“I’m DONE!” You look, and you’ve got some students already on their phones because they’ve finished everything, and others who seem to have barely started, but are working away as hard as they can. What now?
Classroom Management for Adult ESL in Intensive English Programs
I have a student who is very meticulous in all that she does. “Kawther” has no interest in hurrying, and I really don’t want to rush her. However, this means that whenever she writes, she needs a lot of time. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, I have a student who appears to believe he needs to finish writing before he takes his next breath. Yeah, “Wang Wei” is that fast. He’ll be done with a paragraph before Kawther has a sentence down.
Now generally, in an Intensive English Program (IEP), the urge to keep everyone on the same page at the same time is strong. Each session or term is short, and the material that needs to be covered is extensive. Of course, you could always give that fast student additional work, but that tends to just increase the gap in knowledge between your fastest student and your slowest student. It’s like trying to solve the problem of a shattered glass on your tile floor by pouring oil all over it. Not helpful! So how am I meeting this challenge?
Find the Weak Points of your Strongest Students
Wang Wei writes at the speed of light, but he also happens to be the lowest level when it comes to speaking. He has difficulties with pronunciation and forgets the grammar when speaking that he gets perfectly when writing. So, I send him out of class! Sometimes I give him the questions I want him to ask, and sometimes I give him the topic and have him write his own questions. He practices saying them with me, and then I send him to other classes and have him interview students! Every class always has some faster students who have already finished what the others are working on, so they are perfect for this. Wang Wei takes notes on what they say, and then when he comes back, he reports to the rest of the class what he learned from the other students.
But my students are all high-level speakers!
How are they with their reading fluency? Can you pair a struggling reader with someone who needs listening practice? Do they have strong writing skills? Have them write speeches for other students with weak pronunciation skills to practice giving. Pick their weak points and develop an activity that will allow them to practice it while working with another student who needs something else. This simple classroom management for adult ESL strategy will also ensure your students are depending upon YOU for everything during every minute of the class.
Pairing or grouping up students, especially with students from other classes to reap other benefits.
Originally, I just thought that interviews were great speaking and listening practice for Wang Wei. Later I thought about it some more. “Fadel” started out really low for speaking, but now he is great. I didn’t send him out every day to talk to other students, but I didn’t have to! He did that on his own during every break. Wang Wei just isn’t that outgoing. He doesn’t talk to anyone who isn’t his classmate. He’s not antisocial or shy, but he’s uncomfortable talking to people he doesn’t know. Catch 22, right? To get him talking more, he needs to be more comfortable with the other students in school. Having him interview students every day, always asking them their names and questions that allow him to get to know them a little. Plus, he’s practicing the grammar and vocabulary he has been learning. It’s simply a win-win situation!
Especially when they are new to the country or even to the language school / English course, adult students might struggle to make connections with other students. They worry about their pronunciation, about expressing themselves, especially to another ESL student. They stress over possible communication hurdles. BUT…if their teacher assigns them to speak to another student, it’s somehow easier. It gives them a purpose to approach a stranger or someone they don’t know well.
And what about Kawther, the slow writer?
Well, the only way she is ever going to become faster at writing is to write. She’s not just dealing with an entirely different writing script. She must train her hand to write from left to right, instead of vice versa. By sending some students out of the classroom and grouping others to do other activities, I can give her the time she requires. She doesn’t feel pressured to hurry or like she’s slowing anyone down. In another month or two, her speed will have improved. Hopefully, Wang Wei will have made some non Chinese-speaking friends and be speaking in English a lot more. This simple strategy for classroom management for adult ESL classes made a huge difference in reducing the various gaps in my students’ abilities. Leveling that out made our class more enjoyable for me to teach and for them learn.
What’s a challenge you have faced in your classes, and how have you resolved it? Or, what challenges face you (or your students) now?
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