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English as a Second Language Chatboard

What advice would you give new ESL teacher???

by Charlotte

Jul 1, 2010

Hi! I will be moving from the regular classroom into an ESL position this fall. (It's something I've been working for for awhile!) I have taught for 17 years K-5. I will be the ESL teacher for grades 3-5.

If you could give me one (or more!) piece of advice/words of wisdom to what I can do to be successful, I would be very grateful! (i.e. ...See More

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ELL textbooks?

by JRod

Jul 8, 2010

I have a former student who works for a textbook publisher. She mentioned that while looking at the competition's samples, there were reading passages where Spanish was mixed into the English sentences. She acknowledged that this was very common in speech in some areas of the US but wondered if this should be something to avoid in textbooks or not....See More

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Help with ESL Project

by twinteacher

Jul 14, 2010

I am finishing coursework for my ESL licensure. I actually completed the course and am working on my final project. I am wondering if you can share your input for the following topic:

How do levels of cultural identity vary widely among students?

I want to see if my thoughts are going in the right direction. Thanks in advance for ...See More

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Chan Besides the question being poorly written, the answer is "It depends." In some schools you're going to have students from essentially just one group (e.g. Hispanic, though there are some cultural variations) while in others you might have students from a variety of cultures, e.g. in one class you might have Hispanics, Arabs, Burmese refugees, Chine...See More

Jul 15, 2010

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Jessica I agree that you need to refine your question as it does not really ask a specific question or require a specific answer.

In mid-city Phoenix, in my 1st grade ELD class this year I had...

1 Romanian 2 Vietnamese 1 Arabic/Iranian 1 Native American/African American 1 El Salvadorian 2 Columbian 17 Mexican

however, in the ...See More

Jul 17, 2010

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What exactly is an ESL teacher?

by WI student

Jul 15, 2010

Hi! I know that sounds really naive but I truly am trying to get to the nuts and bolts of what the ESL teacher does from school bell to school bell. I am currently enrolled in school to get my teacher's certification in social studies but I am strongly considering switching to Spanish/ESL or just to ESL. I would absolutely love to teach either. I j...See More

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Bailey On 7/15/10, WI student wrote: > Thank you for your response. That's kind of what I'm thinking. I > would absolutely love to do Spanish/English but that would > probably mean an extra year of school but a lot better chance at > getting a job in the end. ESL sounds extremely appealing to me as > well. I am going to continue to look int...See More

Jul 16, 2010

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KinderESL What you do as an ESL teacher depends on your district and level. As an elementary ESL teacher I worked in 12 different rooms a week last year. Sometimes I pulled small groups of students to work on reading or math, sometimes I worked with the classroom teacher providing instruction in content area - science, social studies, writing, reading, math....See More

Jul 23, 2010

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ELL Assessment Questions

by Lisa Wasserman

Jul 21, 2010

I am a student who is in the process of entering Arizona's Alternative Path to Certification program. Ultimately, my goal is to become a high school math teacher. As part of the entry requirements, I am taking an introductory course in Sheltered English Immersion techniques.

My latest assignment asked that I speak with current teacher abo...See More

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Lisa Wasserman In this case, I need to speak with an existing teacher who works with ELLs, and determine how their district handles assessment, in their experience. I'm looking for an example of how the rules on ELL assessments are actually implemented in some instance.

--Lisa

On 7/22/10, Anonymously Yours wrote: > There are different ways ...See More

Jul 23, 2010

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Neeta sadhwani Hi Lisa, can you kindly answer this 2 questions for me? How is standardized testing handled? Describe exit testing completed in school/district. any help is greatly appreciated. Neeta.

On 7/21/10, Lisa Wasserman wrote: > I am a student who is in the process of entering Arizona's > Alternative Path to Certification program. Ultimately...See More

Aug 2, 2010

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New ELL instructor

by Tara Hogue

Jul 22, 2010

I am a new ELL teacher that has a Bachelor's degree in Spanish and will have 15 hispanics that speak a good deal of English and some that are a little limited. Any new technology ideas/websites to intergrate? I saw that the past ELL teacher used cassette tapes for the kids to listen too, but that is a little outdated it seems. She also used TPR, bu...See More

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Chan This is the 21st century: these days it's CDs (even this is old technology), computers, podcasts, etc.

As for TPR, keep in mind that it is a method that relies on physical activity - which can be a lot of fun for students, is a great way to change things up a bit, and is especially good for your kinesthetic learners.

Try DreamEngl...See More

Jul 22, 2010

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Charlotte After 13 years as a homeroom teacher (elementary), I will be taking on my first ESL position this fall (3rd-5th grade). I am SOOOO excited, but a little nervous. What advice could you give me to be successful? I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on working collaboratively with classroom teachers, etc. Thank you!

