What do I do when a student who speaks no English joins my class?
What do I do when a student who speaks no English joins my class?
Focus on safety and belonging in the first days, then on survival English: greetings, classroom routines, asking for help and the names of people and places. Give the student a buddy, a predictable seat and visual supports, and expect a quiet period. This page covers what tends to go wrong, first-week moves, a plan for the first five weeks and newcomer materials you can hand over.
See the newcomer bundleIn the first week, make the student feel safe and oriented: learn to say their name correctly, assign a kind buddy, and show the daily routine with pictures. Teach survival language first, such as hello, help, bathroom, yes, no and the names of key people and rooms. Use gestures, visuals and their home language where possible. Accept silence at first, and plan short daily English time with simple, repeated tasks.
Ready-made material
ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle, Grades 2–6
9 resources in one download: $79.99 instead of $159.91 bought separately.
The first cover is the main resource; the others are related options. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle | Everyday English, Grammar & Vocabulary | 9 Resources | Grades 2–6
Grades 1–6 Literacy Skills Curriculum | Grammar, Writing, Phonics & Reading Packs for Every Grade
Grade 3 ELA Pack | Grammar, Creative Writing, Phonics, Reading & Vocabulary
Learning at Home Bundle | Parent Guides & Workbooks for Reading, Math, English & Motivation | Grades 1–4
Why it is hard
What goes wrong in the first weeks
A newcomer usually arrives with little warning, and the first reaction is to look for a worksheet. But a child who speaks no English cannot use most classroom material, and grade-level work in English only shows them what they cannot do yet. Many newcomers go through a silent period in which they listen far more than they speak. Teachers sometimes read that silence as defiance or as a sign the child is not learning, and push for answers too early. Classmates mean well but can overwhelm: everyone wants to help, talks loudly, or speaks slowly in a way that feels babyish. Practical gaps add up fast. The child may not know where the bathroom is, how lunch works or what the bell means, and those worries come before any vocabulary. Families may not understand school messages either. Finally, newcomers often get parked with coloring pages or a device for hours. They need real English input every day, in small steps they can manage, plus a real place in the class routine.
What works
First-week moves that help right away
Start with these before any formal lessons. Most take minutes to set up and pay off for the rest of the year.
- Learn the correct pronunciation of the student's name and use it warmly every day.
- Choose a patient buddy and rotate the role weekly so it never becomes a burden.
- Post a picture schedule and point to each step as the day moves along.
- Make a small survival card with pictures: help, bathroom, water, I don't understand.
- Seat the student near the front and near the buddy, away from the busiest spots.
- Use translation tools for key messages to the student and family, not for every sentence.
Step by step
A plan for the first five weeks
This is suggested pacing for short daily English sessions alongside regular class time. Move faster or slower based on the student.
- Week 1: Welcome and survival wordsTeach greetings, the names of classmates and staff, classroom objects and the core help phrases. Walk the school with the buddy and label key rooms with pictures. Keep daily English sessions to ten or fifteen minutes.
- Week 2: Routines and the calendarPractice days of the week, parts of the school day and instructions such as sit down, line up and open your book. Use total physical response so the student can show understanding without speaking.
- Week 3: Talking about meIntroduce simple present sentences about daily life: I eat, I play, I go. Add pronouns and possessives such as my, your, his and her. Let the student build a small picture book about themselves.
- Week 4: School and townAdd places and directions inside the school and around town. Practice short exchanges such as Where is the library? It is next to the office. Pair with the buddy for simple role plays.
- Week 5: First storiesRetell a simple event from yesterday using picture sequences and a few past-tense verbs. Check progress on survival language and adjust the next weeks based on what the student now uses alone.
Ready-made option
A ready set of newcomer materials
The ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle ($79.99; $159.91 if you bought the nine parts one by one) is built for this situation. It covers places and directions in town, the simple present for everyday life, the simple past, pronouns and possessive determiners, word families, time and calendar, a vocabulary trainer set for Grades 1–4, and two grammar and punctuation packs. If your newcomer is ready for grade-level literacy practice sooner than expected, the Grades 1–6 Literacy Skills Curriculum ($49.99) offers grammar, writing and phonics packs for each grade.
Honest limits
What the bundle cannot do for you
Printed lessons cannot replace a warm welcome, a buddy or daily conversation, and they do not translate anything into the student's home language. You still decide pacing, assess what the student can do, and work with your ESL or ELL specialist if your school has one. Check the materials against your state's English language proficiency standards and your district's newcomer guidance. Sharing with other teachers or an ESL team requires a short message to Teach Lessons before use. Within 7 days you can exchange the bundle for store credit of equal value if it does not fit; no cash refunds.
Good to know
More teacher questions
Should I use the student's home language in class?
Yes, where it helps. A home-language word next to an English one on a picture card builds connections, and a classmate who shares the language can explain instructions early on. Do not ban the home language; it is a resource. Over time, encourage English for classroom routines while respecting that the first language matters to the child and family.
How long does the silent period last?
It varies a lot from child to child, from a few days to several months. During that time the student is listening and taking in language. Let them answer by pointing, nodding, drawing or sorting, and welcome any attempt to speak without correcting every error. If silence comes with signs of distress, talk to your counselor or ESL specialist.
What does the student do during whole-class lessons?
Give a parallel version of the task: the same topic with pictures, labels and a word bank. In math, numbers and visuals often let newcomers take part quickly. During read-alouds, let them follow the pictures and act out key words. A short task they can finish beats a long one they cannot start.
Do these materials match ESL standards?
Teach Lessons does not claim alignment with any state's English language proficiency standards or ELD framework. The bundle covers common newcomer topics such as everyday language, basic grammar and vocabulary. Compare it with the standards your state uses and with your district's ELL program guidance before using it as part of a formal plan.
How do I communicate with the family?
Find out early which language the family prefers and whether the school can provide an interpreter. Keep written messages short and simple, use pictures for routines and supply lists, and invite the family in for a brief welcome meeting. Ask about the child's previous schooling, interests and anything the school should know.
Can the student work on the materials alone?
Partly. Once a routine is familiar, worksheets with pictures and word banks work well for independent practice or with a buddy. New language still needs to be introduced by an adult or a peer who models it. Plan a few minutes of direct teaching before each independent task.
Start with a name and a buddy
Say the student's name correctly on day one and pair them with a kind classmate. Everything else builds from there.
See the newcomer bundle