Don’t stare at it too long.
This week, my class doubled in size (from one student to two). My new student is a boy from China. His English level isn’t as good as his classmate’s but it’s something I can definitely work with. The real challenge is finding out what he has already learned.
I’m also a little worried about his ability to keep up with the curriculum. He enrolled a few weeks before midterms and it would be unfair to test him over what he hasn’t learned in my class. Even though I’ve taught for a while, I’m always thrown for a loop now and then.
Any ideas on how to handle this?
So, You Think You Can Teach ESL? 
Listen to him speak in English. Of course, you already know that! His reading skills may be higher than his speaking skills because his emotions of insecurity get in the way. Encouragement, encouragement, encouragement! Do you have lower level English language story books? And, most importantly of all, get your one student to help your newer student. He/she probably can explain something that you just can’t! My last ESL class included students from China who barely knew basic words of English and others who could write long essays with many, many adjectives and higher level language. Just take your time!
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He’s only been enrolled for a few days now and has opened up a bit more. I can tell he understands most things but has some trouble reading english and speaking coherently. I’ve had students like this in the past, so I have some ideas of how to help him.
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There you go… :0)
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Time is the key factor, but I’m just worried about him when we have midterm exams coming up in just a few weeks.
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Now I understand even more. That midterm sounds so unfair for him – maybe it can be presented as a “show me what you’ve learned” exam?
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Yeah I’m looking at different types of alternative assessments for social studies and science. I’ll stick with more traditional assessments for math, English grammar and reading. Though my reading will probably be open-book; I care more about whether they can find the information with the tools they’re given than what they put down on paper.
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Very nice and enjoy your treasures in these children.
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Give him an assessment, without him knowing. Get him to complete several activities and questions, and judge his English on the results.
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He has opened up a bit since he came. I’ve been able to guess his level fairly well and he’s the low-intermediate area. I can work with it.
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