Student Challenges:
ESL students who have been placed in a mainstream learning environment typically face a threefold challenge. They are simultaneously working to develop:
- a grasp of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes specific to various subjects
- a better command of the English language
- an ability to interact with others and function within the social environment of the school
To address ESL challenges, it is recommended to:
1. scaffolding: reducing language demands whenever possible by giving contextual cues for meaning (see the following tables for illustrations of scaffolding and how it might work in assessing understanding in science)
2. differentiated scoring: providing separate scores on written passages for language conventions and for content knowledge
3. using visible criteria: providing students with information on how their work will be scored before the assessment is carried out
1. scaffolding: reducing language demands whenever possible by giving contextual cues for meaning (see the following tables for illustrations of scaffolding and how it might work in assessing understanding in science)
2. differentiated scoring: providing separate scores on written passages for language conventions and for content knowledge
3. using visible criteria: providing students with information on how their work will be scored before the assessment is carried out
Culture Shock
Culture Shock is a serious issue that a lot of students in BC schools face. Culture shock “refers to the feels of confusion and uncertainly” (BC For High School) that are experienced when people come into contact with a new culture; it is seen as a relationship between ‘migration’ and metal health. The BC For High School site outlines that there are four stages of culture shock: arrival and first impressions, culture shock, recovery and optimism, and acculturation (adjustment). Culture shock can affect students who enter a new culture without a choice or who choose to study abroad. However, what makes adjustment to a new culture even more difficult is when students do not know the cultural differences before-hand, compared to when they do (Zhou, Pg. 63).
In the classroom, students with culture shock will face stress, as well as a lack of cultural knowledge and sense of personal identification. To help students face these difficulties teachers can provide stress-management skills. To help students learn about the cultural expectations, teachers can help with preparation, orientation, and culture learning, specifically focusing on behavioural-based social skills learning. When addressing the lack of personal identification, teachers need to focus on enhancing self-esteem, overcoming barriers to inter-group harmony and group similarities (Zhou, Pg. 66). In the past, when some teachers have thought about the ELL students of their classroom they have only considered the lack of cultural and historical knowledge they may have for these students. However, it can now be understood that there are some more personal aspects that need to be recognized: the sense of identify that may be lost in the ‘migration’ of cultures, and the stress that the migration may cause.
In the classroom, students with culture shock will face stress, as well as a lack of cultural knowledge and sense of personal identification. To help students face these difficulties teachers can provide stress-management skills. To help students learn about the cultural expectations, teachers can help with preparation, orientation, and culture learning, specifically focusing on behavioural-based social skills learning. When addressing the lack of personal identification, teachers need to focus on enhancing self-esteem, overcoming barriers to inter-group harmony and group similarities (Zhou, Pg. 66). In the past, when some teachers have thought about the ELL students of their classroom they have only considered the lack of cultural and historical knowledge they may have for these students. However, it can now be understood that there are some more personal aspects that need to be recognized: the sense of identify that may be lost in the ‘migration’ of cultures, and the stress that the migration may cause.
How to speak:
- provide additional “wait time” for student responses to questions
- be conscious of the vocabulary you use
- teach the language of the subject (specialized vocabulary)
- simplify sentence structures
- rephrase idioms or teach their meaning
- clearly mark transitions during classroom activities
- periodically check to ensure ESL students are understanding
Further tips are available on page 38 of English as a Second Language Learners: A Guide for ESL Specialists
General Strategies Important to a Lesson:
1. Use simple, concrete language, and avoid idioms
2. Use visuals, model and/or present examples of what it is you want the students to do
3. Plan many hands-on activities and plan flexible group-work experiences
4. Keep lessons short and check for understanding frequently
5. Give students sufficient wait time before expecting them to volunteer information or answer questions
6. Allow and even encourage code switching and dictionaries
7. Find out what students already know about a subject or topic to be studied and provide relevant background information as needed 8. Provide students with tools and adapted materials for learning
9. Frequently ask students to summarize what they have learned from a given lesson or reading
2. Use visuals, model and/or present examples of what it is you want the students to do
3. Plan many hands-on activities and plan flexible group-work experiences
4. Keep lessons short and check for understanding frequently
5. Give students sufficient wait time before expecting them to volunteer information or answer questions
6. Allow and even encourage code switching and dictionaries
7. Find out what students already know about a subject or topic to be studied and provide relevant background information as needed 8. Provide students with tools and adapted materials for learning
9. Frequently ask students to summarize what they have learned from a given lesson or reading
Sources::
BC For High School. Connecting International Students with the Information They Need: Culture Shock and Homesickness.
Zhou, Y., Jindal-Snape, D., etc. al. Theoretical models of culture shock and adaptation in international students in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 33, No. 1, February 2008. 62-75.
BC For High School. Connecting International Students with the Information They Need: Culture Shock and Homesickness.
Zhou, Y., Jindal-Snape, D., etc. al. Theoretical models of culture shock and adaptation in international students in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 33, No. 1, February 2008. 62-75.