English Language Lessons
The number of English learners continues to increase each year. Although these students learn in similar environments as native English learners, they have special academic needs that hinder their progress. Thus, incorporating the following strategies in learning programs benefits both English learners and native English-speaking students.
Be culturally accommodative and create positive relationships. For a thriving learning environment, learners should feel appreciated, understood, and comfortable while taking intellectual and emotional risks. That involves regular messages and planning by the educator. Also, establishing such an environment requires appreciating cultural diversity. As such, the curriculum and the school library should reflect the learners’ diverse cultural identities and backgrounds.
Teachers should emphasize productive language for positive lessons. Every lesson should focus on improving productive language skills such as writing and speaking from the beginning, even if the learners could be hesitant. Beginning English learning lessons usually develops receptive language skills such as reading and listening first. In essence, students who understand written or spoken directives often produce written or oral language in their pursuit of fluency.
Educators should utilize online tools to assist students in addressing their language challenges. For instance, YouTube videos, clips of the teacher solving grammar problems, and recordings of other explanations, among other online resources, are essential in assisting students in mastering the English language. Also, translation is crucial in every language for directions and engaging the learners, and therefore, educators could utilize translation software available online.
Patience is essential in learning the English language. Teachers usually want things to advance at their pace, but in most cases, that becomes a hindrance to the student’s learning progress. Some educators try to create long engaging lessons while in reality, students require short and precise assignments and reading materials. That is essential for every English learner.
Educators should differentiate and utilize different modalities. All learners learn better when involved in several ways. For instance, lessons that include listening, writing, drawing, and speaking provide learners with four crucial opportunities to advance their understanding of the concepts they are learning. These new engagements also offer English learners a breathing space so they can maneuver through language barriers.
Integrate learners’ native languages and modern technology. Bilingualism is the ultimate objective, not replacing the student’s native language. Educators should devise strategies that leverage a learner’s home language abilities to form the foundation for learning English as their second language. For instance, they can introduce topics and encourage learners to preview the content in their native language, usually through multilingual videos. The educator then teaches these topics in English and asks the students to review the outcome in their native languages.
Increase the English learner’s peer interaction to enhance productivity. Time and practice are essential in improving learner’s language skills. As such, educators should devise activities that encourage group or peer interactions, which require students to use English when explaining concepts and contributions to the work. That not only teachers assess the student’s learning progress, but it also improves the learner’s language development.
There should be explicit teaching of English language structures and vocabulary. Educators should aim to determine, teach, and post essential academic structures and vocabulary for each content lesson every day. That involves reviewing content areas and identifying basic vocabularies and grammar structures since English learners might not be familiar with them.
Build on the learner’s background information to enhance comprehension. Educators can elicit prior knowledge from learners’ background on various content areas through several activities such as graphic and questioning organizers. Sometimes students fail to link their past experiences with current lessons and that is a significant barrier to their English language development. That is where educators should draw on the learner’s background to improve their comprehension.
Increase the student-parent involvement. Teachers should contact parents regularly to share crucial information regarding the student’s progress or informing them of school events. Parental support is essential for any student’s educational success, and for English learners, parents are critical in addressing various cultural and language barriers. Thus, frequent friendly and open interaction between teachers and parents has a significant impact on parent participation in the learner’s progress.