Teachers w/ESL knowledge- I need some help

I have a student who is from a French=speaking country in Africa. He knows very little English and he is in a regular mononlingual class. For some reason, he's not getting ESL services (which is no big deal because the ESL teacher knows less than I do).

He knows the alphabet, but his vocab is very limited and he can't write sentences. He did not attend school in his native country, so I assume he can't read well (or at all) in his native language.

I don't know where to begin with him- I have some word lists of the most basic words but I don't know how to approach this. Luckily, he is in a class of 20 so I can really sit with him and give him time (and there are also some strong readers who can peer tutor) but I don't know where to start. Any suggestions or web sites would be much appreciated.

Re: Teachers w/ESL knowledge- I need some help

how old is he? if he is young he will pick up the language early. how big is your class? how much time can you spend individually with him? what i would do is have the school order an english book just for him. cutting edge is a great esl book (make sure you get a beginner or the elementary book), but it is based on british english. make sure there are lots of pictures for him. a book for vocab is the oxford picture dictionary (they have this in other languages as well).

i think the best place to start is with my name is and the verb 'to be'. any type of pictures with words would be great as well. maybe a vocab thing on the classroom?

if he cant read or write in his own language, it shouldnt be that tough, b/c he will learn to do this in english. if he is the right age, he will learn quickly. children can pick up language very quickly.

is there any type of service the school can give you? b/c he will need at least 3 hours a day of just english and then he can do the rest of the day in your classroom. i dont know how much time you can devote to him in your classroom, and i know that will distract the class. you will need to be VERY animated with him. for example, when you explain I, pat your chest as you say "I". when you do "you" point to him. almost every word is going to need some sort of animation. talk slowly and dont use words he wont understand. can you speak any french? sometimes just having the basic I am, you are, he/she/it is, etc. chart is very helpful. dont speak too much, as he needs to learn. i have a swiss german student and he knows i can speak german, but i only use german if he really needs a word or concept explained to him. also any type of speaking activity which will involve the whole class would be great for him.

i teach esl in australia, so feel free to FM me if you need any help. i teach elementary (like a step after beginners) to college age students. i've not taught children, but i've read they need lots of pictures and fun stuff.

Message edited 9/30/2006 3:51:02 AM.

Re: Teachers w/ESL knowledge- I need some help

some websites:

http://www.eslcafe.com/

http://esl.about.com/

http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-learn-english.htm

http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-elt-resources.htm

hope those help. esl cafe has a message board.

Re: Teachers w/ESL knowledge- I need some help

My friend teaches ESL in HS and she teaches students who speak all different languages at once. I know what she does is point to an object (like the window or door) and then says that word. I'm sure she does much more, but I don't know what. Maybe that can be a start?

Re: Teachers w/ESL knowledge- I need some help

Thank you ladies for the help! I found a great book for beginning ELLs in middle school, so it's not too babyish, but I also want to incorporate other activities.