NYS TESOL Publication: Idiom

Keys to Good Communication
by Judie Haynes

No Child Left Behind legislation gives mainstream teachers an even greater responsibility and accountability for the academic progress of English language learners (ELLs). School administrators now realize that classroom teachers need to gain a better understanding of successful strategies for instructing new learners of English. It is the ESL teacher’s role to help them with this task. We can begin this effort by providing professional development on communication strategies. This can be done at staff meetings, inservice days or by simply putting this article in teachers’ mailboxes.
The following tips are keys to good communication that all teachers need to keep in mind when teaching new learners of English:

• Newcomers need visual and kinesthetic support to understand academic content material. Use drawings, chalkboard sketches, photographs and visual materials to provide clues to meaning. Try mime, gestures or acting out the meaning of your message. Exaggerate emotions and vary your voice. If necessary, repeat your actions and rephrase the information. Teach your mainstream students to do the same.
• Speak in a clear, concise manner at a slightly slower pace, using short, simple sentences (subject-verb-object) and high-frequency words. Your students will not understand you if you speak too fast or run your words together. Use the names of people rather than pronouns. Pause after phrases or short sentences, not after each word, because you do not want to distort the rhythm of the language. Avoid the passive voice, complex sentences, idiomatic speech and slang.
• Smile and speak in a calm, reassuring manner. Raising your voice does not facilitate comprehension. Show your patience through your facial expressions and body language. Give full attention to your ELLs and make every effort to understand their attempts to communicate.
• Allow your new learners of English extra time when listening and speaking. Many of your ELLs are translating the language they hear to their native language, formulating a response, and then translating that response into English.
• It is important for you to check comprehension frequently. Don’t however, ask “Do you understand?” This is not a reliable check, as many students will answer “yes” when they don’t really understand. Teach the phrases “I don’t understand,” “Slowly, please,” and “Please repeat.” Write down information so students have visual as well as auditory input. Print clearly and legibly on the chalkboard. Remember that many of your ELLs and their parents will not understand cursive writing.
• Accept one-word answers, drawings and gestures. Do not jump in immediately to supply the words for students or insist that they speak in full sentences. Resist the urge to overcorrect, which will inhibit newcomers so that they will be less willing to speak. If students respond in heavily accented or grammatically incorrect English, repeat their answer correctly. Do not ask the student to repeat your corrected response, as this can be very embarrassing. Allow new learners of English to use a bilingual dictionary or ask for help from a same-language buddy.
• If you have important information to convey, speak to the newcomer individually rather than in front of the class. The anxiety of being in the spotlight interferes with comprehension. Don’t insist that students make eye contact with you when you are speaking to them. This is considered rude in many cultures.
  Help students to participate in your class by letting them know which question you are going to ask in advance. This will give your students the time to prepare a response.
• Knowledge of questioning strategies is essential in differentiating instruction for ELLs. Ask newcomers to point to a picture or word to demonstrate basic knowledge. As ELLs become more proficient in English, use visual cues and ask simple yes/no questions. Graduate to either/or questions in which the answer is embedded. Always break complex questions into manageable pieces. Do not expect new learners of English to answer broad, open-ended questions.

Remember that there will be times when you will not be able to get an idea across to newcomers. Ask the ESL teacher in your school for a list of students who speak the newcomer’s language. You will be able to call on these students to act as translators if necessary. Keep in mind that K-2 students do not make good translators.


Judie Haynes is an elementary ESL teacher, an author and lecturer. She is content editor of the Web site everythingESL.net and a columnist for the TESOL publication, Essential Teacher. <judieh@optonline.net>