Add to Favorites
Contact Us
      Home ESL Activities ESL Curriculum ESL Games Students Testimonials

Teaching ESL To Children - Part 2
Children's ESL Storybooks

Part II of Craig Desorcy's Article on Teaching ESL to Children.

Before the class starts I play kid's music in the background (Ever been to Disneyland? The music you hear sets the tone). The kids always come a little early, so before the class starts the music is playing and I toss a balloon around with them. Their nametags are on the floor or on a table. Help them put them on at first, and soon they will be able to recognize their own name in English.

(You must remember all their names and use them throughout the class at least five times per student.)

1. As soon as it's time to start,I put away the ball, put on my hello song and start singing and waving my hand high in the air. They will follow because of the rapport I have built up before the class started.


Don't forget to visit our new site ESL Storybooks --
http://www. esl-storybooks.com .

ESL Storybooks carries a complete line of ESL textbooks for Children aged 8 - 12. Featuring adventure themes, each storybook set includes a Teachers Guide, Student Storybook, and Creative Writing Workbook.

2. I sit on the floor and pull out a card with the letter 'I' on it. I point to myself and say, "I am Michael" and pass the card. Each student does the same, and if one child doesn't, then I just move on to the next child. (I do this with YOU cards, YOUR cards, HE, SHE and so on.)

3. I pull out a bag and ask what's in it? They have no idea. I put my hands in the air and say "I don't know," with a confused look on my face. They all repeat and they have just learned the expression, "I don't know." I pass the bag to all the students, they feel it and try to guess what's inside. If a child keeps it too long I say 3, 2, 1 pass!

4. Next,I ask them to go sit down and we play bingo.



  SUBMIT!

Each bingo I do has a total of six pictures with the English word for the picture under it.

For example I have vowel bingo that has only "A" words with pictures of things like a ball, apple, ant and so on.

5. After Bingo comes story time. I read a story book to them which has an easy sentence structure and the kids can repeat after the second time of reading this book to them

One book I use is called "I like," -- I like to eat, I like to play ball, I like to read and so on.

I recommend using over-sized books because they keep the students attention. These books are by far the best investment I have made in my teacher's toolbox!

5. Next I show them fish cards with many cool colors. We flip them trying to make a set.

(Always team the students up in pairs. If there are not enough students you will need to jump in and play.) Before you do this game you may want to make sure students know the colors and drill them for a few minutes. Now is a good time to teach them to raise their hand saying at the same time say "I know!" If they get it right give them the card but get it back quickly so you can play the real game.

(While doing activities make sure you are working the room. Letting your students know that they're doing well, lots of 'give me fives' and smiling! Encourage and support them and they will just love you and your class!!)

6. Color time! (Teaching color time, story time and other TIMES teaches them that there is a time for everything.) With color time all the students have a sketchpad they bought from the dollar shop with crayons. I have them draw a big circle, triangle and square. Next I have a hand out and they say, "Give me one, please." The handouts are letters with a matching photo they can color. But first they have to say, "Give me glue, please," so that I can glue the handout into their sketch book. I do the gluing because I'm fast. The kids use too much glue and are slow and messy which is fine in art class but in a forty-minute class that only meets once a week speed is essential.

7. Next we have song time. Get them moving after sitting for some time.

You can use songs such as "Head-shoulders-knees and Toes", "If you're Happy and you Know it."

8. Vowel Drill time. I have a vowel poster with words and pictures glued to a big piece of cardboard and I drill the vowels. I say the sound and word of a vowel and they repeat. Again speed is the key. I also use a funny voice and chant the vowel sound and word. Make up some silly chant and they will follow, loving it and you!



To your ESL teaching success and beyond,

Craig Desorcy

This article is reprinted with permission from Craig's Ebooks "The Super teaching in Japan Handbook" Copyright © 2003, Craig Desorcy.  Visit Craig's website at http://www.teaching-in-japan.com for more info


Want to submit an article?
Let us know -- send your article or idea, feedback, suggestions to brian@efl-esl.com
 
ESL in the News
Methods of Teaching ESL

By William Roger Jones  (Korea Times)

There appears to be some controversy among teachers of ESL in Korea. Shin Chul-ho was rather critical of native speakers in his article "Why Western Teachers Are Revered Here" (KT April 1, 2004), and Molly Whitaker's response article "Learning Way of Life Is More Enriching" (KT April 5, 2004) was rather critical of Shin Chulho.

