduces students to the idea of using textual citations in later essays.
Essay Writing
ESOL students appreciate knowing that standardized writing tests are easier to pass if you give the reader more than the standard three concrete details per paragraph. What marker is going to fail a student who loads their paper with good supporting details? Detail is the easiest part of essay writing, and also one of the most important. This advice is not meant to minimize the importance of good organization and clear sentences, but details can help lift a weaker ESOL paper up to a passing mark, and a mid-range paper up to a good mark.
I try to give literature students a relatively free choice of essay topic during a unit. In fact, every student must come up with a substantially different essay topic. They write on assigned topics often enough in practice essays for writing exams, and I like their experience of the unit to be more pleasant. Some advantages are reduced cheating, a more varied peer editing experience, and more interest for the teacher marking the essays.
A lesson I learned this Spring is to watch out for Internet translating engines when working with ESOL students. A student can write the essay in their native language and use a website to translate it into English. You need to watch your students closely as they write and type their essays in class. Beware the student who dawdles in class and promises to finish the essay at home!
Creative Writing
If you expect students to write and share poems, you must create a demonstrably safe environment. A supportive environment for writing and sharing poetry includes designating the classroom as a No-Put-Down-Zone. Any student in my class who makes a gratuitously negative comment must immediately give their maligned classmate three genuine compliments. Also, criticism needs to be specific and helpful. "That's not a very good line" doesn't do anything but hurt someone's feelings. "Maybe you could start this line with a verb instead of an adjective" might actually help the poet improve the poem. Students should talk from their own experience whenever possible. "I had a problem like this with my poem and I fixed it by…" puts the poet at ease by sharing a difficulty, and also offers concrete advice. Remind everyone in the room that we are all trying to become better poets, not better rippers-apart-of-poems. Lastly, remind your poets that they don't need to take anyone's advice. Each student owns his or her own poem. A good rule of thumb is that if several people make the same suggestion, the poet should probably give it careful consideration. But if everyone has a different opinion, the poet's preference automatically wins.
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