Guidelines for Teaching in an ESL Classroom

Imagine that you are the only ESL teacher in an elementary school in a rural area of Iowa that has recently gotten an influx of immigrant children from Mexico. You have been asked by the principal to prepare some guidelines for the teachers and other staff on the use of Spanish in the school in general and in the classroom.

In this type of a situation, I would explain that the use of the students' native language in the school and in the classroom has wonderful benefits and is extremely necessary. I would also demonstrate and elaborate on several benefits through the use of three main guidelines. The guidelines I would present are as follows: Use the L1 to foster academic development, use the L1 to demonstrate support of the individual's culture and heritage, and use the L1 as a valuable asset and resource in a classroom as a means of providing multicultural education and tolerance.

From these guidelines, I would pull out and elaborate on three main points. Namely, the use of L1 fosters academic development, the use of L1 allows the students to feel accepted and supported, and finally that the use of L1 is a valuable resource to any classroom. Naturally, in this type of setting, use of the L1 may be restricted due to teacher shortage and the simple fact that not everyone in the school will be able to communicate in minority students' native language. However, I would emphasize that permitting students to use their native language should not be looked down upon. Instead, school personnel should make every effort to support the students and encourage them in the use of both the native and target language. Also, it is natural to point out that as students are learning to use the target language, they should be encouraged to make every effort to communicate with those around them who do not speak their native language.

The first main point is that the use of L1 fosters academic development in the L2. Many teachers may feel that using the students' target language will hold them back and prevent proficiency in the target language. However, this is simply not true. I have learned in several of my TESOL classes that the development of L1 aids in the development and mastery of the L2. Also, this is supported by research. According to, Bilingual & ESL Classrooms, (p129) "Many studies have shown that cognitive and academic development in L1has a strong, positive effect on L2 development for academic purposes." The text also noted, "Academic knowledge and conceptual development transfer from first language to second language. Thus it is most efficient to develop academic work through students' first language, while teaching second language during other periods of the school day through meaningful academic content." (p124)

The next main point I would explain is that using a student's native language allows them to feel supported and accepted by the learning community. Minority students will naturally feel alienated and set apart from their peers. Teachers and school personnel have a responsibility to make each student feel accepted and supported in their education. Therefore, it is necessary for teachers to allow minority students to use their native language, as well as promote acceptance of the students' native language. The text also supports this viewpoint on page 21, "Although school, unfortunately, is certainly one of the places where language minority students may experience prejudice, school is also an important place where they can learn to confront it. Bilingual and ESL teachers, therefore, have an important role in encouraging their language minority students to believe in themselves and to affirm their ethno-linguistic heritage." By allowing students to use their native language, teachers have the opportunity to affirm and support each student's heritage. I would also encourage teachers to learn some basic phrases of their students' native language. It may not be necessary to learn to speak that particular language, however, learning a little bit shows support and acceptance of the students background and heritage.

Finally, I would highlight the rich resource a second language can provide to any learning community. Many schools in Iowa lack applicable multi-cultural education. In this situation, teachers have the opportunity to use the existence of other cultures in their classroom to teach culture. I would point out that allowing students to learn from each other provides an easy way to teach children the importance and reality of culture. The text also supports this viewpoint on page 26, "A two-way bilingual classroom, one that provides second-language learning for all children, enriches the academic and the sociocultural experience of both language minority and language majority students." Basically, the use of both languages in the classroom will enhance the overall learning experience for each individual student.

Source:
Ovando, J., Collier, V. & Combs, M. (2003.) Bilingual and ESL Classrooms: Teaching in
Multicultural Contexts. NY: McGraw-Hill.