Using visual aids for ESL students helps them make connections to the target concept. Vocabulary posters are an effective learning tool, from a food poster to a timeline or a diagram of a process. Teachers can remind students to refer to the visuals often and incorporate them into dialogues and discussions. Pictorial input charts also help ESL students, as the teacher talks students through a process while drawing it in front of them. For maximum benefit, the students can copy and label the graphic.
Graphic organizers help ESL students make connections between key ideas. For example, a K-W-L chart invites students to list what they already Know, what they Want to know and then what they Learned. Venn diagrams can help when students need to draw comparisons, while timelines are useful for learning history and certain grammar points. Word maps help students organize related vocabulary or concepts. Students can use graphic organizers when listening to a lecture, watching a video, reading or preparing to write.
Incorporating hands-on activities in the classroom helps engage ESL students so they internalize their learning. They can learn key vocabulary related to the process and they are more likely to remember what they are actively using. Hands-on activities can range from making a vocabulary poster for a classroom to enacting a scene from a book. The students learn while discussing, planning and creating with their peers. Their active involvement in a project or presentation also gives them the motivation to learn.
Games are an opportunity for students to synthesize their knowledge and they also give teachers the opportunity to assess ESL students' progress. A game or competition is a primary motivator for an ESL student to participate meaningfully in group dialogue. Teachers can create a game of Jeopardy, making clues related to the target concepts. Alternatively, students can play Memory with a partner, matching words with their definitions. Older students can make up their own games to display their knowledge.