#5 – Are You Fortunate to Teach ESL Students?

          This week I stumbled upon a delightful article written by an ESL teacher, Danny Brassell, who unexpectedly became the bilingual coordinator in his school.  His attitude and approach are refreshing and makes several key points in his article.  His experience working with ESL students ranges from preschool aged children to teaching engineering students at the college level.  He shares his greatest secret that he discovered while working with ESL students of all ages.  If it’s good for ESL students, it’s good for all students.

            I can personally relate to this statement because my middle school’s mantra is, “If it’s best for kids, we do it.”  For the most part, I feel we try to live up to this standard, but unfortunately, I don’t feel this is the case for ESL students in my district.  I have always felt this way, but the further I get into this class, the more I know it’s true.  Mind you, my district is very small with a low percentage of ESL students, but as it slowly increases, I don’t feel that our resources and attention to the matter increase. 

Luckily, I have been trained in many strategies for working with students with learning disabilities.  I also feel that most of those strategies are good for all students which helps me relate to the article.  I hope to better apply this concept with my ESL students and the strategies I am learning in this course.  I love how the start of each school year is like New Year’s Eve – a chance for a fresh start and upgraded focus on my goals.  Mind you, I don’t love setting my alarm clock or sitting through the hours of convocation that first day!  But when the kids finally arrive on the real first day of school, that’s when the opportunity for change really begins.    

            Another secret Danny learned teaching ESL students of all ages is that the methods you can use with older students don’t necessarily work for younger students, but the strategies you use with younger students can almost always work with older students!  He discovered with younger students that having fun, being silly, and singing songs was key when helping ESL students to learn English.  He calls this his ESL Make-over.  He truly believes that teaching ESL students has made him a better teacher and that all teachers with ESL students should feel fortunate to learn with them!

            To implement an ESL Make-over, he offers three suggestions: AWARE, CARE and SHARE.  AWARE stands for, “Always Watch out for Administrators Evaluating.”  If what you’re doing with ESL students is working, then don’t be afraid to do it even if you have to break the mold of your district’s evaluation model.  Too many educators are limited by restraints and too many administrators aren’t trained properly in the area of ESL.  CARE stands for, “Comfortable Atmospheres and Relaxed Environments.”  Learning can’t truly happen unless students are comfortable with making mistakes, and the same most definitely applies to ESL students.  SHARE stands for, “Supply Hordes of Amazing Resources in their Environments.”  This one is pretty obvious, but the more books, iPad apps, manipulatives, etc. that you can provide for students to interact with, the more fun they will have, and the more they will love learning. 

            I know I am looking forward to my ESL Makeover coming this New Year’s (August 21^st that is)! 

References

Brassell, D. (2019, July 03). The ESL Makeover. Retrieved July 4, 2019, from https://www.languagemagazine.com/2019/07/03/the-esl-makeover-2/