Hands-on, Practical Guidance for Educators

From math, literacy, equity, multilingual learners, and SEL, to assessment, school counseling, and education leadership, our books are research-based and authored by experts on topics most relevant to what educators are facing today.

Teaching English Language Learners K-12 - Book Cover

Look Inside

Bestseller!

Teaching English Language Learners K-12

A Quick-Start Guide for the New Teacher

By: Jerry Jesness

Foreword by Rosalie Pedalino Porter

Bring the English language to life with this valuable new resource!

In our present educational climate, ELL teachers face immense demands as educators. Jesness' new quick-start guide provides specific strategies to address these special challenges. This valuable resource offers a terrific framework to nurture that motivating spark in English Language Learners. For ELL educators, it's more than a job—it's a mission!

Teaching English Language Learners K-12 includes:

Customizing instructions to create developmentally and culturally appropriate lessons for all learners
Comprehensive vocabulary checklists for common English words and concepts
Helpful tips for teaching spoken English, reading, and writing

Full description

Look Inside

Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9780761931874
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2004
Page Count: 176
Publication date: March 19, 2014

Price: $34.95

Select Format:

For Instructors

Request Review Copy

When you select 'request review copy', you will be redirected to Sage Publishing (our parent site) to process your request.

Description

"The valuable classroom experience in the author's background and a genuine sensitivity for his students' needs are evident on every page of clear prose. The practical information included here addresses the major issues in educating language minority students, without overloading the new teacher with extraneous matter."
From the Foreword by Rosalie Pedalino Porter
From the Foreword by Rosalie Pedalino Porter
"What a gift this book will be to ESL teachers . . . How I would have loved such a book when I was charged with the responsibility of teaching ESL students in years past."
Donna Garner, English and Spanish teacher
Hewitt, TX
Donna Garner, English and Spanish teacherHewitt, TX
Bring the English language to life with this valuable new resource!

Some say that learning a second language is like drinking water from a fire hose. But teaching it does not have to be like standing under Niagara Falls. This is the fundamental message of Jerry Jesness' new quick-start guide Teaching English Language Learners K-12. In our climate, ELL teachers face immense demands as educators because the ELL class is often the critical, transitional step into a student's entire education. The author provides specific strategies to address the special challenges for instructors. This valuable resource offers a terrific framework to nurture that motivating spark in English Language learners. For ELL educators, it's more than a job—it's a mission!

Teaching English Language Learners K-12 includes:
includes:

Customizing instructions to create developmentally and culturally appropriate lessons for all learners
Comprehensive vocabulary checklists for common English words and concepts
Practical methods for using the learner's native language and culture in the classroom
Helpful strategies for teaching spoken English, reading, and writing
Encouraging tips to become a better ELL teacher

Key features

Short, practical, teacher friendly, and easy to navigate
Appropriate for new teachers with no formal ELL training
Works for all bilingual programs
Ready-to-use vocabulary checklists can be used the very first day

Author(s)

Jerry Jesness

In Jesness' twenty-five year career as an educator, he has worked with English learners in a number of environments. He has taught ESL in public middle and high schools, special education for bilingual children at the elementary level, and language arts and social studies in classes that included both English learners and regular education students. Jesness has also taught students privately, ranging from preschoolers to top executives of multinational corporations. Over the years, he has worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, for public schools near the Texas-Mexico border, for Berlitz Language Schools, and for small, privately owned language schools in Mexico and Japan.

Jesness holds a BA in English from the University of Minnesota, Morris, and earned an MA in Spanish and an ESL teaching endorsement from the University of Texas, Pan American. He was the first non-Hispanic to earn a graduate degree in Spanish literature from UT Pan American. Jesness currently lives in League City, Texas with his wife and three daughters, and teaches Spanish and ESL at Victory Lakes Middle School. His email address is furnes@yahoo.com.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Author

1. The Joys and Challenges of Teaching English as a Second Language

The Joys of Teaching ESL

The Challenges of Teaching ESL

Travel the World With or Without Leaving Your Classroom

It's More Than a Job, It's a Mission

2. Your Students

ESL, ELL, LEP, and Other Acronyms

Placement in Bilingual and ESL Programs

SEP Students (Someone Else's Problem)

Inclusion and Support in Regular Classrooms

3. Your Toolbox

The Textbook

Other Books

Realia: Pictures, Maps, Charts, Toys, and More

Audio Tapes and CDs

Gadgets Galore

Paying for Your Tools

Getting Help from Volunteers

Getting Advice and Help from School Personnel

4. How Much? How Soon? How Fast?

BICS and CALP

Pie-in-the-Sky Goals

Is One Year Enough?

