As a history teacher, you may have one or more English as a Second Language (ESL) students in your class who have varying levels of proficiency in speaking English. While you should still conduct your history lessons as usual, you can utilize other strategies to help these ESL students understand the topic. Although you will need to modify tests and guide these students through the sometimes tedious history textbooks, one of the most important factors in helping an ESL student succeed is to welcome them to your class with a positive attitude.

Administer an ESL proficiency test, or if your school has already done so (which is likely), study the student's results carefully. Knowing if your ESL student is very proficient at writing and reading but struggles with speaking and listening will help you plan the first few lessons; in this case have the student read history passages and answer questions rather than listen to your lecture.

Read through any text, notes or visuals you have prepared prior to a lesson and take note of the main theme of the lesson. ESL students try to take in each word for fear of missing something and often become overwhelmed with the sheer amount of statistics and dates that come with any history lesson. Help them understand the relevance of the history lesson and build their English skills by guiding their attention to the overall concept; for example, the date and names of generals in a specific battle are not as important to remember as the role that battle played in shaping the outcome of the war.

Prepare as many visual aids as possible. The history textbook you use likely comes with illustrations; give those particular focus. ESL students feel understandably comfortable with pictures and they are a valuable aid in helping you illustrate a point. Timelines and graphs can also be useful to an ESL student in a history class.

Print copies of your lecture for students if you use the lecture approach. Trying to write down everything you say in a second language is overwhelming, but with a copy of the lecture the ESL student can relax and focus on the other aspects of the lesson. As you lecture, think carefully about your language choice. History lectures often call for more academic vocabulary than the ELS student is accustomed to, and you may need to paraphrase certain points to help him understand.

Pair the ESL student up with one of your stronger history students, so he can help answer any questions while you are managing your classroom. Not only will the ESL student benefit from the help, but it may also prevent a student at the top of the class from getting bored.