hey im new at teaching and i started teaching kindergarten this year. at the beginning of the year i had around 14 students which i managed to work and keep some order in class. Now i have 17 kids...these new kids do not speak English or no anything abot English and im expected to teach them to read words in the middle of the year.im goin to talk to the principle about it tomrrow but i was wondering if there is any ideas or tips about my situation!
I have 24 in my class, 2 of whom are not ESL the rest are!! They range from fluent bilingual to no English at all. The good thing is that the younger the child, the easier it is for them to learn English and they will become fluent in 5 to 7 years. What to do now? Start by developing an oral language program. This would start off with my name is, numbers, colours, vocabulary (pen, pencil, glue, etc), directives (write, draw, sit down, stand up). simple present tense (I like, I can, he likes, she can), comparatives (bigger than, smaller than), present progressive (I am jumping, I am running), and so on. Groups can be done as a whole class where everybody is learning the mathematical concept of comparatives or small groups when the oral language component becomes a centre. From experience, ESL children will watch and observe those who know what to do but still need guided. Model everything and keep the steps simple and a few. Teach the phonics, writing letters and lots of phonemic awareness activities. When writing anything and everything say aloud the words you are writing as separate phonemes. I have lots of props and visuals which keeps their attention on the lesson. Ask for volunteers to help (especially with the oral language program). Sit the non-English speakers next to those who do speak English, try not to group the ESL children together as there then becomes less incentive to speak English. Children who speak no English go through a silent phase. This can be up to 8 weeks where they are simply listening to English and have yet to develop the desire to take a risk with the language and try it. I have also found that the children are very keen learners. You are right to ask for a TA, the more correct English the children hear the quicker they will acquire the language. Can your children repeat a year? I have 4 students who came mid year with no English and there is no way they will be ready for Grade 1 next year (I'm not a miracle worker but that's what the parents expect!). My recommendation will be for them to repeat. They are not stupid but if they go into Grade 1 they will be at the bottom of the class, repeat and they will go in at the top.
Are the children getting any ESL services? The kindergarten kids in my school usually get pulled out for ESL, but this year there is such a high percentage that the ESL teacher has decided to push in instead. From what I hear, it's working out very well.
Thank you Letsteach for your comment i think its goin to help me alot =] i talked to the princible and she said not to worry about the new kids help them out as much as i can but she doesnt expect me to bring them to the other kids level
I had 30 last year and 19 were ESL. We didn't have assistants. The ESL students had 30 minutes of seperate English language instruction every day. Children as young as preschool and Kindergarten pick up an awful lot at school. When they begin, its hard to imagine but they will understand and speak English when the year is through. Modelling, using lots of realia and pictures, and relating your teaching to things that they know will help as well. Good luck to you.
REALIA! Have a lot of real objects for them. Make them speak in complete sentences and pair them (as much as possible) with native English speakers. Flashcards and picture cards work well. Start with things that are very relevant to their daily lives. For instance, work on basic words and phrases. That helps them get to the point that they can communicate their needs well. I teach in a bilingual school, so ALL of my students are second language learners! lol I try very hard to make sure they know how to ask for and request basic needs first (bathroom, water, not feeling well, etc. ) Encourage parents to get as involved as they can. Oftentimes, the parents don't speak enough of the language to help the child. This needs to be remedied (if possible) so you can have the parents on your side as well.
Right, many school districts with a high number of non English speakers offer free EL classes for adults. Put those flyers in the cubbies!
Websites can help I've been doing some volunteer work with ELL'S. They really benefit from websites like starfall.com. I'm finding that anything that involves rhyming or singing seems to stick with them.
