Teacher Discussion Forums

[aziza22]

How can you teach beginner ESL students English if you can't speak their language? I think the answer is TPR. This is a great method to teach any beginner language student. TPR for teaching involves the teacher using their body through gesture. A simple example would be walking into a classroom and saying "good morning," and using body language to let the ESL students know to also say "good morning."

[aziza22]

My second language is Spanish. When I have students whose first language is Spanish, should I refrain from using my Spanish speaking skills? When a student has trouble expressing them self because they do not know a particular word or phrase, they become so discouraged. And when I use a new word or expression that they do not know, I also try to explain with other words but it doesn’t always work.

[Sally Olsen]

If you are tempted to translate, do it. We all have. Of course, the pitfall is that the students then try to speak to you in Spanish. Just translate what they say to English before you answer (unless it is an emergency) and always answer in English first. If you've got it, why not use it. Many of us don't know the language that our students speak so can't help out but still the students learn so err on the side of waiting to see if they can understand.
You are showing them it is great to learn another language.

I think TPR is great as well but I find it more useful for commands, like "Please sit down. Please close the window. Please work with a partner." or "What is this?' "It is a window. It is a table." 'What am I doing?" "I am jumping, hopping, skipping, walking" and so on.

[cmq98]

I also love TPR and while I sometimes feel like a nut acting things out, the kids really seem to love it and learn from it. My ESL students are all Spanish speaking and while I do not speak Spanish, I did study it in college and have picked up a great deal of it from my students. I do find myself answering some things in Spanish, but try to refrain and rely more on TPR. I like practicing TPR because if I ever move to a district where my students are of many mixed backgrounds, the Spanish wouldn't do me any good anyway!