When Should Students Exit to Regular Classes?

Steep Hills and Frustrating Plateaus

Motivation Inside and Outside of Class

Sidebar: Working with Younger Students

5. Using the Learners' Native Language in the Classroom

Don't Force Them to Go Mute

What Works Best in the Students' Native Language

Consider the Language and Culture of the Community

Use Time Limits

Sidebar: Working with Younger Students

6. Natural and Unnatural Approaches to Learning English

The Natural Approach: Learning English by Hearing It and Speaking It

Applying First Language Skills to Second Language Learning

Balancing Experiential and Analytic Approaches

Using Total Physical Response (TPR)

Language in the Foreground and the Background

Winning Over the Skeptics in Your School

Sidebar: Working with Younger Students

7. Building Vocabulary: They'll Need Lots

Enjoying the Path to a Large Vocabulary

Learning from the Movies

Teaching Vocabulary with Picture Dictionaries

Using Vocabulary from the Native Language Using Vocabulary From the Native Language Using Vocabulary from the Native Language

Building Vocabulary with Word Blocks

Idioms and Other Confusing Expressions

Look It Up!: Learning English with Dictionaries

Electronic Dictionaries

Those Boring Vocabulary Lists

Layered Vocabulary Learning

Sidebar: Working with Younger Students Sidebar: Working with Younger Students

8. Grammar: The Skeletal System of the Language

Me Very Grammar

When to Start Grammar Lessons

English Grammar Isn't as Tough as We Think

Freebies: When English Grammar Matches the Learner's Native Language

The Garden Path to English Grammar

Pronoun Cases

Implicit and Explicit Grammar Instruction

Pattern Practice Makes Perfect: Well, not Really, But It Works

Grammar in Action: Questions, Answers, Jokes, and Conversation

Tag, You're It: Converting Statements to Tag Questions

Sidebar: Working with Younger Students

9. Listening Skills: The Gateway to Language

Learning with a Tape Recorder or CD Player

Learning with Software: The Rosetta Stone, Instant Immersion, and Other Programs

The Great ESL Film Festival

Dictations

Encouraging Listening as a Stand-Alone Skill

Teaching with Minimal Pairs: Bit, Bet, Bait, Beet, Bite

Sidebar: Working with Younger Students

Chapter 10. Now Say It: Teaching Spoken English

The Direct Method

Controlled Conversation

Role Playing

Student-to-Student Teaching

Recitals

Using Media and the Language Lab

Teaching Pronunciation (Speech Therapists Can Help!)

Using the International Phonetic Alphabet

Error Correction: When and How Often

Let Your Students Correct You Too

Speaking Practice Outside of Class

Sidebar: Working with Younger Students

11. Teaching Reading

When Students Are Struggling Readers in Their Native Language

Quick-Start Phonics for English Learners

The Constant Consonants

Those Tricky Vowels

Decoding Skills and Background Knowledge

Graphic Organizers

Sidebar: Working with Younger Students

12. Writing It Right

Getting Started

Writing Begins with Spelling

Gadgets and Media Again

The Vanishing Word Technique

Picture and Word Cards

Punctuation and Capitalization

Dictation

In Their Own Words

Sidebar: Working with Younger Students

13. How We Know What the Students Know: Grading and Testing

Grading in Mixed Ability Classrooms

Individualized Education Plans

Multi-Track Grading: Same Class, Different Goals

No, You Aren't Cheating: What Counts for General Learners and College Prep Learners

Keeping Noses to the Grindstone

Testing Vocabulary

Testing Spelling

Testing Speaking and Listening

Testing Grammar

Self-Assessment: Giving Students Their Own Checklists

Preparing Students for Standardized Tests (Please Don't)

Sidebar: Working with Younger Students

14. Teaching English Learners with Special Needs

Prior Education, Semilingualism, and Learning Disabilities

What Does Special Education Offer Your Students?

