ESL Classroom Observations

Bellringer:
At the start of each class, the students begin by completing a
bellringer question that they write in their notebooks. The previous
quarters of the school year they did PSSA vocabulary words and
questions. However, this quarter they have been doing brain-teasers
for a bellringer. The teacher chose this because it is a fun and
challenging way to learn English phrases, idioms, or cultural sayings.
For example:

OOO

Circus

(Answer: Three-ringed

circus)
Importance of Visuals:
The ESL teacher relies heavily on visuals to help her students
learn vocabulary and make connections. The curriculum that she uses
presents students with pictures or symbols that correspond with each
vocabulary word. Students are given note packets with the vocabulary
words and corresponding images. In addition, when she goes over
action words, she often has students act out the word to again
reinforce the meaning.
System 44 and Read 180
The curriculum that the ESL teacher uses is designed by
Scholastic. It is designed to expose students to the language through
reading, listening, speaking and writing stations. System 44 is the
curriculum she uses for her students with lower English proficiency.
This program focuses on basic vocabulary and pronunciation. It is very
similar to Read 180 but the vocabulary and literature are at a more
basic level. The class period is broken into 2 parts. The first is direct
instruction when the ESL teacher introduces or reviews new vocabulary
or material. The second part of the period is broken into 3 segments.
Students move through 3 stations: computer work, silent reading, and
writing. On the computer, students progress through a program of
listening, writing, and speaking. They progress through this program
at their own pace. The teacher monitors the students progress
through the program. During silent reading, students select a text on
their level. They must read the book and complete a guided graphic

organizer. They must also complete a short online quiz before they can
proceed to the next book. During the writing segment, students
complete various writing activities. These activities are usually guided
by the teacher. The Read 180 program is very similar to System 44,
except that the texts and vocabulary are more challenging.
Classroom management:
The first class that I observed was a class of Level 1s and 2s.
Many students in this class have very limited English. Of the classes
that I observed, this class was probably the most disruptive or loud.
However, the ESL teacher used some techniques that proved to be
successful in gaining their attention. For example, when the students
were talking when she was talking, she would stop and be silent.
Students quickly realized that she had stopped on purpose and they
quieted down. While this will not be effective in every situation, I think
that it was effective in this case. She would also use students names
and close proximity to get them back on task. When there is a
language barrier, teachers need to be creative and flexible in
classroom management. In addition, in this class period, there was a
translator. I learned later that she often follows the new English
Language Learners to aid in transition into school culture. The
translator also helped the teacher explain a concept to the students in
Spanish. This would not have worked if the class had diverse 1st
languages but for this class it worked.
Paperwork:
One other thing that I learned from my time in the ESL classroom
was how much paperwork an ESL teacher must complete. The ESL
teacher showed me examples of files that she has to keep for each
English Language Learners. The files include: grades, test scores, and
teacher evaluations. She even needs to keep the paperwork current
after students leave the ESL program. When I was there she was
working on preparing evaluations for general education teachers to
complete. These evaluation forms are given to gen. ed. teachers for
the English Language Learners that are failing their classes. These
evaluation forms are designed to mirror the Can-do descriptors and
they have the teachers indicate what skills students have shown
competencies in and which they are lacking. The ESL teacher uses
these evaluations in her decisions to move students to different levels
within the ESL program.