Teaching ELL Students in the Classroom

Susan HarrisELT 545

Spring 2011

Day 1: Learning about different cultures

Day 2: Communication Strategies

Day 3: Strategic Teaching Methods

Day 4: The First Few Days of School

Day 5: Lesson Plans and Activities

Schedule

It is important to be knowledgeable about different cultures when teaching ELL students

What we perceive as the norm in our culture may be different in another culture◦ Some cultures do not give eye contact◦ Some cultures believe the head is sacred and not

to be touched ◦ Some cultures think for every ‘good’ there must

be a ‘bad’

Different Cultures

There are so many different cultures in the world that we may never learn about them all

We will learn about 4 different cultures that you may experience in your classroom◦ Cambodian Culture◦ Laos Culture◦ German Culture◦ Chinese Culture

Different Cultures

Cambodia

Cambodian School

Water Festival

It is considered disrespectful to touch or pat a person’s head

◦ The Head is sacred, it is where the intelligence and spiritual substance reside

Marriage is traditionally arranged by the parents

The bride and groom are not forced into marriage, but the parents do have a strong influence into the decision

Age is more important than sex. Common terms for siblings: older/younger; this recognizes the importance of birth order

Younger people must show respect to the elders Legally, the husband is the head of the family but, wife

has authority

Cambodian Culture

Half a million Cambodian children of primary school age remain out of school

Most of them poor and living in remote rural areas

Grade repetition rates are very high

Less than 50% of the population reaches grade five

Cambodia is still recovering from the Pol Pot Regime

◦ Pol Pot and his regime are known for the Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979

◦ Approximately 1.7 million people lost their lives (21% of the country's population)

◦ The regime headed by Pol Pot combined extremist ideology with ethnic animosity and a diabolical disregard for human life to produce repression, misery, and murder on a massive scale

Cambodian Culture

Cambodian Culture

Video of Cambodian Culture would be on this page

Laos

Laos School

Laos Family

Primary religion is Theravada Buddhist

Laos has government run primary schools

Most higher education is pursued abroad

Lao people avoid conflict or situations that may cause emotional discomfort

A public display of body contact between men and women is avoided

Greeting of superiors is through clasping of hands in a prayerful motion along with a slight bow

Laos is predominately a peasant society due to the lack of industry and manufacturing in the cities

Beyond gender there is no elaborate form of division of labor

Laos Culture

Laos Culture

Video of Laos Culture would be on this page

Germany

German School

Oktober Fest

Not all Germans speak English and even if they do, they might be not comfortable for fear of making mistakes

Germans can be considered the masters of planning

Education is compulsory until age eighteen

Most Germans are Evangelical Christians, Roman Catholics, Muslims

Big festival in Germany is Oktober fest. Celebrated in October

Germans are very interested in your academic credentials and they display great deference to people in authority

A handshake is the most common form of greeting. A man must wait for a woman to extend her hand before shaking it, and in mixed company he must shake a woman’s hand before a man’s

German Culture

German Culture

Video of German Culture would be on this page

China

Chinese School

Chinese Culture

Mandarin Chinese is the official language

Education is mandatory for nine years

Ninety-six percent of children attend kindergarten and elementary school, and about two-thirds continue on to secondary school

China does not allow dual citizenship: immigrants seeking US citizenship must give up their Chinese citizenship

China has a Collectivist Culture, its focus is on the whole (society, family, mass) and NOT on individual rights and privileges

Chinese Culture

People touch often, and same-sex hand holding is common. However, physical contact between men and women in public is limited

Smiling is not necessarily a sign of happiness; it can be a display of worry or embarrassment

Deference and obedience to elders is considered extremely important

Chinese people are non-confrontational. Saving face is of primary importance

Chinese Culture

Chinese Culture

Video of Chinese Culture would be on this page

1. Which culture thinks that the head is sacred?

2. Which culture generally pursues higher education abroad?

3. Smiling does not necessarily mean happiness in which culture?

4. A handshake is a common form of greeting in what culture?

5. What culture is still recovering from the Pol Pot Regime?

What did you learn….

End of day 1

Communication Strategies

It is very important to have good communication strategies when teaching ELL students

Less than 10% of what we say comes from words

Communication comes in many forms from:◦ Verbal Language

Language we speak Tone of our voice

◦ Non-verbal Language Body language Facial expressions Sign language

Communication Strategies

Many fears arise through communication, such as:◦ Fear of offending◦ Fear of revealing ignorance◦ Fear of being misunderstood◦ Fear of conflict

Communication Strategies

Ways to over come the fears and communication barriers:◦ Smile, its reassuring◦ Try to learn a little about the culture◦ Use handouts with pictures, if possible◦ Use visual aids whenever possible, such as

picking up/pointing to the phone when saying “phone”

◦ Speak slower, not louder◦ Give ample time write things down

Communication Strategies

Activity 1:1. Get in to groups of 2 or 32. Without verbally saying. Try to explain what is

on the piece of paper that has just been handed to you

3. How many people successfully got that the other person was trying to say: “On Friday, you will have a test on Chapter 13-3,

The Reagan Era.”

4. That is about how much your ELL students understand

Communication Strategies

Activity 2:1. Complete the form that was given to you

Communication Strategies

Activity 2 – cont:2. How successful were you.3. That is what a test feels like for ELL students4. This is what we saw

when we gave it toyou. Simple right, So Whydid you find it so hard?