When They Need a Special Education Referral But Haven't Gotten One

Determining the Appropriate Program

Sidebar: Working with Younger Students

15. English Learners in Content Classes

English Throughout the Curriculum

Sheltered English Content Classes

Content Objectives and Language Objectives

A Sample Sheltered Science Lesson

A Sample Sheltered Vocabulary Lesson

Using Sheltered English to Teach and Practice Grammar

When Are Students Ready to Wade into the Mainstream?

The Power of Prior Knowledge

The Power of Incidental Learning

Reasonable and Unreasonable Modifications in the Inclusive Classroom

The F Word (Failure)

The Bright Side: Enriched Class Discussions

Out-of-Class Support for English Learners in Regular Content Classes

16. Helping Everyone Else Understand Your Students

Attitudes Make the Difference: Racism and Xenophobia

I'm Here, So Shut the Door Already

Exposing Other Students to Your Students' Culture

Avoiding Trivial Pursuit and Superficial Multiculturalism

Illuminating with Literary Classics From Other Traditions

Living Social Studies

Graphic Art and Music

Mutual Tutoring and Dual Immersion

17. Preparing Yourself to Be a Better ESL Teacher

Catching Up and Keeping Up with Advances in the Field

Acquainting Yourself with Your Students' Culture

Trying on Your Students' Shoes

And If You Teach at the Base of the Tower of Babel...

Vocabulary Lists

Numbers 1 - 10

Shapes

Numbers 11-20

People and Things

Numbers by Tens

Colors

All Numbers to 100

U.S. Currency

Time

Classroom Nouns

Classroom Verbs

Large Numbers: Hundred and Thousands

Arithmetic I: Addition and Subtraction

Alphabet A - H

Arithmetic II: Multiplication and Division

Alphabet I - P

School Supplies

Alphabet Q - Z

Computer Nouns

Computer Verbs

Human Body

Family

Home Nouns

Home Verbs

Park and Playground

Pets and Pet Accessories

Farm Animals

Wild Animals

World Geography: Continents and Countries

U.S. Geography: Oceans, Rivers, Mountain Ranges, Borders

Ordinal Numbers

City Geography: Streets, Avenues, Buildings, Directions, Travel

Fruit and Vegetables

Meat and Seafood

Bakery Products

Dairy Products

Women's Clothing

Men's Clothing

Emotions

Baseball

Possessive Pronouns

Prepositions and Their Objects

Glossary

Recommended Reading

Recommended Websites

References

Index

Reviews

The valuable classroom experience in the author’s background and a genuine sensitivity for his students’ needs are evident on every page of clear prose. The practical information included here addresses the major issues in educating language minority students, without overloading the new teacher with extraneous matter.

From the Foreword by Rosalie Pedalino Porter

What a gift this book will be to ESL teachers . . . How I would have loved such a book when I was charged with the responsibility of teaching ESL students in years past.

Donna Garner, English and Spanish Teacher
Hewitt, TX

Entertaining and straightforward, Teaching English Language Learners K-12 guides teachers past common pitfalls and into what actually works for English learners, whether they are learning through immersion or bilingual methods.

Johanna Haver
Author, Structured English Immersion

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jerry Jesness's commonsense guidebook for teachers of English Language Learners. It is easy to read, jargon-free, and clear. Anyone who helps children learn English as a second language will find this book to be immensely helpful.

Diane Ravitch
Author, "The Language Police"

Other Titles in: Diversity | Bilingual/ELL Learners | Teaching Methods & Learning Styles

Select Format:

For Instructors

Request Review Copy

When you select 'request review copy', you will be redirected to Sage Publishing (our parent site) to process your request.