Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Lessons for ESL Teachers

According to the Injury Prevention Center of Greater Dallas:

English as a Second Language teachers have the contact with English language learners that most Americans do not, and they have that contact on a regular basis. This contact provides the foundation for a trusting relationship between teachers and students that can serve as the beginning of a conversation about traffic and pedestrian safety for ESL students. Teachers can teach an entire unit or a lesson on traffic and pedestrian safety, and it is likely that students won't receive such formal instruction in this vital area of safety in the U.S. from another source.

Some websites with valuable, free information about traffic and pedestrian safety are below. Most are geared towards ESL students. Some have information about the topic for children, which could be adapted for adult learners.minorities and new immigrants are more likely to be injured or killed in a car wreck than any other demographic group in the United States." Refugees and immigrants are not as familiar with U.S. road rules as Americans take for granted they are.

This document offers some general activities covering a variety of pedestrian safety topics, including driving while intoxicated. There is a short reading activity as well as an interviewing activity where students ask their classmates how they travel to different places. A few traffic signs are covered in this document, too. Teachers' notes are provided at the end.

The Injury Prevention Center of Greater Dallas has developed a Traffic Safety Curriculum for ESL programs. The site provides contact information to receive more information about the program.

This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a link on this site to the free AAA ESL car safety curriculum. The curriculum spells out lesson plan activities for a variety of ESL student levels. It is designed to make teacher preparation time as minimal as possible.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has several resources on its site to help the public learn about pedestrian safety. There are activities for both adults and children. Lower level ESL students would likely benefit from the children's lessons if they are adapted to the needs of adults.

This site offers some easy-to-understand pedestrian safety information, complete with pictures to illustrate and help explain the text. This page provides information and resources ESL teachers can use to explain pedestrian safety to their students on a level that even beginning ESL learners can feel confident that they can understand themselves. Vocabulary words are in bold font, and when you click on them a definition appears. There is also a test at the end of the page to help check for understanding.

ESL students have a lot of information to sift through when they enter their new lives in the U.S., and traffic and pedestrian safety is another of the many topics that will help them navigate their way safely and intelligently through daily life. Teachers have a responsibility to cover safety topics such as this to help ensure that lives are saved. When safety topics like this are covered, the information could very well be passed along to friends and family by students that were actively engaged in their ESL class where they were taught about traffic and pedestrian safety.