FITB- Chapter 8: Teaching Teenagers Who Are Still Learning English

It is interesting to think that America is growing as rapidly as it is considering that “At least one in every six adolescents going to school in the United States comes from a family in which English is not the main language”. This means that it is not those students who must adapt but the teachers as well. Teaching to students who have a language barrier are not any less intelligent than other students, they just have a different way of learning. To reach these students the most important thing is to establish a connection. Really knowing your students, who they are, what they like, what home is like, where they are from, when they came to school, and why they do the things they do can help to ensure that you reach them on many levels including academic.

Allowing your students to see the “links” between their lives and culture and the life and culture they have been thrust into can help them understand that they are valued and they are an important part of the class and are expected to learn. Making sure all students know that you believe in them, you have confidence in their abilities can help them to find their own confidence. Focusing on the important thinking and not their mistakes as well as helping to succeed not simply get by can help them in their future whether academically or not. There needs to be a transition between the important texts and the texts they can handle, helping them to understand the “language” of the textbook, which means also giving them clues to reading material that is not in their own language. This also means giving students alternate methods to learning the material at hand, even if it means putting it into another form to aid in their understanding.

Allowing for you students to take risks is so vital. When they can learn from a mistake or a huge risk gone right, then they know those risks are worth taking. Students should also be able to use their own language to work with others and work on problems in class. Students, taking into account that they are dealing with an ongoing struggle, need to be able to use repetition to enhance their knowledge of the material. Listening, seeing through the disruptive behavior and having patience is crucial when you have students who relate to the information at hand in a whole new way. Above all, respect is what any student is after or desires from another. But those students who are of another culture and language are looking to be respected for who they are and where they are from. Respect can form the basis for all learning, allowing all children to be on an equal playing field no matter the background, no matter the learning style, and no matter what culture.