• English as a Second Language (ESL) Program at Roberts Elementary

    ESL programs are offered to students whose native language is not English and who need to develop and enhance their English language skills.  

     

    Designed as an intensive methodology, the instruction develops proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the English language. Additionally, it integrates the use of second language methods with subject matter instruction to focus not only on learning a second language, but using that language as a medium to learn mathematics, science, social studies, or other academic subjects.

     

    At Roberts, identified students who qualify for ESL services will receive English instruction through the content areas by their homeroom teachers. Students are not pulled out by another teacher nor will have to switch classes. All homeroom teachers are certified to serve the language needs of our students.

     

    Below is a list of linguistic accommodations that may be provided to your child based on his/her language levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced, or advanced high). The level of linguistically- accommodated instruction decreases as the students advance to higher levels of English proficiency.

     

    • Use peer and native language support
    • Use body gestures/facial expressions
    • Provide visuals
    • Provide content in writing
    • Provide simple sentence frames
    • Display multiple examples of environmental print including but not limited to labels, signs, and logos
    • Model enunciation
    • Use simplified decodable texts with visuals
    • Provide bilingual, monolingual, and ESL dictionaries and glossaries
    • Model simple grammatical structures
    • Provide word bank of key vocabulary; pre-teach low-frequency and multiple-meaning vocabulary used in social and academic context
    • Content and Language Supports
      • Provide synonyms/examples
      • Simplify words or phrases
      • Read aloud text/directions
      • Slow-down rate of speech
      • Pre-read text prior to reading selections
      • Provide drawings or pictorial representation
    • Extra time on assignments and tests
    • Allow for processing time
    • Oral administration/text-to-speech

    Resources for our EB (emergent bilingual) students

    • iReady (reading and math)
    • Duolingo
    • Starfall
    • Summit K12

     

    Please reach out to our ESL coordinator for more information: kristina.tran@houstonisd.org.