A classroom full of ESL students creates a challenging experience. Language arts class takes on a whole new style because language is so basic in a person’s life. When a new student comes into my classroom, I observe their willingness to talk to me or how much they need to rely on a fellow student to translate for them. Along with listening and watching for how much they speak, I will also give them assessments to see where they are in math, spelling, and reading comprehension. Armed with that information I compare where their skills are at, to what grade the child is placed in. No matter what grade the child is placed in, that does not mean that they do all that grade’s work. The goal I set for each student is for them upon graduation to be as close to, if not above, the knowledge and skill level that they need to succeed in academy. To meet this goal, I have three points of attack: getting comfortable with English; getting each subject skill up to grade level; and getting excited in learning about their new country that they live in.
Getting comfortable with English can be a hard thing to achieve for adults, but for children it is easier. The nice thing is that all my students have had to go through this step, so they are more willing to help the next student who comes into the classroom. For the new student I pick a current student in the classroom to be a translator. The translator student can translate everything for the first quarter, but in a way that is not just giving answers. As a class we have modeled how they are to help without just giving answers. The new student knows that they will only get this big help for one quarter and that they need to be learning English to go into the next phase. Every new student must go through at least one-year of an in-depth phonics program and listening to books on tape. When the second quarter comes around, they are only allowed to ask the translator student for help from time to time. Then at third quarter translating will only happen on occasion. Finally, during the fourth quarter the new student is on their own.
Skills up to grade level can be a challenge for students coming in for 7th or 8th grade because we have so little time to do it in, but it can be done. I look at two factors when tackling this step. The first is how far behind are they and the other is how long do we have until graduation. If the student is behind one grade level in their skill, then they will spend two quarters catching up with the grade and two quarters catching up with the class. But if they are 2 or more years below grade level it will take more time. Let us take the subject math for an example. I had 3 brothers join my class at the same time all at a third-grade level with their math but each in a different grade (5th, 7th, & 8th grade). My goals for each student were different but the process was the same. My 7th & 8th grade students’ goal was to complete all the books up to 6th grade math book. I would give them the chapter ending tests, and if they got an 80%-100%they would just take the next test. These upper graders would do 5 lessons a day (5 practices and one whole lesson) until they finished the book. They would then take tests to see where they need to start the next book. They did finish the third-grade math book through 6th grade math in one year. Then the 7th grade student finishes the 7th grade math and pre-algebra during his 8th grade year. While the 5th grade brother did 3rd grade math and 4th grade math for his 5th grade year and 5th grade math and 6th grade math for his 6th grade year doing 2 to 3 lessons a day. He is caught up and with his classmates for his 7th grade year. This process is not easy on both the students and the teacher because you have more math classes than grades in your classroom but it is achievable. The reward is so great when you see the light come on and the student flourishing with his/her learning.
The concept of getting students excited in learning about their new country is one of the most exciting areas for me, because it is not a one-on-one thing. It is a whole class or community involvement. This encompasses the whole curriculum. It is in the books I choose to read to my students for teacher reading time, it is in the quiz game time with the students, in the cooking class, field trips I choose, and in our art and music class. Whenever we as a class talk about how things are different, I try to turn it into a curiosity about others and how we are different (I talked about this a little more in my first blog). Oh, I do not just limit the conversation to just their culture and American culture but to any culture or difference.
Teaching students who are behind in a skill or more than one skill is a rewarding and challenging experience, but mental burnout is possible for both you and the student so please keep your eyes open to that and if the student or you need to take a day off from the high intensity of the work, it’s ok. You can change it up with only doing odd problems or do the lesson on the computer with IXL, another learning program, or make the next chapter a project with no tests. Just keep the goal in mind and remember that “a horse of a different color” is still a horse and learning is being done through other ways of learning. Keep stress low, learning high, and the goal in sight. Keep shooting for the moon, and if you miss, you will still land among the stars.
By Amy Ward
Amy is the head teacher at Pioneer Adventist
Christian School in Guymon, OK