Jul 22, 2010

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Requirements for Non-NESTs in the UK

by Jackie

Jul 23, 2010

Hello:-)

I have a question concerning the requirements for non-native teachers working in the UK. I know that CELTA is a must, but it is a certificate for those with no previous experience in teaching. What about linguists? I got my B.A. in English Philology (teaching specialisation, 2years of methodology courses and practices) and I am en...See More

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Posters for ESL Classroom

by Looking

Jul 23, 2010

What are some good websites to get ESL posters? I was wondering if there was a poster "Hello in different languages".

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helene On 7/23/10, Looking wrote: > What are some good websites to get ESL posters? I was > wondering if there was a poster "Hello in different > languages".

There are many multilingual hello posters but Posterlingua at [link removed].

Nov 15, 2010

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Specific ESL Interview Questions

by Leigh Lawrence

Jul 26, 2010

Hello,

My name is Leigh Lawrence. I am an ESL instructor and career consultant. I deliver career presentations to students pursuing a Global TESOL certificate through two of the local universities in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, I provide job search strategies, referrals, tips on resume preparation, interviewing, and networking.
...See More

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Help with first time ESL student

by Salina

Jul 26, 2010

Hi :) I am a fifth grade teacher in a small private school. I was just told that I have a Russian student that barely speaks English starting in my class this year. I am ESOL certified, but have not had to use it in my first 3 years of teaching. Any ideas or comments on how I can make this a successful year for both the student and myself?

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lbp 1. Label everything in your room 2. Find out if he is going to be living with English speaking parents or with Russian parents? If it is Russian, find out if anyone in the family speaks, reads, and writes English, how well and will that person be home to help junior with his homework? 3. Do you have a ESL budget? If so, invest in a good English/Rus...See More1. Label everything in your room 2. Find out if he is going to be living with English speaking parents or with Russian parents? If it is Russian, find out if anyone in the family speaks, reads, and writes English, how well and will that person be home to help junior with his homework? 3. Do you have a ESL budget? If so, invest in a good English/Russian picture dictionary. Oxford Picture dictionary has some. Actually I would invest in two, one for you and one for him. They also have work books. If you have contact with the parents, you might want to find out if he has a dictionary and if so which one. I'm guessing you probably aren't going to have alot of funds and the student may already have this dictionary. I've had several show up with one, especially since he arrived this early in the summer. 4. If your school has a ton of money, invest in Rosetta Stone computer program. Since this is in English, it can be used again if next year you get a student from Mexico. 5. Remember unless he has had an Enlgish class in Russian, he will not know the English alphabet. Don't worry about it the first couple of days except to make sure he can write his name and can tell the boys and girls bathrooms apart. If you can find comparison of the sounds going from Russian to English this is even better. This is assuming he can already read. If he is coming with his Russian family, he will most probably know how and be pretty close to reading level. If he was in a Russian orphanage all of his life, it is really hit or miss as far as his educational level. 6. Teach the alphabet, using the first letters of words, also begin with the letters in his name and the names of his family, town, friends ect. Also teach the alphabet song. Even my high school students use it. 7. Find out if the Russian number system is the same as ours. (sorry don't know) if it isn't teach this immediately 8. colors, numbers, things i n the classroom, things in the school, alphabet, basic verbs these are your first things to teach 9. DOes your school have parent volunteers or students from the JH or HS that come over and help? If so, make use of them. GO and claim them even before the teachers report back. This is especially true if he is from an orphanage. In our state, these kids are not even eligible to be tested for spec ed. so in most public school you won't beable to make use of that resource. 10. Everyday, review the language that you worked on the day before and the week before. You will end up doing alot of review worksheet for this since you will still have the other 20 kids in your class to teach. 11. Does you school work in partnership with any of the local public schools? If so check in with their ESL departments for both advice and possble resources. The reason I say this is one of the local private school does this with ours. 12. SInce he arrived in the summertime, find out if he has already made any friends that go to your school (and are int he right grade) if so try to put the two in the same classroom. This will make the child more comfortable, and when they are comfortable, the soak in alot more language. Plus if he has a firend i n your classroom, he will probably talk more, something you want from this level of an ESL student. Also he is more likely to whisper something to his friend for his friend to ask for him. This is OK at this stage of development.You'll know when they've out grown it. 13. Remember there is going to be a period of time when he will say little or nothing. This is OK, it doesn't mean he isn't learning. 14. If you go on a field trip or leave the school, make sure he has a piece of paper in his pocket, with his name, school's name and some phone numbers. If he gets lost, he will probably forget everybit of Enlgish you have taught him. 15 I take that back, the very first thing you need to teach him is how to say his telephone number and address. This is usually the first "test" I give. I also teach 9-11 while I am at it.

Jul 31, 2010

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lynne/ca Lpb has given you great advice. Adding a bit about the alphabet question -

> 5. Remember unless he has had an Enlgish class in Russian, he > will not know the English alphabet.

The Russian alphabet is called Cyrillic and some of the letters both look and sound similar to English; some look similar to English but have very d...See More

Jul 31, 2010

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