Communication Strategies

End of day 2

Strategic Teaching Methods

Get to know your ELL students

Get to know your ELL students learning level

Make your classroom ELL friendly

◦ Have pictures with your word wall such as a picture of a computer next to the word “computer”

◦ Clearly display the alphabet and other poster that will enhance learning for an ELL student

Learn a few key phrases/words in the students native language such as: hello, welcome, and good morning

Give eye contact but, don’t get upset when it’s not given back. ◦ Not all cultures give eye contact

Strategic Teaching Methods

Visual Aids ◦ Visual aids give ELL students visual cues that may help clarify

meaning and solidify learning ◦ Visual aids should be clear and reproduced for ELL students,

whenever possible Hands-On Activities

◦ Hands-on activities help ELL students connect with classroom content

◦ Processes that can be experienced or observed make learning more concrete

Sufficient Wait Time◦ ELL students need additional time to formulate their answers in

English.◦ Some may still be translating their first language into English◦ Some may need time to find the appropriate words

Strategic Teaching Methods

Information provided by: http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/english-

language-learner-teaching-strategies-that-work

Modeled Spoken Language◦ Refrain from correcting your students spoken language.

Instead, model the proper usage in a restatement. For example, if a student says "No understand." You might reply, "You don't understand?”

Lesson Outlines ◦ Teacher-prepared outlines or notes can help ELL students

follow along in class ◦ Ask another student to share his or her notes with the ELL

student Respect the Silent Phase 

◦ Most second language learners go through a silent phase◦ Forcing a student to speak may make them embarrassed

and overly self-conscious

Strategic Teaching Methods

Information provided by: http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/english-

language-learner-teaching-strategies-that-work

Activity :Prepare a lesson plan/packet for your ELL students and regular students to complete the first week of school

The lesson plan should included activities such as: Creating a map of the school An “Who am I?” activity A “Where is my classroom?” activity Who is/are my teacher(s)? Activity Who are my classmates? Activity What do we have in common? Activity Any other activity that you can think of that would

make the first days of school easier.

Communication Strategies

End of day 3

The First Few Days of School

The First Few Days of School

The first days in a new environment are confusing for all students

Be flexible, tolerant and patient to understand the addition needs of international students

International students might not know what title to call you or if it is appropriate to use first names. Be explicit with how they should refer to you

Ask about them; their name, where they are from, and their travel experiences to arrive here

Use simple language. Avoid idioms, jargon and slang. Listen actively

Information provided by: Michigan State University, PowerPoint: Communicating Across Cultures in the Classroom Contexts

The First Few Days of School

Try to withhold judgment about behaviors that appear unfamiliar to you

Try not to misinterpret non-verbal cues such as gestures, eye contact, and greeting rituals

Remember that they might be feeling a lot of stress and unsure about their new environment

No one likes to feel like a stranger and feel unable to communicate or fit into an environment

Be careful about your use of humor. It is often difficult to understand jokes outside your own culture

Information provided by: Michigan State University, PowerPoint: Communicating Across Cultures in the Classroom Contexts

Activity:1. Get in to groups of 2 or 3

2. Share a story about a time when you felt left out, different, or didn’t understand what was going on

3. Reflect on how you felt. What could have been done so that you would have felt included and made it easier for you?

4. Discuss how you can make you classroom more inviting and less scary and intimidating to an ELL student

5. Share 1-2 thoughts with the whole class

Communication Strategies

End of day 4

Lesson Plans and Activities

What Am I? (Icebreaker)

Objectives

◦ Students use their power of hearing to determine animal sounds.

Procedures

◦ Say, "I went to the zoo and I heard this sound _____." (For example, growl like a lion or squawk like a parrot.)

◦ Then say, "I turned around and saw a _____."

◦ Ask students to guess what animal you saw.

◦ Continue playing, making new animal sounds.

◦ After a few rounds, ask student volunteers to lead the game.

◦ A variation of this game is to change the location (try sounds in the country; in the city; in the forest; at school).

Lesson Plans and Activities

Activity provided by: Teachervision.com

What are they doing?

Objectives

◦ Students use understand what someone is doing by looking at the picture.

Lesson Plans and Activities

Procedures

◦ Give student the worksheet “What are they doing?”

◦ Ask student to say what they thing they are doing in the picture.

◦ Explain to student what they are doing in the picture.

◦ Have student repeat what the are doing in the picture.

Reading Comprehension Activity

Show the students the title and cover of a book you are going to read (the title should be of the kind that would help the students to guess what the text will be about)

Request that the students give you words that they book might be about

Write all the words on the blackboard

Ask the students to split the words into two groups, according to their connotation ◦ funny or sad, kindness or violence etc

Have the student compose their own stories based on the title given by the teacher and the vocabulary list from the blackboard, offered by the classmates

Finally, Read the story to the students

Lesson Plans and Activities

Activity provided by: http://www.tefl.net

Parts of Speech

Objectives

◦ Students will be able to correctly use different parts of speech such as verbs, nouns, adverbs, and adjectives.

Lesson Plans and Activities

Procedures

◦ Give student the worksheet “Parts of Speech?”

◦ Ask student to say what they thing they are doing in the picture.

◦ Have student to write the correct verb, noun, adverb, or adjective with each picture.

◦ Review worksheet with student and discuss any errors.

Here is a list of helpful websites that offer great lesson plans and activities for ELL students.◦ http://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/index.htm◦ http://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plan

s/◦ http://www.eslflow.com/◦ http://www.eslkidslab.com/◦ http://www.rong-chang.com/lsnplan.htm

Lesson Plans and Activities

Activity:1. Create one or two activities that you think will

help a new student in your classroom

Use the websites on the previous page, or

Come up with you own activity

2. Share you activity with the class

Communication Strategies

Culture information found at: http://www.everyculture.com

◦ China◦ Cambodia◦ Germany◦ Laos

Pictures found at google images: http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=ii

First days of school information provided by: Michigan State University, PowerPoint: Communicating Across Cultures in the

Classroom Contexts

Teaching strategies Information provided by:◦ http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/english-language-learner-teaching-

strategies-that-work

References: