Training educators with little or no ESL experience can be a daunting process. But, it doesn’t have to be if you have a good roadmap. In the second part of this series, we continue our journey through a prospective ESL teacher training course.
In the first installment of this series, we dove deep into the the fundamental theories that shape ESL instruction. This knowledge is essential for becoming an effective ESL teacher, but it must be paired with sound instructional practices to be effective.In this second installment, we’ll look at the best practices for teaching core speaking and reading skills. We’ll also explore methods for evaluating student achievement and strategies for assuaging language learning anxiety. We’ve included the entire course map in case you need a refresher.
Effective classrooms rely on best practices informed by research. This collection of courses explores foundational ESL teaching methods and the concepts that support them.
Background knowledge — or the prior learning and experiences students have in a particular area — is a vital prerequisite for learning in any classroom. As education researcher Robert J. Marzano says, “What students already know about the content is one of the strongest indicators of how well they will learn new information relative to the content.” The same holds true for English language learners.
A student’s ability to acquire background knowledge is influenced by two factors:
Background knowledge plays a key role in reading comprehension. The more a student already knows about a subject, the easier they will be able to read and understand a text about the subject, and the more information they will retain from it.
It also supports vocabulary development and retention by helping students order new words into familiar categories. For example, if a student already knows the category “fruit” and has experiences and knowledge related to this category, it will be easier for them to retain the word “strawberry” once they learn it is a type of fruit.
Background knowledge is shaped largely by the learner’s native culture. Skillfully building and activating it in the ESL classroom requires significant research into the history, customs and notable figures of the students’ native countries.
Reading is such a commonplace activity that it’s easy to overlook the complex skills required to become effective readers. Proficient reading is dependent on mastering seven key areas:
ESL teachers equip their students with a robust portfolio of techniques to help boost reading comprehension. These include:
Students must be taught these skills explicitly before they can become adept at practicing them. Specifically, ESL teachers must model how, when, where and why to use each strategy, then offer feedback as students attempt to use them on their own.
Students demonstrate mastery of a new vocabulary word when they can:
Like reading comprehension strategies, new vocabulary must be taught explicitly. Adept ESL teachers preview all assigned reading so they can help students identify and define unfamiliar words before they begin reading. In addition to teaching content-specific vocabulary words, like “civil rights” or “metamorphosis,” they also teach signal and directional words, like “because” and “describe.”
Effective ESL teachers also teach students study habits they’ll need to retain and use new words. They show students how to make a list of unfamiliar words they encounter in their reading and give them resources for discovering what the word means. Finally, they give students ample opportunities to use new vocabulary in classroom discussions. Practicing vocabulary a few minutes a day is a more effective method for committing new words to long-term memory than devoting hours to vocabulary study.
When used together, vocabulary building strategies and effective reading strategies can help students glean meaning from what they read and hear. But, how can an ESL teacher know if the student actually comprehends the meaning of a text or spoken dialog? The answer lies in evaluating student comprehension through questioning.
Leveled reading is a method teachers can use to both assess and build student’s comprehension. It guides students through progressively more nuanced understandings of a text. Although this strategy is primarily designed for analyzing written texts, ESL teachers may also use it to assess their students’ understanding of spoken dialog.
This level requires students to find answers within the spoken or written passage. They might be required to:
Questions posed at the interpretive level require students to read between the lines to find the answers. Here, students must probe beyond literal meanings to discover causes, effects and implications. They can be asked to:
At the applied level, students read beyond the lines to discover how a passage relates to their own experience. This stage requires them to use what they’ve read or heard to make a decision or create something new. Students who’ve reached this level can:
Effective teachers conduct frequent comprehension checks to identify and address gaps in a students’ reading or listening comprehension. Targeting these issues early on makes it easier to help students who would otherwise fall behind.
Objectives:
Mastering English grammar and pronunciation are critical to becoming a fluent English speaker. Yet, even after students learn how to correctly conjugate a verb or produce the short “i” sound, they may struggle to apply these rules consistently. Consequently, new ESL teachers quickly find themselves correcting the same errors over and over again.
Teaching students how to self-correct, or notice and correct their own mistakes, is a powerful tool to help students practice what they’ve learned. More importantly, it supports skills like self-regulation and metacognition, which makes them more effective learners.
Teaching self-correction can begin with students as young as 5 years old. The trick is to use metalinguistic language to draw learners’ attention to their own errors without correcting the errors for them. Here are some examples.
Another helpful strategy is to teach students how to keep an X-File, or a list of their most common mistakes and the corresponding corrections. When students continue to repeat a mistake, the teacher can refer the student to their X-File for self-correction.
Assessments are a critical tool in the learning process. The help teachers identify whether students have learned the material, and they identify students who might need additional support. All assessments fall into one of two main categories: Summative and formative assessments.
Summative assessments are measures of learning. They determine whether students meet learning objectives. Summative assessments take place at the end of a learning cycle, and they are graded against a pre-established point system. In some cases, summative assessments may determine whether a student advances to the next grade or graduates from a program, making them high-stakes assessments.
ESL teachers have a wide range of summative assessment tools to choose from. These include:
By contrast, formative assessments are measures for learning. They help teachers monitor student achievement throughout the learning cycle so they can proactively identify and address areas where students struggle. Formative assessments are conducted frequently and in low-stakes environments. In some cases, students may not even realized they’re being assessed.
Creative ESL teachers can devise a wide range of formative assessments. These can include:
When an assessment reveals a student is falling behind, many teachers turn to the Response to Intervention (RTI) model. This approach includes three tiers that offer increasingly more intense and targeted interventions. Its purpose is to help teachers intervene early before students lose too much ground.
The process starts with a universal screening, which helps teachers assess everyone in the classroom. Teachers use differentiated instruction to teach to the distinct learning needs of individual student. High-quality instruction based on research and best practices is an essential component of a Tier 1 intervention.
Students who don’t respond to Tier 1 interventions receive more targeted support during small group activities outside the regular classroom. These interventions usually take place during elective courses so students don’t miss out on core classes. Tier 2 interventions use different methods than those used in Tier 1, yet they don’t replace students’ participation in the regular classroom.
Students who don’t make adequate progress in Tier 2 interventions receive intensive, individual help in Tier 3. Here, students and teachers work one-on-one to improve specific skills. Students who don’t respond to Tier 3 interventions are often referred to special education services.
In many cases, a student’s lack of achievement isn’t due to a learning problem but, rather, an emotional one called language learning anxiety. Recognizing and thoughtfully responding to signs of language learning stress is an essential skill for ESL teachers.
What causes language learning anxiety? Scholars have identified several potential sources.
Self-identity is shaped largely by an individual’s culture. Some students fear that by becoming a fluent English speaker, they will abandoning their cultural identity. This perceived threat to their sense of self can be tremendously stressful.
Learning a second language is incredibly difficult, and few people perform well at first. Being confronted with a skill that defies easy mastery can challenge a student’s self-efficacy, or their confidence in their abilities to perform critical tasks.
The more unfamiliar the the target language culture is, the more likely is to induce anxiety. Students may not only be afraid of using the language incorrectly; they might also be afraid of committing a cultural faux pas when interacting with the people who use it.
Some students acutely feel the differences in social status between developing English speakers and native English speakers. The power differential between the teacher and the student can also induce anxiety in some learners.
Language learning anxiety can be a debilitating condition, but ESL teachers have an array of methods to combat it. These include:
Can anyone be a highly effective ESL teacher? In a word: No. Teaching English as a foreign language is a specialized skill that requires equally specialized knowledge. However, with the right training, a talented teacher with little or no ESL experience can become a pro.
Do yourself a favor: Don’t scrimp on teacher training. It’s the secret to running a school that outpaces the competition.
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