Most teachers have stories of ESL students who come to class unprepared, disorganized and always late with their assignments. These students often seem to be trying to catch up with the rest of the class, or they may seem to be struggling to understand what is going on in class. By directly teaching learning strategies from the beginning of class, teachers can help their students succeed in class, become independent learners, and have more self-confidence in their abilities.
Learning strategies are important for ESL students because of their learning backgrounds and teacher expectations in the classroom.
ESL students come from a variety of countries, which in turn, have a variety of educational systems. Students who come from Asian countries like Korea or Japan are used to having their teachers be authoritarian figures in the classroom. Rote memorization is essential for students to pass the multiple examinations that they face. Still there are African countries like Sierra Leone where students must memorize information taught in the class and be ready to write or speak on this information in examinations.
ESL students come to the U.S. classroom with these varying educational backgrounds. Many of them assume that they can use these skills that they have learned from their countries in the U.S. and be successful in school. Most of them experience culture shock once they see that their learning styles may not help them in U.S. academics.
However, in teaching them learning strategies, teachers can help students learn ways to be better handle their classes in the U.S. One thing teachers can do is do practice tests in the class with their students. This helps students get to see what sort of tests teachers may use before actually getting to take the real exam.
Teachers often have expectations of their students throughout the class. Teachers may expect that students take notes in class. There may be ESL students who come from countries where note-taking was not done. Teachers may believe that their students know how to take multiple-choice tests. Some ESL students may have never seen a multiple-choice test before they came to the U.S. Teachers may expect their students to know current event topics, U.S. culture, and U.S. history. There are ESL students who may be unfamiliar with all or some of these areas.
Teachers should be aware of their expectations of students and learn about the limits on ESL students. Through learning strategies, teachers can help alleviate this issue of expectations that may conflict with student knowledge.
One way to help students deal with class exercises that may involve U.S. history is to provide background information to the entire class. Teachers can do an introductory exercise where groups need to work on different areas that inform them about the U.S. history they need for the lesson.
Learning strategies are useful not only to ESL students, but also to teachers in teaching students how to function in the classroom and be successful in their studies. Teachers will spend less time going over difficult material if they equip their students with tools that will help them stand up to challenges in the classroom.
ESL students not only need to learn the material they are studying for a subject; they must also learn how to learn in the U.S. classroom. By having learning strategies, ESL students will be more capable learners in their classes, and they will be more prepared to take on the journey of academic study.
Maria Ammar is an assistant professor of ESL at Frederick Community College. She has an master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Florida International University. After completing her graduate degree, she taught English in Japan. She returned to the U.S. to teach ESL in Texas and Florida. She then traveled back overseas to work in the United Arab Emirates. She is now living in Frederick, Maryland, and she enjoys the diverse community of students that she works with at her college every semester.
Learning ESL 