Students May Feel Lost And Fall Behind...What To Do?

 

Sometimes ESL students may feel lost and/or unprepared for their classes and fall behind with their school work. There are many reasons that this can happen, such as culture shock. It can be very overwhelming and scary for a student to join a new classroom, especially when they are an ESL student and there is a possibility of a language barrier. Although, most often the reason is because there is not enough support available to meet the wide variety of the students needs.

ESL students come from different backgrounds, come to Canada at different times and have varied English language skill sets andhave different prior school experiences. In fact, some of these students could have no prior school experience at all. For these reasons each student requires different accommodations andlevels of support. Unfortunately, a reality with ESL students today is that they have a higher dropout rate and do not always reach their academic potential. With that said, the following are some solutions that you can incorporate into your classroom to help include your ESL students and enhance their learning experience:



Establish effective classroom structure: This will help students to adjust, because they will know what to expect on a day to day basis.



Use clear directions: It is important to be clear and direct with ESL students, less is sometimes more.



Communicate with students on an individual basis:Individual communication is usually less intimating for ESLstudents. Additionally, you are able to evaluate their languageabilities and get better idea of what kind of assistance they require.



Provide modified expectations and assessments: If possible provide ESL students modified expectations and assessments based on their individual abilities.



Use visual aids whenever possible: Some visual aids can helpto enhance verbal communication.



Communicate with parents: It is important to try to maintain clear and open communication with parents and try to work together as a team.




BE PATIENT AND KEEP AN OPEN MIND!!