Introduce your students to American folk music and use it to teach about American history and culture. Divide students into groups and assign each group a different folk musician. Have each group research its musician and choose one of his songs to present to the class. The students will play a recording of the song, explain its social or historical context, and define any idioms in the lyrics. Explain to your class that folk music often uses incorrect grammar, and have students rewrite the lyrics of the songs they have chosen using formal, correct English.
Editorials offer ESL students a wealth of cultural information. They introduce students to contemporary American social issues, political issues, mindsets and humor. Have students read editorials, paying close attention to the cultural detail hidden in them. Students will then individually tell the rest of the class what they learned about American society from their readings. Editorials are also rich in idiomatic language. Students should note all the idioms they find in their reading, and the class can discuss each one as a group. Help the students define the idioms based on context, then, if possible, explain the idioms' origins.
Give students a list of vocabulary words using roots, prefixes and suffixes with which students are familiar. Have them guess the definition of each word without checking the dictionary, using their knowledge of the roots. Then, have the students share their guesses and explain their reasoning to the rest of the class. Use this for parts of speech practice by giving students various forms of the same root, or use it for learning advanced vocabulary by giving students upper-level words with roots they may know from simpler words.
ESL students are learning more than a new language; they are also learning about a new culture. Have them write weekly letters to people in their native countries. Each letter should be about the students' cultural observations, adjustments, struggles and victories as they adapt. Allow them to share these letters with the class if they wish to compare experiences. At the end of the term, students will have a complete written record of their cultural transitions.