How to Support ESL Students: 5 Practical, Supportive Ways

Teaching online is wonderfully flexible, but screens can make students feel a little exposed. If you’re wondering how to support ESL students in ways that boost confidence and progress, here are five practical approaches you can use in your next lesson.

1) Show what “good” looks like with clear, kind goals

Students thrive when expectations are transparent. At the start of an activity, share one language aim and one success criterion. Keep it simple and student-friendly. Example:

• Aim: Use present perfect to talk about life experiences.

• Success looks like: “I’ve visited Japan twice” plus a follow-up detail.
  

Why it supports learners: clarity reduces anxiety, and small, visible wins create momentum. This is a quick, reliable way to support ESL students without adding prep time.

Micro-moves

• Post the aim in the chat and refer back to it during feedback.

• Offer a model answer at two levels: “good” and “great”.

• Invite students to self-check: “Did I include one follow-up detail?”
  

2) Praise the process, not the person

Swap vague praise for specific, effort-based feedback. You’ll build resilience and keep motivation steady.

Try saying

• “You reformulated that sentence clearly after feedback.”

• “You asked for clarification before answering. Smart move.”

• “You used two connectors to extend your idea.”
  

Mini script

• Glow: “Your idea was clear and organised.”

• Grow: “Next time, add one example with ‘for instance’ to deepen it.”

If you’d like to go deeper on helping learners feel capable, try our Self-Esteem & Confidence ESL Lesson Plan. It gives students the language to reflect on strengths, express achievements, and build resilience.

3) Scaffold language and participation

Scaffolding helps learners take the next step with confidence. Provide supports first, then gradually remove them.

Plug-and-play sentence frames

• Agreeing: “I agree with you because…”

• Disagreeing politely: “I see your point, though I’d add that…”

• Clarifying: “Could you repeat the part about…?”

• Extending: “Another example is…”
  

Quick scaffolds

• A five-word vocabulary bank for the task.

• A model voice note students can imitate before improvising.

• A timer and turn order to reduce social pressure.
  

This is one of the most reliable methods when deciding how to support ESL students during pair work and group tasks.

For functional classroom language, we recommend Expressing Hopes, Wishes & Intentions and Expressing Feelings & Mood States. Both lessons give learners practical sentence frames and vocabulary so they can participate with more ease and confidence.

4) Make feedback purposeful and kind

Keep feedback short, timely and actionable. Focus on one priority at a time.

Two-step feedback

1. Message: “Great idea; let’s polish the verb form.”

2. Method: Provide one model sentence and ask the learner to adapt it.
   

Light-touch correction codes

• wt = wrong tense

• wo = word order

• art = article

Invite students to spot and fix just two coded issues per paragraph. This keeps things manageable and motivating.

When students struggle with emotional weight, language can be the bridge. Our Asking for Help with Stress & Anxiety Lesson Plan equips learners with respectful, supportive phrases to talk about challenges without feeling exposed.

5) How to support ESL students by building psychological safety

Confidence grows in a culture of care. Open with a quick check-in and normalise not knowing.

One-minute check-ins

• “Green, yellow or red today for energy?”

• “Rose, thorn, bud: one good thing, one challenge, one thing you’re curious about.”
  

Privacy matters

• Invite questions in the chat or via a quick anonymous form.

• Correct sensitive errors privately, celebrate risks publicly.
  

Supportive language bank (save for your next lesson)

• “Take your time; I’m listening.”

• “That was a clear example; can you add one more detail?”

• “Let’s try a softer opener: ‘I see your point, though…’”

• “You corrected yourself. That’s exactly what good speakers do.”

You can also help learners handle difficulties through our Dealing with Problems & Change series — including collocations, phrasal verbs, and idioms lessons. These give students flexible vocabulary to express struggles, adapt to change, and talk about solutions.

🧰 Want to give your students a real communication toolkit for handling challenges with confidence? Start with our free resources, then explore lessons like Self-Esteem & Confidence, Expressing Hopes, Wishes & Intentions, Expressing Feelings & Mood States, and Asking for Help with Stress & Anxiety.

Our Dealing with Problems & Change collocations, phrasal verbs, and idioms  lessons also provide the natural English they need to express themselves when life gets difficult.