You know that feeling you get of not quite being included and on the same level as everyone else if you join a group activity half way through? It’s all to do with a sociological phenomenon called entry. It’s the first thing that happens human beings join a group and build relationships with the other people in it. If it goes well, the group is more likely to co-operate. If it doesn’t, the group is more likely to fracture.Managing entry is vital for adults and young people in educational settings as it sets the tone and expectations for how the group are going to work and behave. 

Making sure that ESL students experience high quality entry is a particular challenge, as there are a set of social and linguistic barriers to acceptance and integration into groups on top of the personality-led obstacles like shyness.

So what can educators do? When new ESL students arrive in your class, try the following techniques to ensure everyone has a positive entry experience.
    •     Create an opportunity for everyone to introduce themselves
    •     Positively reinforce expectations about ‘how we learn’
    •     Ask students to pick a buddy and use strategies like ‘Think, Pair, Share’
    •     Encourage students to listen and rephrase what their partner has expressed in an end of class review.

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