Get to know your students

You don't have to be fluent in Spanish to connect with your students. It is important over the course of the year to build relationships, discover strengths and weaknesses, create positive and welcoming learning environments for your students. Some pieces of information about your students' you should know include:

• name (correct pronunciation)

• home language

• family background

• educational experiences

• students' interests

Be mindful of your communication

It is important to come across to your students as caring, competent, and understanding. Be sure to do the following:

• Speak clearly and naturally (not too fast or too slow)

• Avoid slang and metaphors

• Be patient

• Explain the language in a simple way, but don't dumb it down

• Be aware of your body language

Create a language-rich environment

Students learn through exposure, such as using word walls. When decorating the classroom, ESL/General Education teachers should include:

• new vocabulary words

• examples of sentence starters

• grammar rules

• alphabet sounds

Try only one new thing at a time.

Teaching more than one new concept at a time may make it very difficult for the student to comprehend all the new information and skills. As a result, the ESL teacher should do the following:

• Teach new content, but use already learned language.

• Teach new language, use already learned content.