ESL teaching tips

This is a Guest Post by Susan Good, a 38-year veteran of the classroom! Be sure to check out her website at retiredteacher.org for inciteful blog posts about teaching and writing!

Image: Pexels

Teaching is an intricate blend of art and science, requiring a well-organized approach to truly flourish. Whether you’re embarking on your teaching journey or seeking to refine your organizational skills, this comprehensive guide from Kinney Brother’s Publishing is designed to support educators in creating a structured, supportive, and stimulating learning environment. Dive into these strategies to transform your classroom into a well-oiled educational machine, where each element is purposefully aligned for maximum teaching effectiveness and student engagement.

Personalize Your Approach to Individual Needs

Understanding and catering to individual student needs is the cornerstone of effective teaching. Maintain detailed records of each student’s progress, preferences, and challenges. In ESL (English as a Second Language) classrooms, for instance, this individualized attention is particularly crucial, as students might require tailored support to bridge language barriers and embrace new communication skills. Personalized tracking fosters a nurturing academic environment, encouraging each student to reach their full potential.

Monitor and Adapt Your Lesson Plans

Teaching is a dynamic process, demanding continuous adaptation and improvement. Regularly assess the effectiveness of your lesson plans, gathering feedback and monitoring student engagement and comprehension. This reflective practice ensures that your teaching methods evolve in tandem with your students’ needs, keeping your classroom vibrant and your teaching strategies impactful.

Cultivate an Inspiring Learning Environment

Your classroom’s physical environment plays a pivotal role in student learning. Design a space that’s not just organized but also inviting and stimulating. Incorporate elements that spark creativity, foster comfort, and reflect the diverse needs of your students, including those in ESL classrooms. A thoughtfully designed classroom is a canvas for imagination, discovery, and growth.

Discover and Implement Your Unique Organizational Style

Effective organization isn’t one-size-fits-all. Explore various strategies and tools to find what resonates with your teaching style and classroom dynamics. Whether it’s color-coded systems, digital planners, or visual schedules, the right organizational approach can turn chaos into clarity, ensuring that every lesson flows smoothly and every resource is right at your fingertips.

Master the Art of Classroom Management

Effective classroom management is integral to a productive learning atmosphere. Establish clear expectations, consistent routines, and positive reinforcement strategies. A well-managed classroom minimizes distractions and maximizes learning opportunities, creating a space where respect, cooperation, and focus are the norm.

Embrace a Paperless Classroom

In the fast-paced world of education, staying organized is essential for educators. An effective strategy is to digitize your paper records and other important documents. Additionally, when it comes to sharing files with staff, PDFs have emerged as the preferred format due to wider compatibility and ease of use. To streamline this process, consider using an online tool that allows you to effortlessly convert these types of files to PDFs by simply dragging and dropping them into the tool – making this the best solution for educators seeking efficient file management.

Break Down Your Goals

Set yourself up for success by transforming lofty goals into smaller, actionable steps. This methodical approach makes even the most ambitious targets achievable, allowing you to track progress and celebrate milestones along the way. In breaking down your goals, you’re not just planning; you’re paving a clear path toward educational excellence.

Set and Achieve SMART Goals

Ambition drives progress, but a structured approach ensures results. Establish Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound or SMART goals for your teaching career. This clear framework guides your professional development, ensuring that every step you take is purposeful and aligned with your long-term vision as an educator.

In the world of education, organization is the silent hero, setting the stage for teaching triumphs and student successes. By embracing these essential strategies, teachers—from novices to veterans—can navigate the complexities of the classroom with confidence and finesse. From personalized student support to smart goal-setting, these practices don’t just streamline your workload; they enhance your impact, leaving a lasting imprint on the hearts and minds of your students. Embark on this journey of organizational mastery, and watch as your classroom transforms into a beacon of learning, inspiration, and growth.

Yuki had a green paper watch wrapped around his wrist with the hands of the clock permanently drawn to 3:00. I asked him what time it was. “Oyatsu no jikan!” (Snack time!) he replied. “Oh!” I said. “That’s something to look forward to!”

Yuki couldn’t read a clock yet, but at four years old, his teachers were introducing the concept of analog clocks in a fun way and anchored in a daily event that was important to him.

