Vocabulary · Tier 1: everyday words
Same language buddy
Pair a new arrival with a classmate who shares their home language and has more English, for the first few weeks. The buddy explains routines and key instructions, so the new student can take part from the first day.
- Bands
- 1 to 2
- Stages
- Lower elementary, Upper elementary, Middle school and High school
- Settings
- Mainstream class
- Prep
- Low prep
How to do it
- Choose a buddy who is kind, reliable and confident in English, and ask them first.
- Explain the role: help with routines and instructions, and never do the work for them.
- Seat the pair together for the first two to four weeks.
- Check in with the buddy each week, and thank them.
- Widen the new student’s circle with English-speaking partners for group work.
In a lesson
Science (middle school)
On her first day, a Vietnamese-speaking student sits with a classmate who arrived two years earlier. During the safety briefing, the buddy quietly explains the rules for goggles and gas taps in Vietnamese, then helps her say “I’ve finished” in English at the end of the practical.
What commonly goes wrong
- The buddy ends up doing the new student’s work.
- The pairing lasts so long that the new student only talks to the buddy.
- There is no same language classmate. In that case, choose a patient, kind buddy and add translated routine cards.
Adapting it
For a lower band
Keep the pair together in all lessons for the first weeks.
For a higher band
Use the buddy for complex instructions only, and mix partners for group work.