How can I help my L2 students? Simple Strategies for Content Area Teachers

Beginning to Mid-Intermediate Proficiency Level

* Provide a warm environment where help is readily available
* Record lectures, talks, discussions on tape
* Ask some of the L1 students to rewrite portions of the text at a more simplified level
* Choose L1 or advanced students to take effective, understandable notes and copy them for L2 students
* If possible, use alternative grading procedures until the L2 students are able to compete successfully with their L1 peers

Intermediate Proficiency Level in Mainstream or Sheltered Classrooms

* Collaborate with colleagues to plan the most effective instruction for L2 students possible
* Communicate individually with L2 students as much as possible
* When lecturing or giving instruction, use a slower speech rate, enunciate clearly, and emphasize key words through intonation, body language, etc.
* Use a variety of visuals (both authentic and produced) to clarify key concepts
* Demonstrate or act out concepts when possible. For example, science labs to illustrate concepts or role-plays in history, health, or literature
* Use simplification, expansion of ideas, direct definitions, and comparisons to reinforce and revisit concepts
* Avoid forcing students to speak: wait for them to be ready
* Reinforce key concepts repeatedly through a variety of activities
* Establish consistent patterns and routines in the classroom
* Prepare students for your lessons and assignments through activation of background knowledge, questioning, and prediction
* Allow students enough wait time to volunteer answers or comments
* Make error-correction indirect by modeling the correct form
* Try to answer all questions the students ask, but avoid extensive, complicated responses
* Summarize and review frequently
* Check comprehension often to see if what you have said is clear
* Reassure students that their own languages are acceptable and important
* Become informed as much as possible about your students' cultures and lives
* Acknowledge and incorporate students' cultures and experiences whenever possible
* Request that appropriate content-area books be ordered for the library in the students' native languages, providing them with numerous resources
* Use tutors who speak the native languages of students whenever possible
* Increase possibilities for success by alternating difficult and easy activities

High-Intermediate to Advanced Proficiency Level

* Prioritize instructional objectives to focus on what is most important (sacrifice breadth in favor of depth)
* Add as much contextual support as possible to lectures, presentations, and reading assignments
* Provide L2 students opportunities to practice critical thinking and problem-solving skills
* Identify the key terms essential to understanding the topic, and provide opportunities to practice those terms in a variety of ways
* Be aware of the linguistic demands of the content. i.e. the language structures, connectors, means of categorizaiton, verb tenses, non-verbal data, etc. of the different content areas
* Design schema-building activities to facilitate connections between previous knowledge and new learning
* Provide models that students can emulate. Study guides, notes, examples of good writing, correctly-solved problems, etc. can be very helpful to L2 students
* Give students opportunities to write in all content areas. Use the steps fo the writing process (prewriting, drafting, peer editing, proofreading publishing) for all areas
* Use cooperative learning whenever possible: it provides opportunities for negotiation of meaning, problem solving, and conent-language integration
* Teach students academic information processing skills which allow them to manipulate a variety of sources and synthesize the information
* Coach students in appropriate learning strategis that can transfer to all content areas. e.g. time-management, note-taking, organization, test-taking skills, reading strategies, memory skills, cognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies, etc. The possibilities are endless, so choose those transferable skills that are appropriate for the content area
* Plan assignments carefully, being aware of issues such as students' prior knowledge, language abilities, time allocation, possible problems, evaluation criteria, etc.
* Look for persistent language problems that could interfere with a student's work. If necessary, specific individualized attention and/or help from the English teacher may be necessary