ESL Strategies for Content Teachers

for Dr. Judith Olson
BSL 565 Applied Linguistics
Spring 2000

by Anne Addison

Sam Houston State University - Huntsville, Texas


 

Abstract

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This paper presents effective strategies for teachers in English as a Second Language content area classrooms as they face communication challenges with minority language students. Some of these strategies are nonverbal, such as body language, gestures inclusive. Others are verbal strategies like speaking at a reduced rate. Contemplation and production of this paper elicited consideration of personal observations and practices and published literature sources. Predominant strategies are delineated as beneficial inclusions in the ESL content teacher’s arsenal of teacher tools. As more minority language students arrive in content area classrooms, these timely, relevant strategies deliver more learning impact.
Glossary
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ESL.   An initialism of English as a Second Language, a term used to describe a program for non-English speakers who are in the process of developing English language competency.

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LEP.   An initialism of limited English proficient, a term for a student who may not speak English at all, or, at least, not with the same facility as other classmates.
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TPR.   An initialism of Total Physical Response, an ESL methodology developed by James J. Asher to teach language acquisition using commands and demonstration with learner body movement indicating comprehension.
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URL.   An initialism of Uniform Resource Locator, the address used on the Internet to find a web site; it is procedurally common to type the URL in the address line of the browser.
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KWL.   An initialism for the Know-Want-Learned graphical organizer of students to tell what they know (K), want to know (W), and finally, after the lesson, what they have learned (L).
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realia.   A term for authentic materials, like newspaper and magazine clippings, objects, visual displays like charts to provide non-verbal information.

ESL STRATEGIES FOR CONTENT TEACHERS
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Effective English as a Second Language (ESL) content area teachers use dynamic verbal and nonverbal strategies to communicate with their minority language students.  These teachers become adept in content communication while having limited words in common with the students.

Strategies of Teacher Expertise

     Teacher expertise is necessary to meet student need, especially that of the limited English proficient (LEP) learner.  A relevant strategy of the ESL content teacher is aggressive pursuit of staff development relating to LEP student education.  Competent teachers focus on staff development to acquire expertise in a wide variety of instructional approaches, including cross-cultural communication, content based and language sensitive instruction, familiarity with students’ cultural backgrounds, as well as familiarity with second language acquisition development (Chamot and Stewner-Manzanares, 1985; Lucas, Henze and Donato, 1990).

Learning Environment Customization

Such staff development enables the expert teacher to construct strategic learning environment customization for LEP students using various activities and methods of teaching. Favorable LEP student achievement occurs when variety exists while learning content (Lucas, Henze and Donato, 1990).  Customization of the learning environment facilitates cooperative learning.  With linguistically and culturally diverse children working together on a common goal, the different skill levels often produce desirable interaction in the learning process. Cooperative grouping allows for communication, shared insights, and division of roles.  This grouping of students allows a student-centered learning context, ameliorating, in part, the common language exchange deficit between the teacher and LEP students (Tharp & Gallimore, 1988: Garcia, 1988).
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Other strategic cooperative groupings are peer tutoring and pairing a second language learner with a more proficient peer. For instance, in technology courses, these groupings help the students achieve success in both the taught technologies and the second language learners’ English growth.Incorporating customized classroom grouping strategies, the ESL content area teacher communicates lesson content to the LEP student without words by using peer language skills.

Strategic Visuals

When introducing a concept to learners, including LEP learners, effective ESL content teachers use photos, illustrations, maps, charts, and realia to focus attention on the concept (Crandall, 1992). The familiar adage aptly captures this concept, stating that “a picture is worth a thousand words”.  The teacher without the LEP students’ language compensates for those thousand unknown words by graphic means such as pointing to a spot on a map under discussion, or supplying a photo to a student as a concept exemplar.
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A related strategy for the LEP student is the use of graphic organizers. Students respond well to graphs, tables, flow charts, timelines, KWL (Know-Want-Learned) lists, and Venn diagrams as these organizers place content in a comprehensible context.  In Crandall (1992), graphic organizers are touted as a “means for organizing and presenting information so that it can be understood, remembered, and applied”. This organization of content in graphic format is effective for LEP students and easily produced with programs like Microsoft PowerPoint. There are many other ways to produce these organizers. Regardless of production method, all graphic organizers help the ESL content teacher communicate with the LEP student without dependence on words.

TPR and Body Language

Competent ESL content teachers demonstrate and use body language in all classes with all learners. Gestures are used universally to communicate and are a terrific way to help the LEP student learn. A common gesture, as an example, is raising the hand with the palm side up to indicate a request for the student to get up from the desk. Gestures abound in the classroom.  This is especially important when there is no language base to share content with LEP learners.
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One notable example of demonstration and body language utilization is Total Physical Response (TPR). Teachers using the TPR method developed by James J. Asher say an action word such as “wave” or a phrase like “pick up the paper” and model the action. The students respond at their linguistic level. At first, they may only follow the command.Some may repeat the words as they follow the action. The next step is to proceed to more difficult language (Asher, 1982). Some teachers tape the TPR lesson on an audio tape, facilitating future use of the lesson. The tape is reused as other students join the class. In addition, a child needing more practice may partner with a proficient peer model until the student requiring help is successful. As an example, one of the best uses for TPR in the technology lab is teaching the vital command ‘click’. The teacher says the word, demonstrates clicking with the mouse in the air, and models clicking with a projected image of the computer screen on the wall. Students practice and quickly learn to watch the projected image as the laser light pinpoints the spot they must learn to click. The teacher uses TPR again for the next important word the students need to learn.

