How to Help ESL Students Acquire Vocabulary

We all know how important vocabulary acquisition is for all students, especially those learning English. So how can we help in this crucial area? According to David Sousa in How the ELL Brain Learns, "How quickly a child understands words of another language may be closely related to whether the word can generate a clear mental image" (p. 38). We can conclude that a simple way to help kids learn vocabulary is to present the word alongside an image, whether this be through use of flashcards, multimedia, bulletin boards, etc. Be creative in thinking about this and share ideas with your colleagues!

Why Do Bilingual Children "Mix" Their Languages and What Can You Do to Help?

As a teacher with ESL children in your classroom, you might hear them "mix" their languages, say for example, using Spanish words while speaking English. While this may concern you, rest assured that it is not a cause for concern. In his book Bilingual Life and Reality, Francois Grosjean states, "It is important to view within and between-language mechanisms (over generalizations, simplifications, interferences, and so on) as strategies employed by children in their effort to use their weaker language" (p. 193). Far from being a cause for concern, it is evidence that the child is in fact learning and using strategies that enable them to use their "weaker" language. The child is not mixing because of laziness or lack of care.
Here's what you can do to help! Grosjean states, "Further language input and feedback from listeners, as well as occasional breakdowns in communication, will gradually help the child home in on the new language" (193). So, as the teacher, if you hear your kids "mixing", follow Grosjean's advice:

• Continue providing appropriate input to the child, giving them opportunities to hear the target language in context
• Give feedback, helping to find a needed work or giving an example of appropriate sentence structure

Lastly, Grosjean says, "...as soon as they have picked up enough of the second language, they will increasingly speak just that language and will then call on the other language mainly for communicative reasons, primarily when the situation is appropriate and they are in a bilingual mode" (p. 198).

Be patient with your students, give them lots of rich, appropriate input, and gentle feedback. Language acquisition is a process.

Educating Boys

Here's a great article that doesn't necessarily deal with the ESL population but does apply to all boys in your classroom. There's an example activity in the article that would be fun and engaging in any classroom. Check it out here.

ESL News

The ESL population is growing, and we as teachers need to be equipped to serve this group. Here is some of the latest news...

Professional Development Tool

If you are in the position to provide Professional Development for your teachers in the area of ESL but don't know where to start, this is a great tool. In Resource B (pp. 119-122) of Mary Ann Lachat's book, Standards-Based Instruction and Assessment for English Language Learners, there is a survey that you can give teachers that allows them to self-evaluate their need for training in many areas. The survey is very comprehensive and would allow you to really see what the needs of your staff are. If don't have access to the book, leave me a comment and I can make you a copy of the survey and mail it to you or I can scan it and email it to you.

Why and How to Use Blogs with ESL Students

Blogs are web logs/journals that are maintained as a place to share thoughts and ideas, photos and videos, etc (like the one you're reading!). Readers can comment on entries (called posts).

There are several reasons to use blogs with ESL students. According to Lori Langer de Ramirez in Empower English Learners with Tools, blogs can be used for:

• Class debates
• Poetry collections
• Creative writing
• Novel or story reviews
• Commenting on essential questions
• Responding to photos of art, historical figures, and audio files of music or speeches
• A detective or suspense short story in installments (meaning different blog posts build on the story over time)
• Group discussions 
• Writing journals or diaries

Students can practice reading and writing as they write blog posts and comment on other's posts. They can also practice speaking and listening if audio or video files are part of the blog they are viewing or creating. Blogs can be great practice for all four language domains! 

One last feature of blogs that makes them a great tool for ESL students is that blog posts can serve as a sort of writing portfolio, whereby students can look back over earlier posts and see their growth in writing. Students also love being able to use technology and being independent in creating something of their own. 

Professional Development Resource

Dr. Christel Broady is the Program Director for the ESL Endorsement program at Georgetown College. She is a KYTESOL board member and is a frequent speaker at the state and national level. She is a passionate advocate for ESL students. She is available for professional development. You can contact her at Christel_Broady@georgetowncollege.edu