Writing is just one aspect of learning English; some children will
be more comfortable learning to write in English than others.
Reassure English learners that they are learning new
skills with each piece they complete. Encourage them to take pride
in their hard work. Taking work home and participating in class
exhibitions can be especially important for English
learners. Some English learners will come to kindergarten
knowing different alphabet or character systems than those used in
English; encourage these students to share what they know about
other writing systems.
Language difficulties may prevent English learners from
clearly writing their ideas; however, they may have strong ideas
that they want to communicate. Encourage them to express themselves
in oral or written form. In a safe environment that emphasizes good
ideas rather than error-free English, students will continue to
take risks with a second language. These risks are associated with
more rapid language acquisition. In kindergarten, students can
dictate their ideas and the teacher can be the transcriber.
As students get older, pair an English learner with a
native English-speaking student. Have them discuss their plans for
writing and help each other with their writing ideas. Sharing ideas
provides English learners with confidence and a sense that
their ideas are worthwhile.
At first, English learners may wish to draw or cut out
pictures to express themselves. Encourage them to tell or write
about their pictures. Once they are reading, they may be ready to
write. One way to ease the students into writing is to have them
write as a group following these steps:
- Explain the subject of the piece of writing. Give examples to help the students start.
- Each student may suggest a sentence, and the group can build a piece of writing together.
- Depending on the capabilities of the students, take one of
these approaches:
- Have the students write the sentences on their papers.
- Write the sentences on the board for the students to copy onto their papers.
- Write the sentences on paper for the students. (You may wish to write in light pencil.) Later, or as homework, make photocopies, and have the students trace over the sentences with ink or colored pencils.
- The piece of writing may be considered complete at this point, or the students can use what they write in class as a template and write their own pieces, changing words here and there. They can also illustrate the piece. These activities may be completed as homework.
