Instructional Strategies for ESL Students Checklist

Checking students’ comprehension of the content:

• Use sentence strips
• Set up dialogue journals between teacher and student
• Plan activities using role play and drama
• Use student reading logs
• Use Cloze exercises
• Write summaries
• Encourage students to write headlines
• Write character diaries
• Have students present information with illustrations, comic strips, or other visual representations
• Allow students to provide answers and explain processes instead of you telling them

Helping ESL students adjust to the classroom:

• State / display language, content and metacognitive objectives
• List instructions / process steps and review orally
• Present information in varied ways (oral, written, demonstrations, with tangible objects)
• Frequently summarize key points
• Repeat and paraphrase important terms
• Provide Word Wall with vocabulary for unit / chapter
• Have students maintain notebook
•  Have student maintain learning log for metacognitive strategies
• Allow sufficient response time

Adjusting teaching style:

• Develop a student centered approach
• Speak a little more slowly (not louder ), use shorter sentences, and avoid idioms
• Increase the percentage of inferential and higher order thinking questions
• Provide correction for language errors by modeling, not overt correction

Teaching a multi level class:

• Use cooperative learning
• Incorporate peer tutoring
• Use the Writing Process
• Explicitly connect learning to students’ knowledge and experience
• Take time to preview and explain new concepts and vocabulary before starting instruction
• Use questionnaires / interviews

Motivating students and providing background knowledge:

• Use Semantic Webbing and graphic organizers
• Use Anticipation Reaction Guides
•  Have students brainstorm, then record responses on overhead before starting lessons
• Use KWL charts
• Use realia, maps, photos, and manipulatives
• Do activities where students can interact and move around

Adapting ESL techniques to the content classroom:

• Have students do hands-on activities
• Do demonstrations
• Use CDs, cassettes and videotapes with books
• Use a variety of groupings so that ESL students can interact with different classmates
• Provide students with outline of lesson and questions that will be asked beforehand so they have an opportunity to process information and participate more readily
• The overhead projector is your best friend , - use it every day to model highlighting text, identifying main ideas or new vocabulary or to show pictures.

@ B. Lewis-Moreno, 2002