Modification

Ways To Help ESL Students

• Assign a peer guide. Let American students help you.
• Speak with clear pronunciation. Speak slowly. Don’t raise your voice.
• Ask students to repeat directions back to you or show you what you want them to do. Don’t ask, “Do you understand?” (They will almost always say they do because to say they don’t would be insulting you.) Write directions on the board. Use block letters.
• Avoid over-correction. If you are communicating at any level, be thankful.
• Be prepared for a long “wait time” between question and answer. It takes a long time to translate the question, formulate an answer, and translate it back into English. Also, in some cultures, it is considered better to wait even if you know the answer to show that you have given the question the consideration it deserves.
• Provide one-on-one or small group instruction as often as possible.
• Use audio-visuals and computers to supplement written texts but be careful that you don’t use them too often. You don’t want to isolate the student. Audio visuals and computers are a poor substitute for a caring teacher.
• Require appropriate behavior.
• Affirm contributions at all levels.
• Speak in short sentences with simple syntax, and stress participatory learning. Even during the “silent period” students can demonstrate comprehension.
• Use high frequency vocabulary and avoid idioms/slang. (For example, use the same language for common commands.)

Modification Strategies

• Focus on having the student do a few things well. Accept a lesser amount of work but not a lower quality.
• Shorten assignments - the length of reports, the length of reading assignments, the number of questions, the number of vocabulary words.
• Substitute similar content at a more appropriate level. (Be sensitive to the student’s feelings. Some students are embarrassed to use a second grade book when other students are using a sixth grade text.)
• Offer options on how understanding is demonstrated: oral reports instead of written ones; written responses instead of oral ones; art work instead of a report; a biography or character study instead of a complicated report; use books on tape for book reports. Focus on student strengths!
• Focus on what the student already knows. Research is very difficult for most students. Allow creative assignments: compare Abe Lincoln to someone from their country; Maryville to their hometown.
• Give the student many small successes. Break assignments down into smaller “bites.” Allow students to have a buddy to help with homework.
• Be prepared to accept a high level of plagiarism. It’s a cultural as well as a functional problem.
• Validate their culture. If you are doing money, let them bring money from their country (small denominations ONLY). If you are reading about a monkey, ask them how to say monkey in Spanish, or Albanian, or Chinese.
• Write assignments on the board in block letters. After explaining an assignment to everyone, go to the ESL student individually and write down simple instructions 1, 2, 3.
• If possible, allow the ESL student to have an extra set of books at home for review, etc.
• Use pre-reading strategies (scaffolding) and introduce vocabulary. Use word walls, vocabulary notebooks, etc. DO NOT required students to copy definitions from the dictionary. Use graphic organizers.

Test Modification

• Provide the student with extra time to take a test.
• Make sure your tests are legible. ESL students must be able to see each letter clearly. They are not able to guess a word if the copy is smudged or runs off the page. Cursive script will cause problems.
• Keep instructions clear. Be prepared to explain instructions one-on-one. For very low level students you may have to model what you want on each question.
• Use simple vocabulary throughout the test. Remember what you are trying to test (knowledge of a subject.) Be sure you are not testing language proficiency instead.
• Allow ESL students to use bi-lingual dictionaries if feasible.
• Don’t ask too many things at the same time. On fill-in tests, put a word bank at the top and don’t put in extra words. In matching, don’t have extra words. On multiple choice don’t use choices such as: a, b, and c; or, none of the above. No tricks.
• Use alternative evaluations when possible. Examples: portfolios, examples of work over time, projects, posters, graphs, and charts. Allow the student to take the test orally and explain the answers to you verbally.
• Allow a student to retake a test if the results are way out of line with general performance. The student probably misunderstood.
• Grades should not be heavily weighted by tests. Daily work, take home assignments, class participation, and other factors demonstrate knowledge better than tests for ESL students.