Help! My student doesn't speak English!

When I worked as an ESL teacher prior to becoming a kindergarten teacher, I probably heard "But he/she doesn't speak English!  What should I do??!!" every time a newcomer was added to my caseload.  If you are a classroom teacher, and not used to have English language learners, especially newcomers, having this student show up can be overwhelming and scary. 

And it is hard!  But by asking this question, you want to do your very best to help this new student- and that's awesome.  First, take a deep breath and realize it is going to take time.  Your new student is not going to learn English over night, most likely not even by the time she leaves your class this year.  That's not a negative reflection on your teaching, just a fact that can sometimes help take the pressure off of you!  With that being said, there are some things you (immediately) can do to ease the stress of this transition for your new learner.

1. Make sure she has some type of visual schedule of the day, either on her desk or in your classroom so she knows how the day will go.  If it is late in the school year and your routines and transitions have gotten a little "sloppy" or faster paced, go back to the beginning-of-year-pace and explicitly reteach some routines.  No worries- at this point in the year your other students probably need the reteaching and practice too!
 
2. Partner him up with one of your other ELL’s- someone patient who will be able to take a little time from their own work to help and doesn’t mind doing so.  If you don't have another ELL, see if there is someone in the building who could be a peer tutor, or just pair him with a really patient student.  (**Note: I usually find that this works wonderfully for the first few months.  Then, sometimes they tend to get too comfortable/chatty with each other.  When that happens, move their seats!  Your helper did his/her job and now it's time for the newcomer to spread his wings and fly a little on his own!)
 
3. Modify your assignments as much as you can. Translating and using a bilingual dictionary can be an easy way to communicate, and it can seem like you're helping the student, but in the long run this will slow down her language growth. The Google translate app is good at times but be careful- long translations come out very jumbled. I tended to only use translation for essential information (bathroom, classroom/field trip expectations, directions, etc.) and not every day for content. This can be hard but the goal is to keep the content the same but lower the English language requirement. For example, can she label something rather than writing a paragraph? Think in term of one word responses right now and as many yes/no, visual, pointing, responses, sequencing picture cards to retell a story, etc. as she can give. There is so much more to be said on this, but for now use lots of pictures and gestures in your lessons. Give her credit in your gradebook (if you are at all able) for what she IS able to do.  Let your ESL teacher know you want some help in modifications- they should be willing to help with this too!  They are not content experts however- they are language experts.  YOU are the content expert.
 
4. Get a blank journal. While the rest of the class is working on an independent activity that he may not be able to do yet, ask her a simple question in the journal. (Start with, ”what is your name?” for example) Have her respond, then write back asking another question, generating conversation. Draw pictures if you need to! This can be a great way to connect with the student, gets her used to seeing written English patterns, and helps you learn more about her home life and background.
 
5. I love using the language experience approach to help with reading. Have her tell a simple story about an experience she had (maybe just a few words or sentences to start!) type it out, and have her reread it to you, illustrate it, highlight vocabulary words and keep them in a box for her to practice, etc. After a few days, blank out some words and see if she can fill them in. She will relate better to this ”reading passage” because it is from her own experience.


These tips are by no means everything that could possibly be done, but are just a few of my "tried and true" and "what can I do tomorrow" favorite ideas!  Are they useful to you?  Would you like to discuss more ELL topics?  Let me know!

Thoughts on assessments

Hi everyone!  Last week was our first week back from break, and it was super productive and really great!  We are coming up on the end of the third term, and so it's been timely that this week I started a course on assessment of English language learners.  I'm excited to learn more about how to work with the ELL's in my class.  I have five ELL's this year, and since I taught ESL for four years before teaching kindergarten, I'm excited to be working with these unique learners again.  I wanted to share some of the things I learned this week, and I hope to continue sharing as I learn and grow!

When considering assessments, a teacher should take the student's language, culture, and previous education into consideration.  The majority of assessments given are usually informal and observational in type. Ideally, classroom assessments should be tied to classroom instruction, should be teacher made, linked to standards, and be "student friendly" and "teacher useful."  Most state assessments do not provide timely data to directly influence instruction. As a kindergarten teacher, I would agree that most assessments I give are informal and observational.  I have a binder that I take anecdotal notes in once a week as I listen to students read to me.  I also use a lot of hands on manipulatives (10 frames, subitizing plates, linking cubes, 2d and 3d shapes) during math assessments.  I think good assessment practices come more naturally in kindergarten, where all students generally come in with basic language experience.

Identifying gains students have made, and making sure students are aware of these gains, will motivate them and promote learning. I was thinking about this today when I checked my students' sight words.  At this point in the year, they are expected to know 30 words.  While giving assessments, I used to not share "scores" with students, thinking that it would upset them or that they would not understand.  I have found that the reverse is true.  When I show students how many words/letters/sounds they got right, they are excited or tell me that they want to try again and see if they can get a better score.  

Many sources emphasize the importance of getting to know the students as a whole.  Even a home visit to the family or an intake interview can be considered an assessment.  I don't give these myself, but I feel as if they would give valuable information that would be helpful to me.  Oftentimes I do not meet the parents or learn more about the families until I meet them at parent teacher conferences. 

Additionally, I would like to make use of more rubrics in kindergarten.  I used to make them frequently when I taught high school ESL.  I tend to sometimes think they can't grasp rubrics at this age, but they can, especially if they are visual and easy to understand.  One source suggested no more than five criteria.  I am getting ready to introduce a sentence writing rubric since my students are at the point where they are beginning to put words into sentences.  They could also self-evaluate in other areas as well, including math fact and sight word mastery.  

I am already starting to consider how I give assessments in my classroom, and already I'm thinking differently about how I assess my kindergarteners! 

What types of assessments give you the most information about your students?