ESL English as a Second Language

Note: Normally, I do not publish my blog, English Updates, on weekends. However, I publish several other blogs during the week having to do with ideas in English education that are not current, but still useful. On weekends, I will publish samples of these ideas. RayS.

 Question: What do ordinary teachers face in classrooms with students who need help with English as a second language?

Answer/Quote: “Some second language learners have fled from Central America where civil war interrupted their education. Others come from underdeveloped countries  with experiences that are virtually incomprehensible to native North Americans. For many, having an individual textbook is a unique event. Some are illiterate in their native language, lacking the speaking, reading, and writing processes helpful in developing similar skills in the second language. While second language students struggle to learn English and adjust to their new environment, the school, too, is groping for ways to accommodate them.” P. 740.

Comment: What can you do? Probably nothing right away. How do you introduce students for whom English is the second language to English? The next blog will give some suggestions. But this introduction to English doesn’t help with the real problem: Helping the ESL students with the world of academic English in the classroom. RayS.

Title: “Use the News: Newspaper Activities for the Second Language Student.” S  Kossack and J Sullivan. Journal of Reading (May 1989), 740-742.