Five kindergarten students, who speak Spanish and Haitian Creole, sit around a table during the daily 15-minute English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) session with an ESOL assistant. This is the only time during their day when they receive instruction geared toward their needs as ESOL students. The ESOL assistant reads out questions, such as, "What is this?," and the students respond in full sentences, "This is a book." The children, who can use only a little English when they interact with their English-speaking classmates are frustrated and bored. Well-meaning teachers are often unprepared for the influx of ESOL students in their classrooms. Most often, the programs serving ESOL students in public schools include immersion, submersion, and sheltered instruction. Occasionally, bilingual education programs are an option. Consequently, general education teachers are responsible for teaching limited English proficient (LEP) students in their classrooms on a daily basis. This article describes teaching methods, strategies, and activities for facilitating the English language acquisition of nonor limited English proficient children in the early grades.
