Ideas for Teaching Beginning English Language Learners

As a teacher, sometimes lesson ideas are hard to come by, particularly in ESL. Got a class with beginning English as a Second Language students in it? Here are some ideas for ESL lessons and activities that you can adapt to any grade or ability level. Each idea comes complete with objectives and materials needed.

1. Vocabulary Activity:

-Objective: Reinforce vocabulary
-Materials: flashcards, crayons, pencil

-Activity: In groups of two the students will make vocabulary flash cards with the vocabulary on one card and a picture representing it on another flash card. When they are done they will be able to play memory which will help them associate the picture with the word and practice their vocabulary words.

2. Shared Reading:

-Objective: Reinforce reading skills and give students access to understanding and information in print.

-Materials: picture book

-Read the story aloud to the students and allow them to join in the reading or reread when they feel comfortable. During the repeated readings attract the students' attention to different vocabulary and punctuation

3. In class reading:

-Objective: To model reading, allowing students to see its importance

-Materials: a grade appropriate book about subject you choose

-Read a book aloud to the class every day to show students the value of reading and then ask questions to make ensure comprehension

4. Self Selected Reading Logs:

-Objective: To allow the child to choose their own reading and to instill a joy of reading and to keep record and understand where the child's interests lie and where they may need guidance in their reading.

-Materials: book of student's choice, notebook

-Allow time for sustained reading in class and have students keep track of titles and authors read. Time can be used for having the students share their preferred reading and recommend them to other students.

5. Writing a Letter Home:

-Objective: Give students a context based writing situation to practice their writing and vocabulary

-Materials: Paper and pencil

-After reading a letter that the teacher has written to a family member in a different country (whether imagined or real), have the students write, in English, a letter explaining their favorite activity, hobby, or, simply, what they had done that day to a relative in their home country.

6. Vocabulary and Feelings:

-Objective: To allow the students to practice vocabulary about feelings and thoughts

-Materials: Magazine pictures of people, construction paper, markers

-Give the students a magazine picture of a person and have them post it to a construction paper background and on the bottom of the page have the student write what the person may be thinking, then post the picture on the wall and allow the other students to view each other's work. Before and after you can discuss vocabulary for feelings and what other options students can come up with for different pictures.

7. Context Based Conclusions:

-Objective: To allow the students to make conclusions based on only small clues about a conversation reinforcing contextual clues.

-Materials: cell phone

-The teacher walks around the classroom pretending to get calls. The students can only hear part of the conversation and, using the contextual clues, they must guess who the teacher is talking to and about what.

8. Vocabulary and Writing Activity:

-Objective: To practice useful English language phrases

-Materials: Piece of paper.

-Have students write a list of 5 useful phrases that a tourist coming to the U.S. would need to know, then compile them and discuss why they are useful in class.

9. Alphabet on the Board Activity :

-Objective: To help students use letters to create sentences, also to help students work together to create language.

-Materials: Paper bags, cardboard letters, tape, black/white board

-Prepare colored letters of the alphabet on cardboard squares and put them in a bag. Students must draw a letter from the bag, and work together to create a sentence on the board. Each student must raise his or her hand to make a contribution, but the word the student calls out must begin with the letter he or she chose. Put the expanding sentence on the board, adding words only when they the grammar is correct.

10. Scrabble :

-Objective: To help the students form words from individual letters, reinforcing language skills and vocabulary understanding.

-Materials: Giant Scrabble board made by teacher, individual letters on blocks, put in a, to be drawn randomly by students

-Put students in groups and play a giant game of Scrabble with the teacher helping where needed and mediating the game. The winners get a grand prize, but each group will get at least some prize for participation.

11. Family Tree:

-Objective: To teach family vocabulary and examine family relationships

-Materials: Family Tree, paper, pencil

-Discuss family relationships and names for family. Show example of family tree. Have children make their own and then have them take their trees home and ask their parents to help them fill them out. The students can then share their findings with their class.

The best part about teaching English as a Second Language is the enthusiasm of the students and the amount of fun you can have. I hope you can take some of these ideas and make your classroom a great place for beginning English Language Learners.