How do you teach a student who does speak any English at all or a little? How do you accommodate the child?

Question

How do you teach a student who does speak any English at all or a little? How do you accommodate the child?

Answer 1

What about having signs around the room where the textbooks are in both english and what the child's native language are? That way they can understand and it also enhances literacy by them seeing the signs in english and what their language is.

Answer 2

Look for materials in his/her native language if you're teaching in a content area.  If you're teaching English, you may just want to give the student materials to help him/her learn English.  See what your school or the public library has for English Language Learners.  I teach English and in the past when I've had students who knew no English at all, I had them sit with a bi-lingual student, translated their assignments using an online translator (like freetranslation.com) and gave them English vocabulary lists and stuff to study.  You almost have to treat it like a foreign language class.  With a student at this level, it's almost impossible to give them a real quality education at the same level as the other students.  It may be best to just focus completely on improving the student's English language skills until he/she is able to keep up somewhat, then ease them into the course materials.  Another thing that may help if you're teaching in a content area is children's books on the topic you're studying.  They probably won't contain all the information you'd ideally like the student to have, but the vocabulary will be more simple and at least they'll be studying the same topic with the rest of the class.

Answer 3

I am a bilingual teacher in TX.  So, I definitely know about this.  Do you have any ESL (English as a Second Language) training?  If not, you can Google it and get some quick tips.  Generally, you can use a lot of movement with your instructions.  Also, buddy the child with someone who speaks his native language.  If that's not a possibility, partner the child with someone who would be a good helper and can connect with the child.  Definitely try to include the child as much as possible.  Play games as a whole group such as Simon Says.  This can help the non- English speaker learn common vocabulary in a fun and non-threatening environment.

I hope that helps!