ESOL

One reason for creating this site was that I struggled to find exemplar texts with concepts and language that was appropriate for my learners needs, particularly for those who speak English as a second or third language.

Some texts that are commonly analysed can pose extra challenge to ESOL students, who must first interpret the academic language before they can consider other writing techniques. To mitigate this, I created some texts that used less complex vocabulary to support my learners when the focus was on a different writing technique. However, I also provided them with many exemplars that did feature academic language, but highlighted this and discussed some of the more complex vocabulary with them.

I also found that the exemplars gave me the opportunity to explicitly discuss the use of grammar, vocabulary or academic english with my ESOL learners. They needed to be able to discuss the texts with their peers and/or myself to be able to evaluate them as both a reader and writer. Having this scaffolding and more opportunities for discussion greatly supported these learners.

There are many other strategies that teachers can use to support ESOL learners outside the use of exemplars. These include shared writing, clines, dictation and vanishing cloze. To learn more check out this site and my exemplars below.