DEPARTMENTof EDUCATION
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Classroom Management and Resourcing

Classroom management and resourcing factors to be considered when a new ESL student commences school include:

  • The student is seated where he/she can see and hear easily.
  • Good language and learning models are provided when the students are involved in group activities.
  • Books and resources are current, relevant and culturally inclusive.
  • Specific resources about the student’s culture are available in the classroom for whole class use.
  • The student’s first language and culture are valued eg books in the student’s first language are available and used where appropriate.
  • Bilingual signs and dictionaries, including picture dictionaries, are available and used where appropriate.

Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary

Students who have had schooling in another country may have very different expectations of the role of the teacher and expectations of the schooling system.  Some ESL students may be used to rote learning and will need encouragement and time to develop new ways of learning.

Effective strategies for newly arrived ESL students at the early childhood, primary and secondary levels are included below:

  • Use consistent explicit instructions and praise any attempts to communicate.
  • Speak clearly using the normal rhythm and patterns of English.
  • Use repetition and reinforcement of English.
  • Use visual and non-verbal supports.
  • Observe and interact to ascertain how much the student understands.
  • Encourage students to represent their ideas through drawings and diagrams.
  • Allow students time to tune into English – they will understand more English than they can articulate.
  • Accept and encourage attempts at using English.
  • Model correct structures.
  • Modify activities so that the student can achieve success.
  • Encourage students to speak, read and write in their first language in class.
  • Ask students with the same first language background to assist the teacher if appropriate (be sensitive to possible cultural friction).
  • Scaffold writing session activities e.g.  brainstorm topics and key words or possible sentence beginnings.
  • Focus on the script if the student is not used to the Roman alphabet.
  • Use paired and group activities to encourage students to talk, socialise and learn from one another.
  • Try to read with and listen to the student every day. If this isn’t possible, assign a ‘reading buddy’ or parent helper, as daily practice is imperative.
  • Promote links between the school and home as this can be of great benefit to students, particularly if they are geographically or ethnically isolated or if there is only one ESL student at the school.

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Initial topics

Language learning is best taught in context and in meaningful ways. Learning in the initial stages may require a focus on survival language and topics, allowing the new arrival to learn the way English works in a meaningful context.

Suggestions include:

  • Greetings
  • personal information – name, address, telephone number
  • family
  • school, classroom
  • colours
  • house
  • money
  • weather, seasons
  • feelings
  • parts of the body
  • clothes
  • numbers, maths language
  • food
  • time, calendar
  • animals
  • environment

Learning a new language, and learning in a new language are very tiring. It is important to plan for time with no English language demands: puzzles, construction games, CD ROMs, opportunities to examine a variety of books.

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College

ESL students have the right to access ESL accredited courses.  This may be in a designated ESL subject class taught by an ESL subject teacher who is not usually the ESL program teacher, or students may access ESL course accreditation as part of a mainstream English class.

The role of the ESL program teacher in colleges includes:

  • working with students in mainstream classes
  • explaining class work that has not been well understood
  • assisting with assignments, tests and examinations
  • assisting with class notes and text book excerpts
  • organising books and folders required for each subject
  • using the library
  • assisting with the development of computer skills
  • assisting with the development of study and research skills including note-taking and summarizing, writing up experiments, essay and assignment writing and editing and presentation of work, e.g., bibliography writing and referencing.

Subject teachers and ESL program teachers communicate with each other about appropriate assignment tasks for ESL students.

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