|“Usually my teacher prepares a little checklist
that lists the schedule for the day on it. There is a
little circle next to each step on the list. When you
do the first step on the list, you check it off. Next,
just continue on by doing the same thing. But, sometimes
my teacher doesn't have time to make the list. At those
times, she will just write the steps that need to be
completed on the chalkboard in order. That seems to really
help a lot of students including me.”Mia, grade
Based on “Ten
Things the Mainstream Teacher Can Do Today to Improve Instruction
for ELL Students,”Northwest Regional Educational
Laboratory, Portland, Oregon, these 13 “tips”are
designed to help teachers make simple changes in the way
they teach to facilitate learning.
- Enunciate clearly. Don’t raise your voice. ELLs
can hear. They don’t understand your rate of speech
or when your words blend together.
- Add gestures, when needed. Point to objects; act out
a task as you describe it. Draw pictures, when needed.
- Write clearly and legibly. Avoid cursive writing. Write
what you say on the chalkboard or white board, so that
students can see and hear what you are talking about.
- Write in print or word process information. Many ELLs
can’t read cursive writing.
- Build your instructional setting around routines. Students
will feel less culture shock if they know what to expect.
- Develop a set of clear, consistent, verbal and visual
signals for classroom instructions.
- Repeat information and review the information frequently.
Try to rephrase or paraphrase in shorter sentences, using
simplified English syntax.
- Check often for comprehension of directions and content.
Never ask, “Do you understand?”The Answer will
always be “yes.”
- Have students demonstrate their understanding of information
and directions through manipulation of materials, drawing,
writing, or TPR [see glossary].
- Avoid using idiomatic expression or slang. ELLs cannot
understand inferences in idioms and can only understand
the literal meaning of the words in the expression.
- Present new information with reference to the known.
Help students to make connections when introducing new
information—connections from text-to-text [learning
that has already occurred in your classroom], text-to-self
[background knowledge the student already has learned,
and text-to world [knowledge the student has gained from
his own experiences]. A good resource for a discussion
of making text connections is Mosaic of Thought –see “Resources.”
- Discuss the lesson’s content and language objectives
each day. Post them in your classroom in simplified language.
- Make sure instructions for activities are listed step-by-step
on the chalkboard or white board.