Helping ESL Students Succeed by: Letha Barnes There has never before in our history been a time when the students who fill up our classrooms have been more diverse. Among the various cultures, ages, genders, and backgrounds is the ever-growing population of students whose first language is not English. This brings a new set of challenges and opportunities. For Instructors, it’s the opportunity to help students overcome the challenges they face obtaining their career education in a language different from their own. More schools today are offering English as a Second Language courses to help students adapt to their current environment.

Instructors can also expand their methods of delivery for these students to reduce the difficulty of this challenge. Some strategies that you may want to put in your educator’s box of stuff include: Create Familiarity First and foremost, learn each and every student’s name as early as possible and use them frequently in classroom interaction. Set Expectations Identify the expectations you set for all learners. Adult learners clearly need to know what is expected of them beginning with the very simple to the very complex. Support Assist students with setting specific guidelines for long-term projects and assignments. Repetition Tell students what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what you told them. Be an Effective Presenter Organize your presentations with a dynamic opening, use effective transitions, vary the stimuli throughout the presentation, incorporate illustrations and examples, and formulate effective, student-centered review sessions. Be Patient Give students plenty of time to formulate their responses during class participation and by no means, answer for them. Be Understanding Make every effort to understand the cultural differences that impact the international student. Support Materials Whenever possible, provide textbook and course supplement materials in their first language. Be Concise Always speak slowly and clearly. Support Encourage questions during class, but also schedule office time for personal dialog with students as needed. Feedback Give immediate feedback on performance and assignments. It is critical that students receive encouragement and corrective assistance when performance is not up to standards. Seek feedback from students whose learning or performance is lacking. Creating Tests In test development make sure questions are clear and to the point and not designed to “trick” the learner or confuse the international student. Make Students Aware of Outside Resources Refer students with language issues to resources in the area that will help them improve their language skills such as English workshops for international students or Adult Basic Education programs at local community colleges. Dedicated educators will accept the characteristics of learners whose first language is not English and do their best to ensure that those learners have an academically, emotionally, and socially safe environment in which to learn. As a reminder for educators today, Milady has core textbooks as well as numerous student supplements published in Spanish,  and study summaries in Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese, to assist students whose first language is not English. These products can be reviewed at www.milady.com. Letha Barnes, Director Milady’s Career Institute