understanding the students that have truoble with understanding english
it is always a challenge to teach a student that does not understand what you are atlking about or even what the words that were spoken mean. So i ahve over time tryed to find another student to mentor them as mush as possible, with taking care not to create a problem with the other students in the class, for they may think I as the instructor am letting them get away with talking during class. So there is a fine line that has to be followed and the students need to understand this.
We have a good example of this at our school with two brothers from a different country. One brother knows English and the other brother does not understand the language. In other words one brother helps guide the other one with the information.
The world is becoming increasingly smaller my last class had students from 4 different countries (Counting the U.S) some of the languages do not even have direct translations for some of the words in our industry. It can be tough to teach them and not loose the other students through boredom.
So Lloyd!
How do we as instructors help to break these barriers down to ensure both non-English speaking and English speaking students learn?
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
I too use the peer tutor method when working with ELL students. It gives them someone to relate to or feel more comfortable around during lecture. I've also incorporated a "Spanish" section into my course. To engage the ELL student, I have them teach us a word that pertains to dentistry/medical history/basic conversation in their language each day. This not only allows them to feel more a part of the class but also gives the primarily English speaking students a "working" vocabulary for the field.
Reaching out to students with a language barrier is not the most comfortable feeling but once you make that connection of sharing knowledge on a different level kineticly of by showing them the relationship between words & proceedures the students really try alot harder than if we don"t reach.
Greetings Ronald!
Everybody wants to be acknowledged for who they are and once that occurs in a classroom learning occurs.
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
My primary issue when dealing with international students is not vocabulary per se. The smart student has a XXXXXX-English dictionary and knows how to use it. The real problem comes into play when we inadvertently allow slang to creep into our communication.
Yes Robin I agree!
Some friends and I were discussing living outside of the U.S. and all agreed that Americans have to eliminate their slang in order to better communicate with the locals.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
I have found that it is important at the very beginning to openly address the language barrier with the student since in my experience some students who are not English proficient actually might read it well enough to pass a written entrance exam but might have a much lower proficiency with spoken communication. I tell the student that speaking and effective communication is just as important as passing a written test to succeed in school and the workforce. In addition to offering to help the student as much as I can, I set the expectation that they need to speak English as much as possible, ie, with friends and family, watch English TV, etc. since these activities can help build spoken proficiency.
I agree that it is not an easy task to talk to the students with a language barrier problem, but we've got to do what we've got to do. I always seek those Spanish speaking faces after my lecture, and ask them some of the points I mentioned in the lecture to see how much they can grasp. If, somehow, I find out they miss quite a lot of content, I'll try to repeat or explain to them again. Just make sure they are at the same point as the rest of the class.
Hi Shane!
It can be a challenge when we have students in our class that use English as their second language. But we do have a responsibility to assist those students anyway that we can. It always great when there is someone in the school - student or instructor - who can do some translating as needed.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
We have to be more patient with the students and give them more time and a translator is always very helpful in this situation
I have a student in class now that I suggested he watch English TV to help in his understanding of the English language. I have tried this in the past and found that it does help.
Great idea Michael!
Good job!
Jane Davis
Ed106 Facilitator
I think this is a great idea for ELL students. So far as an Instructor I haven't had to deal with an ELL student. Pretty sure the time is coming.
