Yolanda Zapata:

Many immigrant students come from backgrounds that are very different from the average high schooler in the U.S. Their parents often have 2-3 jobs. The students are by themselves much of the time and many of them have full-time jobs too. They have very little time for working on assignments.

In ESL classes, Assessment and Placement are the two most important things for non-English speakers.

One of the most beneficial exercises a teacher can do is to role-play school situations with students who are unfamiliar to the prevalent culture in the school. ESL students commonly get in trouble for what are really misunderstandings. 

Other helpful activities:  

All of these have to be taught and developed bit-by-bit.  Repetition of all skills is very important!

Charlotte Daniels on teaching ESL:

1. Increase your knowledge.  The more you know about them, the more they�ll learn about you.
2. Simplify your language.  Keep it simple, i.e. �car� instead of �Ford� or �Chevy.� Wait until you know they understand.
3. Announce the lesson�s objectives and activities. ALWAYS write them down, and have them repeat them to you.
4. Write legibly, and not in cursive.
5. Demonstrate; use manipulatives. Go slowly; let students know what you�re doing.
6. Make use of all senses. Students learn better if you clue them in on all parts.
7. Use filmstrips, films, videotapes and audiocassettes with books. Give them time to take them home.
8. Bring reality into the lessons. Bring the field trip to the classroom. Using props make things easier to remember.
9. Adapt the materials. Pick out topic sentences so ESL students can focus on 10 sentences rather than 3 pages.
10. Pair or group language minority students with native speakers. Change around pairings. This way you have more free time and they�re less embarrassed to ask for help because the whole class doesn�t have to stop for his or her question.
11. Develop a student-centered approach to teaching and learning.  
12. Have the students do hands-on activities. Having the students active in the classroom helps students clue in to what you�re doing.
13. List and review instructions step-by-step. Read directions from other classes in ESL class.
14. Ask inferential and higher-order thinking questions. Challenge them; make them think.
15. Build on students� prior knowledge. Praise what they do know.
16. Recognize that students will make language mistakes, and that it�s OK.
17. Increase wait time between question and answer. Allow for double translation time.  Give them questions before reading the story so they know what to look for. Watch their body language to see when they�re ready to answer and allow students who are uncomfortable to pass.
18. Don�t force reticent students to speak. Immigrant students are already dealing with so much; give them some time to adjust.
19. Respond to the message. Fluidity of thought is more important than perfect grammar.
20. Support the student�s home language and culture; bring it to the classroom. Celebrate the different languages and cultures in the classroom.

Helpful addresses and websites to learn more about ESL:

National Association for Bilingual Education
1200 L Street NW, Suite 605
Washington, DC 20003-4018
http://www.nabe.org/

Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence
University of California, Santa Cruz
College Eight, Room 201
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
http://www.crede.ucsc.edu/

Center for Applied Linguistics
4646 40th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20016-1859
Tel. (202) 362-0700
www.cal.org  

Dr. Adelaide H. Parsons, Director,
International Programs
Southeast Missouri State University
One University Plaza, MS2000
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
Tel. (573) 986-6864
ahparsons@semovm.semo.edu

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
700 South Washington Street, Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
http://www.tesol.edu

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
http://www.dese.state.mo.edu

No Child Left Behind
http://www.nclb.gov

English Learner.com
http://www.englishlearner.com/