Second Language Acquisition and teacher concerns

[sunflower03]

Second language learners often go through a systemic developmental process as they progress in the target language. However, this systemic process in reaching language acquisition poses a challenge for many educators. While ELL’s may believe what they say or comprehend is correct but incorrect in the target language, teachers are left with uncertainty as to how to provide appropriate feedback. I find that this is a common theme in my school district. Many educators do not know whether or not to correct the student. Educators must learn to understand this developmental process and try to get students to self-correct, treat errors with kindness, and empathy so that the student will not feel embarrassed in future attempts to speak.

[Bethany.Blaine]

Although I'm not an official ESL teacher, I'm very much aware of what you're saying. I have read a number of books that tell teachers to not continuously correct your ELLs but to let them correct themselves. Giving positive feedback is clearly essential but at what point should a teacher let an ELL continue making the same grammatical or speech error? Of course being kind is number one, you do not want to make your students feel as though they aren't grasping the language and are failing. However, you don't want to sit back and let them struggle to the point where they loose their motivation. I guess it comes with practice? Knowing where their breaking point is?

[smantrach]

I know that it can be challenging to teach ELL students especially if they speak little of no English. Most of my preschool children in my classroom are ELL learners. At the beginning of each year, I have at least one or two students that do not speak English. Throughout the school year I teach my students the “natural way”. By that I mean we talk only in English and we have a lot of oral interactions. I model for my students how to speak in English throughout the day and when doing different activities with them. I noticed that the ELL learners go through a silent period before they attempt to talk in English. When they start talking, the ELL learners make a lot of grammatical mistakes and pronunciation errors. I correct them by repeating and modeling how to say a sentence or a word that they pronounce wrong. My students are not embraced and their classmates do not mock them. I just explain to my students that most of us speak more than one language at home, that we come to school to learn, and that is it ok to make mistakes and speech errors.