by Mary Campbell

The following are simple and effective strategies for newcomers that require minimal prep and can be easily modified to use with any level of English learner—but are excellent for newcomers or those with limited English. As an English language teacher in U.S. schools, I am, like most educators, always limited by time to make resources and to buy new ones. However, these strategies are staples that any teacher can add to their toolkit for use throughout the year; once students are familiar with them, they are simple to initiate and implement, and they result in increased student engagement and teacher efficiency.

1. I Say, You Say

This first strategy is exactly what it sounds like. I, the teacher, will say something, and then you, the student, will repeat it; it is similar to choral repetition. The purpose of this strategy is to get students talking and hearing a concept. This helps students with pronunciation, retention, and increased engagement. You could use this strategy for vocabulary, as in singular words, or for more extensive concepts like definitions, phrases, or short paragraphs/stanzas. For newcomers, vocabulary or short sentences are ideal.

2. Mirrors to Words

This strategy is similar to total physical response; however, with this strategy, the student will act out a concept as they use words that match it. To use this strategy, start with both hands up, palms facing out. Then, say “Mirrors,” and the students repeat. This means that students will now mirror whatever you act out. The next step is for you to say, “mirrors to words,” and the students repeat after you, which now means that the students will not only mirror your actions but will also orally repeat what you say.

This is an excellent strategy to teach a concept, such as the main idea, making predictions, inferencing, or text features. However, it’s important that, as the teacher, you know what you are going to act out and say beforehand, so that the students can easily mirror your actions and words. Mirrors to Words is excellent because it requires no additional resources but yields 100% engagement in a comfortable learning environment: Everyone is doing the same thing at the same time. This makes students less apprehensive if their language level may be lower than others.

3. Abbreviated Anchor Charts

This strategy is a time saver for lesson delivery and also allows students to see the direction of the lesson by referencing what will come next. For this strategy, fill in part of an anchor chart on the topic being taught. Next, during the lesson, fill in the missing sections. This compels students to be more engaged in the learning and content because you can spend less time creating the anchor chart during the lesson. It also allows students to easily follow along with the lesson in case they do not understand all of the language, vocabulary, or concepts being taught. Additionally, it requires minimal resources and time on your part and results in a completed anchor chart for students to reference their new content.

Check out these three strategies in action along with two more in this 5-minute video of my own teaching.

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Mary Campbell is an ESL teacher in North Carolina, USA. Mary has a BA in international studies and French and an MAT in ESL, and she is an National Board Certified Teacher in English as new language.

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