Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello,

I'm a third grade teacher with 24 students in my classroom. I just had a student that has been adopted from Russia and speaks no English. He is included in my classroom all day except for about 30 minutes when he gets remedial reading help. I am not an ESL teacher and I'm having a hard time know where to start. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Visuals. Use as many physical directions as possible while speaking slowly and clearly. Not a distorted slowly, but don't rush through it either. Try to get the other students talking to him also. The more English he hears, the better. A first grader I worked with last year had the same problem, and now he is at almost the same level in class as the others.

I'm a Korean bilingual speech-language pathologist, and I wanted to add my perspective.

English will probably not be a big problem toward the end of the school year. It will come naturally in most kids, with patience and a lot of practice. The bigger problem is likely to be a complete loss of Russian skills, which will make language learning in general a bit trickier. If you can, try to help the kid support his language skills in Russian (i.e., give him opportunities to speak with peers/adults in Russian, and to read and watch TV in it, etc.). Or at least recommend that the parents do that at home.

However, in some kids English does not come naturally. These are kids with an underlying language disorder. In particular, adoptees from Russia tend to have a higher incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome than other kids, so that's something you want to be aware of. International adoptees with language disorders are especially difficult to diagnose--and therefore, to get help for. If you suspect anything, anything at all, please rush to get a bilingual language evaluation before the child loses his Russian skills and becomes mostly untestable. When I say rush, I mean within a month of arrival in the US, if possible. I'm not saying I think this particular child has a problem. There is nothing to suggest it. But please be aware of the possibility and don't let the kid slip through the cracks... as, unfortunately, many ESL kids do.

Best of luck to you. And please feel free to PM me with any specific questions about normal/disordered bilingual language development.
-EH

I am not a teacher but a parent, We adopted a 3.5 year old and he is having trouble speaking english. He is russian and speaks russian. We have him in Daycare but all they do is play. Its like a Big Ole Toys R US!

What can I do to make his transistion easier? What program will help?? How do I get him test as the previous poster suggested??

If you want to get a bilingual speech-language evaluation done, first try searching www.ASHA.org (click on Find a Professional, then select your state and select Russian as the language). ASHA is the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, the national organization that credentials speech-language pathologists. There is also a bunch of searchable info on the website about normal and disordered language development. Try searching especially for info concerning international adoptees.

BUT!
Don't automatically assume your son has a problem. English takes a while to learn, even in preschoolers. Are there any particular problems that really stand out now, or are you just trying to avoid having problems later? You didn't mention how long your son had been in this country.

You asked how to make his transition easier. It sounds like you're already doing a great job. At age three, serious academic learning is not really as important as play skills and social interaction skills. So if he plays all day with English-speaking peers he's probably in a great, low-stress environment to naturally pick up the language. Stay in close contact with his teachers to make sure they see steady progress in language and social development.

What else can you do? Don't forget to read picture books to him every single day. About three books per day is a good average to aim for. The books should be easy (just slightly more complex language than what he can currently speak), and the subjects should be those he's interested in. Book reading is great because the language is the same every time you read the same book so practice is easier--unlike spoken language, which is heard fleetingly and then disappears, never to be heard again. Also, in books you get a lot of visual (picture) support to explain the meaning, which you don't often get in spoken language. Of course, some kids don't like books. If your son is one of those, don't force the issue. The point is to have fun and enjoy books, not to make reading a chore. So try different types of books, and if they don't go over well then wait a few days and try some different books. Keep at it every few days; kids at that age may hate something one day and crave it the next, so don't give up on books prematurely.

Good luck,
-EH

Don't forget all the wonderful programs for the computer and the TV - there are interactive games that you can hook up to the TV and many kids love these and they are very educational and yet fun. Leap Frog is one that comes to mind.
Children are learning invaluable things at play so don't discount the Toys R' Us experience in the daycare. Building, knocking things down and so on are the basis for his abstract thinking skills in the future. Encourage the school to add as much written materials as they can though - signs over the various areas, stickers with the names on toys, a writing pad near the toy telephone, a telephone book, a black/green/blue board with chalk for writing messages on the fridge, making cards for holidays and birthdays in the craft center, his name on his clothes and clothes hook, name on the lunch pail and so on. Buy magnetic letter for the fridge and spell out his name under his picture or the name of the dog under the picture of the dog. Get bath crayons and write and draw during bathtime. Learn Russian so you can help him keep his Russian and make sure he watches a TV program in Russian once a day and read Russian books, sings Russian songs and start saving to take him "home" one day.