On Teaching ESL Students

I have always enjoyed teaching ESL students.  I’m not sure this is the norm for a teacher; I’ve heard my colleagues complain that heritage speakers in their Spanish classrooms were disruptive and disrespectful or that ESL students were more likely to be in gangs.  For me, however, the students who are not native speakers of English have always been my favorites.  Perhaps this is because I teach French.  I loved teaching the French students English when I was in my early twenties.  I had a good time trying to come up with lessons, which they called “ludique” meaning “having to do with games and play.”  When I was teaching in France it was less like a job and more just a fun activity.  I try to put that same energy and feeling into my classes here in the US as well.  I have never had a native French student in my classes, and I think that’s a good thing.  The students that I’ve had who had already experienced some French instruction in their native schools, especially the exchange students from Germany, have been bored by the slow pacing of the classes, but have still been active and interested participants in the classroom.  The other ESL students are generally very good at French, are intrigued by the dynamic methodologies and quickly rise to the top in performance.  I would, if I could, teach French to every foreign born or ESL student who came through Riverdale.