Those little paper watches are super easy to make and kids really like them. Download a free set of templates by clicking on the image below. Teachers also use these watches for sight-word and CVC word practice!

How and when to begin…

I begin teaching my ESL kids clocks when they start learning in their own language. Because my classes are only once a week for 50 minutes, I regularly teach a little bit about clocks over a very long period of time. Starting with paper watches, I plan ahead by planting seeds for future practice.

For young English language learners, reading, writing, and speaking the time is a convergence of several different concepts and skillsets. Numbers alone can be used to teach most of the language skills necessary for reading digital clocks and speaking the time. Once kids have learned CVC words like six and ten, sight words like one, two and it’s, and CVCe, or long ‘e’ words, like five and nine, reading time as text can begin. As for the concept of reading an analog clock, you can give that up to the culture at large and simply ride closely on its coattails. As your kids learn to tell time at home and at school, be there to support their efforts and begin introducing easy, parallel English lessons.

FYI – In Japan, being able to hear the spoken hourly time and read digital time is part of the first (Bronze) level of the aural Jidou Eiken tests for young English language students. Click the link to learn more and download sample tests. It’s worth investigating if only to learn about the vocabulary required to pass the three-level tests.

Getting ready…

Practicing time can begin very early on. I prefer flashcards to plastic clocks with hands that can be manipulated simply because they don’t break and they aren’t perceived as a toy that older kids may object to. With a good set of clock flashcards, there are numerous games you can play that will make repetition more enjoyable.

Here are a few fun ideas to try in class:

Make sure that clock is part of your primary classroom vocabulary flashcards.
Place a clock image of the time your class will end on a classroom board. Kids will become super clock-watchers.
Set a time for a simple event to happen – like dropping your pencil or clapping your hands. Be sure you’re distracted when the time comes and be surprised when it happens.
Hand out hour flashcards and have students play a simple I Have/Who Has activity. “I have 1:00. Who has 2:00?”
Hand out hour flashcards and have students line up in order of the hours.
Tack hour cards around the room (add half hours, quarter hours, etc. as your lessons progress) and have students individually go to the time directed.
Hand students a stack of clock flashcards and have them sort the cards into time order.
Write digital times on the board and have students match the time with analog flash cards.
Once kids start learning to read time as text, write times on the board and have students match the times with analog cards. Setting this up as a relay brings a competitive and fast-paced edge to an otherwise simple exercise.

Remember, clock exercises are another opportunity to review the challenging numbers eleven and twelve, and later on 20, 30, 40, and 50. If you need a good set of number flashcards, you can download them here for free. If you’re in need of a refresh on your flashcard activities, download 50+ Flash Card Activities for ideas to get you going.

Diving in…

Once students are comfortable with reading simple hours, it’s time to begin doing worksheets. Tack completed worksheets into interactive notebooks so they can be reviewed later. Over time, these worksheets will become an invaluable and easy-to-access reference for future lessons where time is practiced.

If you’re looking for worksheets, here are the first ‘hour’ exercises from my textbook, Clock Work. Download and try them out in class. They’re free and I think you’ll like how the worksheets are differentiated. Click on the image above to visit my web site and learn more about the textbook.

After lots of hour practice, adding half hours is the easy next lesson. From this point, understanding and retention should begin to happen faster. Then, it’s step by step, reviewing and practicing numbers in quarters, tens, and fives for times like 9:30, 3:15, 10:40, and 8:55. To repeat, if you see your kids only once a week, plan on teaching a little over a long period of time, and don’t forget to review. It will add up!

Clock games…

I’d love to hear the approach and activities you use when teaching time to younger students. I have a lineup of games I like to use, like Clock Bingo, Clock I Have Who Has, 4 in a Row, and clock game boards. Clock flashcards and differentiated worksheets provide repetitive practice and handy visuals for explaining time concepts.

Over the years I’ve learned that teaching students how to tell the time in English is not a one-off lesson. From the early skill of reading an analog clock, then reading and expressing time in text, to understanding the language variances of telling time in English, a little at a time goes a long way. Make sure students are solid in the early lessons and you’ll have fewer problems building their language skills later on.

As always, best of luck in your classes!

Donald Kinney

Kinney Brothers Publishing