Surely Mr. Shin must be cognizant of the fact that it is not necessary to call oneself a phonologist, grammarian, semanticist, philologist or any number of fancy linguistic terms to be a qualified ESL teacher, however, careful schooling in linguistics would, of course, be an advantage.

On the other hand, Ms. Whitaker must be aware that by implying that speaking English one's entire life imbues one with credibility as an ESL teacher is misleading, for native speakers arrive with a variety of dialects, vocabulary differences and general level of spoken ability which may or may not be to the ESL student's benefit.

Full Story >>>

Learning - and teaching - a new language

Connie Steiert
November 4, 2004  (Vial Daily MSNBC)

EAGLE COUNTY - It has become one of the most frustrating and contentious issues of public education. How do we best teach children, who come into our schools speaking little or no English?

Across the nation, test scores show that Hispanic children, with minimal English skills, continue to lag far behind their white counterparts in core academic skills, such as reading, writing and math.

In Colorado, language-divide trends tend to follow national ones. While 83 percent of non-Hispanic students throughout Colorado scored at the proficient or advanced category in reading at the third-grade level on the 2004 standardized tests, only 54 percent of Hispanic students did.

Full Story >>>
ESL Grammar Activities
The Past Tense

4 Oral and Written activities for practicing the past tense
Includes:
  • First Activity -- Picture, question and answer cut-out cards for group Question and Answer in the past tense activity. 9 Pictures, 27 questions, Answers included.
  • Second Activity -- Written and Reading Activity. 1 pictures with 7 sentences. Fill in the blank, change the verb tense activity.
  • Third Activity -- Picture, question and answer cut out cards for group Question and Answer in the past tense activity. 9 pictures with 29 questions. Answers included.
  • Fourth Activity -- Written and Oral activity. 4 pictures with 28 questions for practice in the past tense.

    Example questions:

    Q: Were you going to the beach (yesterday)?
    A: Yes I was going to the beach.

    Q: Were they sitting in the living room?
    A: Yes they were sitting in the he living room.

More >>>

The Past Progressive Tense

2 Oral and Written activities for practicing the past progressive tense

Includes:
  • First Activity -- Oral questions and answer exercise. 4 Pictures, 23 questions, Answers included.
  • Second Activity -- Oral and Written Exercise. 4 pictures, 35 Questions. Flexible format with suggestions for teacher on different uses and approaches.

    Example questions:
    Q: Were you going to the beach (yesterday)?
    A:Yes I was going to the beach.

    Q: Were they sitting in the living room?
    A: Yes they were sitting in he living room.

    More >>>
    		•
    ESL Activities for Christmas

    With Christmas coming up, have you been thinking about a fun activity for your class? Here's one that we found to be a lot of fun, and it has good value for learning.

    Start a collection of pictures of attractive young men and women. An old mail order catalogue will provide lots of pictures. You can use pictures of many different poses. Next, make a collection of pictures of suitable Christmas presents. Here, you can use a lot of imagination. You could have a picture of a bottle of perfume, a screwdriver, or an elephant. If you include some far out pictures, it will add to the fun. Crazy pictures often inspire wonderful answers from the students. We found it best to glue each picture on to a sheet of plain paper. In that way, each picture has the same size backing, and they are much easier to handle. Glue sticks are great for this!

    Introduce the activity by telling your class that because Christmas is coming, each person is to take a lover. Spread out the pictures of the young men and women on a table and have the class come and pick the picture of the person who would make the most appropriate lover.

    When everyone in the class has chosen a picture of this imaginary lover, you can brainstorm with the class, asking them to name suitable adjectives for a good lover. Put their responses on the board. Remember, with brainstorming, every answer is valid! (That is, unless the answer is in very bad taste, or completely unsuitable.) Once the students have given suitable adjectives to describe their lovers, each student is called upon to stand up, display the picture they have chosen, and to describe their lover.

    Next, explain to the class that each person wants to be good to their lover, so they have bought three Christmas presents for him or her. Spread out all the pictures of the gifts on the table, and ask the students to come and select three gifts each for their lovers. Each student is then called upon to show the class which gifts they have chosen for their lover, and to give the reasons that they have chosen these gifts. We found that the teacher had to prompt, by saying: "What did you choose?" and "Why did you choose that?" and "Do you think she/he will like that?"

    We have found this to be a very successful activity. Just make sure that you have sufficient "lovers" of the right gender, and sufficient pictures of gifts.