Teaching English Language Learners

Posted by Margaret M. Williams Mar 11, 2009

I teach first grade. About a third of my class are students for whom English is their second language. I’ve had students who spoke zero English at the beginning of the year and who became quite proficient socially by the end of the year. I have students who are very proficient socially but struggle when we get into the academic language required for math, science, and social studies.

One student went through several months of the “silent” or listening stage, saying nothing, but absorbing receptive language. It was a discussion of money and piggy banks, based on an article in a Time For Kids magazine that caused this little Rawandan boy's hand to shoot up in the air. The first words came out, halting, hesitating, but earnest. And the flood of language did not stop.

It is fascinating watching and listening to young children try out and play with the English language. But one thing I’ve learned working with a “cluster” classroom--which is a mix of native speakers and ESL (ELL) students--is that even the native speakers are still learning English. The native speaking students often make the same mistakes, or similar types of mistakes, as the ESL students. They hear words and phrases incorrectly, and repeat and learn those words and phrases incorrectly thereafter. They are constantly building new vocabulary, concepts, and language constructs.

Native English speakers need the same kinds of language building activities and lessons that ESL students need. Many of the articles that I have written and will be writing in the future are based on activities that I’ve use in my own classroom. They are especially important for the ESL students, but they are also good for all students.

Here are some articles describing ESL strategies and activities to peruse: