Teacher guide for 0-level students

kresearch · Post by **kresearch** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 6:17 pm

Hello everyone...I am new to this forum!

I am testing a theory, and, realizing you are all at least as busy as I am, am hoping you can still lend me five minutes in a response to help me in a bit of current research...my theory is this:

There is not a guidebook for teachers of 0-level students.

I do not mean a text/workbook for students, as these are impractical at this level, and I do not mean a general "how to be a teacher" text for instructors, as there are plenty of good books in this area. I mean a specific text that walks teachers through the first year of working with students who at 0-level...meaning they have absolutely no English. These are the students who are often preliterate, who walk into the classroom without a single word of English language. These students may or may not have been privy to education in another country previously, and often they are refugees or migrant workers.

The kind of text I am looking for, and that I don't believe exists, is one which offers a general sense of direction, without necessarily offering daily lesson plans. It should give a general order of topics to be presented, give suggestions of how to present this information, include all skill areas, and be appropriate for upper middle school to adult level courses. This text should include literacy and academic instruction cooperatively.

If you need me to clarify any further, please let me know. I appreciate any and all feedback you can offer...thanks so very much!

Have a great day!

Sally Olsen · Post by **Sally Olsen** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 10:45 pm

I would check at your local college and see what books they use for beginners. There is such a book for Canada but it would be too specific for your students in the States. It was developed by teachers in the local ESL training courses at the local colleges and has specific info on the city - Vancouver and Ottawa and Toronto. I would also encourge the students to learn to read and write in their own languages before they start in on English.

jori · Post by **jori** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:46 pm

Perhaps Global English or Basic Global English is just the thing you need. I discovered Basic Global English when I was researching about TESL in Wikipedia. The article offers topics for beginners. It starts with the alphabet, alphabet sounds, politeness strategies, basic vocabulary, then ends with 20, yes just 20, rules of grammar. The article has only 31 pages. Anyway you will find lots of Global English entries in the web.

Carolyn · Post by **Carolyn** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 8:37 pm

Sally Olsen: Would you please tell us the name of the Canadian book you referred to? Since I will be teaching ESL in Ottawa to a low/beginner class, I might find it useful.

Sally Olsen · Post by **Sally Olsen** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 10:29 pm

If you go to the Algonquin College book store you will find the whole series that they have developed and the books that they are using now. I think it was called Canada Start or something like that but it is not a big section and you will find it easily. If you have Somali students you might want to get in touch with the Somali Association as they have developed their own books. Hope you enjoy it.