HHS Teacher's Lounge: Working with ESL Students in Your Classroom

Ann Arbor Huron High School - Language Courses - French 3

Working with ESL Students in Your Classes

Some suggestions for working with ESL students in your classes:

Use concrete, direct language
Shorten or modify assignments
Give ESL students extra time to respond to oral questions.
Hand out weekly assignment sheet.
Allow ESL students to use a bilingual dictionary at all times.
Be sure that ESL students can read your handwriting.
Arrange a buddy with a helpful student or speaker of the student's language.
Consider giving open-book exams.
Remember that multiple choice tests are extremely difficult for ESL students because they may not understand the subtle differences between the choices.

Some policies for test-taking for ESL students

*Please feel free to accommodate the language needs of your ESL students when you give tests in your classroom. ESL students can have partial test options, modified assessments, alternative projects, oral test options, take home tests, open book tests, notes, and bilingual dictionaries to assist them while testing. Please supervise any extended test time you wish to give ESL students in your classrooms under your direct supervision.

*Some ESL students will need extra test time. Some ESL students do not need the extra time if they already have a good grade in your class. Each case needs to be evaluated individually. If you have questions, contact me.

* I have a rigorous ESL curriculum that students miss while they are working on other subjects. Then they are behind in ESL.

Some Options for Grading ESL Students

Regular Grades: A-E based on standards set by teacher
G: A pass credit.
This option might be used for students who are still relatively new, but are able to perform to some agreed upon standard. Students would be expected to complete homework and take tests, but separate standards could be established by the teacher.
S: No credit.
This option might be used for absolute beginners who would benefit from listening in class and attempting to participate, but would not be expected to complete homework or take tests.

Options 2 & 3 would require approval of student, parent, classroom teacher, ESL teacher, and counselor. Both students and parents must understand the ramifications of taking either of these two options.

Requests for these options may be initiated by the student, parent, classroom teacher, ESL Teacher, or counselor.