For millions of students, English is not the primary language.
This poses special challenges for the teacher of a multi-lingual
classroom. Preferably, he or she will have special training in
ESL, or English as a second language. There are many different
techniques and theories, regarding how to teach ESL students.
Some people say a child shouldn't learn a second language, until
they've mastered the first one. Yet, most schools have no choice
but to teach the child English as soon as they enroll, so they
can take part in the educational system. Typically, the native
language is not immediately suppressed, but rather incorporated
into the lessons, because this helps the child learn. One common
approach is to teach children words in the new language by
demonstration of actual objects. For example, during a craft
project, they might emphasize colors of paper. Or, they might
illustrate words like 'fire truck' by visiting a fire station.
Listening skills can be developed by having students listen to a
story on tape