Translation

Interpretation of content for the LEP student is a vital communication strategy for the teacher who speaks English only. Internet resources are available as a first step in translating lesson content. For instance, a teacher types or scans the content to be taught, with all necessary lesson detail, into an online translation editor, like the one at http://www.go.com. With the click of a button, the lesson is translated, and the teacher visits the campus bilingual educators for a grammatical check of the content. This is an especially important strategy as the teacher easily and inexpensively prepares print copies in any number of languages. Innovative ESL content teachers provide the student with a hard copy translation or attach translated text to the school or the educator’s web page and update when necessary.
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Translation of content area web pages is possible by typing the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the desired site into language translators like those at http://www.go.com. After the first URL is typed into the translator, any subsequent links the student clicks on automatically translate into the first page’s request language. This is a major boon for the ESL content area teacher’s communication with the LEP student without the spoken word. 

Sheltered English

A special strategy known as sheltered English may be introduced to LEP students as students gain minimal linguistic connection to the English language. Trained classroom teachers shelter LEP students using English content delivery as a bridge from the ESL class to the academic mainstream. Teachers remain conscious that LEP students simultaneously develop language and learn concepts. Challenging materials exhibiting low reading levels make success possible for the LEP student. The lesson includes many visuals, cue support, and pertinent hands on materials combined with simple language carefully guarded against speed, idioms, and figures of speech (Echevarria & Graves, 1998). Figures of speech and other complicated English language structures are avoided as they often frustrate the emergent language learner.

Teacher Talk Strategies

Adjustment in a teacher’s habitual speaking style, known as teacher talk adjustment helps the LEP student understand and practice verbal communication. Effective teachers slow their word delivery speed if they are fast talkers; it is not necessary, though, to speak more loudly. Teachers repeat and rephrase questions and information if students indicate the spoken word is not initially understood. Talking about the subject matter instead of classroom discipline is an effective teacher talk strategy; it eliminates much extraneous language, and positively affects the lesson focus for the LEP student. Relatedly, when it is time for the student to talk, an excellent teacher allows more time for the student to speak (Short, 1991).

Student Response Strategies

ESL content teacher talk strategies parallel student response when applied to any content classroom. A good system allows students to respond non-verbally by pointing to a map or diagram, demonstrating a calculation at the blackboard, or adding a feature to a diagram. As students’ language skills develop, they are encouraged to build toward verbal response.  When the learners attempt verbal response, the effective teacher always allows appropriate wait time for the answer (Simich-Dugeon, McCreedy and Schleppegrell, 1988).
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The successful teacher communicates acceptance of the LEP student’s response strategy. It’s important to smile and indicate positive acceptance, as the smile is a universally receptive physical gesture. The OK and thumbs up gestures combined with a smile of approbation provide communication without words. Dynamic teachers use appropriate English phrases, like “Good job!” in conjunction with gestures to ensure auditory processing of English phraseology operating in tandem with gestural language. Eventually, this strategy leads to understanding and duplication of the phrase, with or without the gesture.

Certain Communication

Without doubt, all teachers communicate with all students. The question educators must answer is what type of communication they wish to adopt. Due to changing demographic conditions, content area teachers receive non-English speaking students as class members at some time. With the strategies used in classrooms today, the arrival of the LEP student does not portend dire days of instruction. Many strategies are out there; practicing even one stops the death knell toll of second language communication.
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Teachers using graphic sources, especially realia communicate effectively with students without language. Some of the other communicative strategies bundled in this paper for language facilitation are total physical response, gestures and other body languages, sheltered English, translation via the Internet, cooperative grouping, and peer group. The enterprising teacher searches for other methods of communication, or, even better, discovers new methods. Any communicative strategies for the classroom finds a ready, albeit evaluative audience as all members of the classroom must communicate to get the teaching and learning job done.
References
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Asher, J. (1982).   Learning another language through actions:  The complete teacher’s guidebook (2nd ed.). Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions.

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Chamot, A.U., & Stewner-Manzanares, G. (1985). Review, summary, and synthesis of literature on English as a second language.  McLean: InterAmerica Research Associates.
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Crandall, J. (1992). Content-centered learning in the United States. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 13, 111-126.
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Echevarria, J., & Graves, A. (1998). Sheltered content instruction: Teaching English language learners with diverse abilities. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
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Garcia, E. (1988). Effective schooling for language minority students (New Focus No. 1). Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.
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Lucas, T., Henze, R., and Donato, R. (1990).Promoting the success of Latino language-minority students: An exploratory study of six high schools. Harvard Educational Review, 60 (3), 315-340.
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Short, D. J. (Fall, 1991). Integrating language and content instruction: Strategies and techniques (NCBE Program Information Series, Number 7). Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.
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Simich-Dudgeon, C., McCreedy, L., & Schleppegrell, M. (Winter 1988/89). Helping limited English proficient children communicate in the classroom: A handbook for teachers. National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.  Program Information Guide Series, No. 9.
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Tharp, R. G., & Gallimore, R. (1988). Rousing minds to life: Teaching, learning, and schooling in social context.  New York: Cambridge University Press.