1st year teacher w/ ESL student
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buannie604
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- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 2:46 am
1st year teacher w/ ESL student
I am a first year teacher in a Catholic school with no services for ESL students. I know that the student that has been included into my class spoke his first english word (he is a spanish speaker) in February and recognized 2 sight words at the end of kindergarten. No english is spoken in his home and I have no other spanish speakers in my classroom. It sounds like you all have experience with ESL students. Any ideas?
First of all, don't expect miracles of yourself. First year teachers have a lot to deal with besides this one ESL issue, and you will be overwhelmed, and you will *not* be able to make a native-like English speaker out of this student before the school year is out.
But you can make a difference.
Here are some points to remember:
--1st grade is all about learning to read, and quality phonics instruction can give a huge boost to ESL students' listening skills, reading skills, spelling skills, and pronunciation skills. My favorite phonics program to use with ESL students is LiPS, because it focuses so much on both sounds and symbols. But any phonics instruction is probably better than none.
--Becoming fluent in a new language has a lot to do with fluency in the first language. Do not insist that the parents speak English at home! They are unlikely to be great English models, but very likely to be great Spanish models. The better the student is at Spanish, the better he is likely to be at learning English. That said, however, it would be a good idea to help the student make English-speaking friends, participate in English-language after school activities, and just generally get lots and lots of English practice (in addition to the continued Spanish practice).
--Make sure that the student gets opportunities to shine. A lot of times, lone ESL students feel a few beats behind the rythm of the class; everyone else does so well but they never know what to do until the moment has already passed. That hurts. Kids need to feel good about themselves to stay motivated. Find out what the student is good at, and provide opportunities to show off those skills.
--Curriculum modification will need to be done. But this is tricky. Please work closely with your principal and the other first grade teachers to reach acceptable and realistic compromises. Above all, keep your principal informed of absolutely everything, and ask for lots of advice so that the issue of this student's education becomes an issue for the whole school and not just something you get judged on.
Good luck. Feel free to PM me with more specific questions as they arise.
-EH
But you can make a difference.
Here are some points to remember:
--1st grade is all about learning to read, and quality phonics instruction can give a huge boost to ESL students' listening skills, reading skills, spelling skills, and pronunciation skills. My favorite phonics program to use with ESL students is LiPS, because it focuses so much on both sounds and symbols. But any phonics instruction is probably better than none.
--Becoming fluent in a new language has a lot to do with fluency in the first language. Do not insist that the parents speak English at home! They are unlikely to be great English models, but very likely to be great Spanish models. The better the student is at Spanish, the better he is likely to be at learning English. That said, however, it would be a good idea to help the student make English-speaking friends, participate in English-language after school activities, and just generally get lots and lots of English practice (in addition to the continued Spanish practice).
--Make sure that the student gets opportunities to shine. A lot of times, lone ESL students feel a few beats behind the rythm of the class; everyone else does so well but they never know what to do until the moment has already passed. That hurts. Kids need to feel good about themselves to stay motivated. Find out what the student is good at, and provide opportunities to show off those skills.
--Curriculum modification will need to be done. But this is tricky. Please work closely with your principal and the other first grade teachers to reach acceptable and realistic compromises. Above all, keep your principal informed of absolutely everything, and ask for lots of advice so that the issue of this student's education becomes an issue for the whole school and not just something you get judged on.
Good luck. Feel free to PM me with more specific questions as they arise.
-EH
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Senorita Daniels
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- Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:11 pm