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Learn More About Anthony's Experience:

elementary (k-6th) ESL involved general elementary work. I sat in on all classes, sometimes assisting or giving the lesson. When I tutored ESL students, I often found others who needed help and wanted to sit in. So, I found time to tutor regular students as well. When possible, I worked it out so that these regular students would join my more advanced ESL students in group tutoring. All were helped by this. Previous to ESL I tutored English-speaking students in Spanish as well as regular classwork. I also trained adults that spoke Spanish and English-speaking staff at offices where I set up pc's and software. ESL/ESOL I was an ESL teacher/tutor for my county schools for 3-4 years. I taught summer school to difficult students. They scored among lowest in the entry exams but averaged 12-15 points higher in the exit exams. The average was 3-5 points higher on exit. They hated reading and it showed, yet they won the contest for most books read and reports done. They entered wild and left happy and enlightened. I was assigned to two, then three, then back to two schools for ESL. The only schools in my county to receive the achievement award for nonregular students (ESL) and pass all ESL and No Child Left Behind requirements were my two schools and the one I where taught summer school. What did I do different? The material we had to use was good but very repetitive and soon boring to most students. ESL really must be customized to the individual since all are at different English levels with different cultural and home experience. I translate their regular class material and enlighten them with it. I also make fun, lightening quizzes. I have an open plan with topics and goals but just reminders & suggestions. This allows flexibilty and room to include unexpected questions relevant to a student in order to complete something or pass a test. Regular teaching is like a lecturer that can follow a written plan and maybe add an extra example here and there. ESL is best done with an open plan that needs to cover certain things well and the rest of the time cover student questions. The students interact to complete the lesson and make it personal and useful to them. I involved and educated teachers on ESL, they often did not take into account how a different cultural upbringing affects how a student processes the lesson. I also got parents into adult English classes and got them all library cards and got school librarians involved. Aside from classwork, simple conversation is significant since it fosters the confidence to speak to English-only, regular students and people thereby becoming more a citizen and less an ESL, nonregular student. That is the goal of ESL, to loose your students, like a parent bird, you help them to the point where they can fly on their own.