Great Ways to Scaffold while Teaching ESL

How to use Scaffolding

Scaffolding is an important teaching technique that ensures the student can meet lesson objectives. You can think of a building’s scaffolding as a metaphor. While building, scaffolding provides support until the building can stand on its own. While teaching, scaffolding supports students until they can produce the content independently.

You can scaffold up or scaffold down.

You can also scaffold vocabulary by being aware of the 3 tiers of vocabulary.

ESL Teachers can scaffold down if a student needs more support.

Scaffolding in ESL Classes: the PPP Approach

A common ESL lesson plan structure that utilizes scaffolding is the PPP approach (Present, Practice, Produce).

Some refer to this lesson plan structure as the “I do, we do, you do” approach. Whatever you call it, the strategy is simple. First, you present, or show, or model how to do something. Then, you guide the student and practice it together. Finally, you release the student and they produce, create, or use the new knowledge on their own.

Scaffold Up and Down

Tips to scaffold down to ESL students

Give the student a sentence frame to use
Model activities by completing them for the student first
First, read a passage to the student, then have the student read it with support, then have them read it independently
Using TPR or props to remind students of vocabulary is a simple scaffolding method, too

A woman with brown hair, wearing a brown turtleneck sweater, is smiling at a laptop with her hand over her chest while wearing ear buds — Scaffolding is an important teaching technique that ensures the student can meet lesson objectives.

Tips to Scaffold Up to ESL Students

ESL teachers can use scaffolding up to increase student independence when the student is at a higher level than the lesson.

Ask the student to explain the vocabulary word in their own words
Ask the student to create new sentences with the new words they learned
Ask the student to create their own TPR or props for words
Use known sentence frames to discuss other topics.

Bottom Line

Scaffolding is a helpful teaching technique in which the teacher helps the student progressively acquire skills until they become independent. You can scaffold up or scaffold down by working within the following frameworks: 3 tiers of vocabulary, use the “I do, we do, you do” approach, or the PPP approach (Present, Practice, Produce).

Related Keywords: scaffolded instructions, weak learners, Lev Vygotsky, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), explicit instruction, scaffolded instructional strategies for ells, sentence frames, Schema Building, modeling, tiered vocabulary

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