English as 2nd Language related (NRR)
shawnald_reagan
318 Posts
Hey,I'm a first-year teacher and I just got a new student today who is ESL. He wants to learn how to comprehend and use English more effectively. As a native English speaker I can understand his frustrations but I can't bring any insight to this dilemma. Here's where I need help from ESL strutters:Generally, what frustrates you about learning English b/w any tips or suggestions on increasing understanding of English for a non-native speaker. Thanks in advance, as I know soulstrut love the kids.
Comments
You don't have ESL professionals in your district?
you need to do comprehensive testing and get him to give you a writing sample before you can even begin to advise him. also, you need to do a personal interview with him and get a sense of what he really hopes to accomplish. If he plans to attend university then his ability has to be up to a particular standard; whereas, if just wants to be able to get by and express himself in daily situations that is another story.
once you get a handle on what his weaknesses are and what he hopes to accomplish, i would suggest taking a trip to your library and looking through the esl section for material that will be suitable.
hope that helps....
Pronouns and conjugation are key to really mastering a language, but go easy on him tho, from what I understand ESL teaching stresses conveying the meaning in English vs perfect grammar, etc.
You have to provide a lot more info first.
How old is your student (what grade & what level of English)? Doesn't your school have an ESL program?
It really depends on his/her grade, but your student should start with some private tutoring, especially if your school doesn't have an ESL program.
Independently, your student should read a lot of books while using a dictionary. Every word your student doesn't know should be underlined and looked up in the dictionary (and written down). Watching TV helps, too (somewhat).
Encourage your student to hang out with other native English speakers, even if it's awkward at first. Full immersion really helps.
If the student is young enough, he/she will start to improve. If the student is older, ESL classes and private tutoring is necessary.
Just talk to the kid. Encourage your student to talk. If the student is older, first focus on fluency (worry about accuracy a little later). If the student is younger, focus on accuracy first. Be patient.
So, think of it like this:
If one of your teenage nieces or nephews came to you as an ESL speaker and asked you how to increase their understanding of English so that they could talk to their peers and not feel like an outsider.
I'm not looking for solutions...just suggestions.
After all, helping this kid is my job...not yours.
Thanks for all the advice thus far...mylatency, your suggestion was exactly what I was looking for.
Carry on...
I agree, and even stuff like the Late Show and similar talk shows. I know shows like that helped me learn english when I was young, since you hear people talking casually, cracking jokes and stuff like that. In school you mostly read novels and practice "artificial" situations (presentations and stuff like that). That's one of the classic reasons people give for scandinavians being relatively decent at speaking english, compared to countries like France - that we use subtitles instead of overdubs on english tv-shows and movies. Of course, there's more to it than that (we know we won't make it with our own language alone) but it does help. I've only held but a few conversations in English in my life, but I've done okay from the get go.
That's a good tip, and that's what I would do if I ever would get serious about learning a third language - watch 50 episodes of Simpsons in Spanish or something...