Tips on Teaching ESL Students

Regardless of the course material, teaching students who aren't native speakers of English can entail some special considerations. Consider things from their perspective --- learning English can be challenging enough without having to become experts on another subject at the same time! By working closely with your students and employing some simple strategies, you can create a teaching environment that doesn't overburden your ESL students.
  1. Understand Each Student Individually

    • One of the most important things in teaching non-native speakers is to treat each student individually. Understanding their cultural background can help you to avoid drawing the wrong conclusions. For example, a student who doesn't speak up in class may not be shy. They may simply be from a culture that discourages interruption or even views it as being rude. Interacting individually with your students also allows you to set clear and specific goals and expectations that take their unique situation into account.

    Give Clear, Specific Feedback

    • When grading your students' work, avoid the temptation to give simple feedback like "good" or "awkward." Focus on their specific assignment and encourage areas of improvement --- such as rewording an argument to be more precise or giving additional examples. At least initially, avoid "nitpicking" --- highlighting a misplaced article can be unproductive, especially when it obscures the opportunity to provide constructive feedback on their assignment.

    Encourage Group Work

    • Get your students working together from the very beginning of the course. Group activities get people talking, and peer feedback is often effective, particularly when they may share cultural backgrounds that differ from your own. Encourage your students to work together outside of the classroom as well. Study groups make sure that everyone is on the same page and allow students to support each other in learning the class material.

    Show How to Study

    • Students who are new to English may not have developed appropriate study skills for furthering their understanding of the language. Beyond the core course material, try to teach studying skills or strategies that will help your students improve their language acquisition --- for example, popular culture like music or television shows can demonstrate the use of natural dialogue and idioms. Dialog exercises or keeping an English journal can help your students not just to translate English, but to think in it as well.

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