Vblog Entry 1
Wright defines an English Language Learner as "a student who is in the process of attaining proficiency in English as a new, addition language" (2010, pg. 1). Being so close to Mexico, I think that Texans sometimes get lost in the fact that and English Language Learner student can be more than just a child who only speaks English. We live in a world where people come from all different languages, cultures, and backgrounds. There are so many different types of ELLs. It is important that each student's gets the proper attention in order to succeed in school. Luckily the federal government established the No Child Left Behind Act, which according to Wright "refers to ELLs as limited English Proficient students, defined as those whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing or understanding the English language may be sufficient to deny the individual -- (i) the ability to meet the State's proficient level of achievement on State assessments...; (ii) the ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where the language of instruction is English; or (iii) the opportunity to participate fully in society" (2012, pg. 3). With that being said, it means that every student, regardless of their skin color, background, culture, whatever difference, they should be treated equally and given the same opportunities for success. Houston is only going to continue to grow in diversity, so it is important that this city does its best to welcome, care, and educate English Language Learner students. I hope as I continue to observe and eventually teach in the Houston area, I will grow tremendously on how to better the ELL education. I want to be the best teacher possible for a diverse class, meeting each student's special needs. I hope this class helps me become that better teacher for the ELL students. Thanks for reading!
References:
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Harlie! American sign language was never offered at my school, and I wish it was. I would have been prepared to communicate with my uncle if I had a chance to learn sign language at school. But instead I had to learn little by little from him with the little bit of conversations we had. But you views of how you would want to connect with your future ESL students is the best way to go. Without the prior knowledge of where they come from and how they learn, we as teachers would not even know where to begin. According to Wright (2015), important use of information of the student is for teachers to identify appropriate supplemental education materials for use in the classroom, such as bilingual (or bilingual picture) dictionaries and fiction and nonfiction books in the students’ home language.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I think that is amazing how you tried to learn American Sign Language to be able to communicate with your uncle. I agree with you that it is important to know about the students to be able to provide them the correct educational materials. Wright also mentions, "It is important to recognize that though ELLs may come from a Spanish-speaking country, their home language may not be Spanish" (2010, pg. 10). Even simple information like this is necessary to know as a teacher to be able to correctly and effectively teach an English Language Learner. Teachers also need to be made aware of the variety of the student's home language due to the variation of the standard language which we are taught in foreign language classes (Wright, 2010, pg. 11).
DeleteYes, I am glad you brought that up. Even though there is the Spanish language, in different countries there are completely different words for certain objects. For example, for the word "Truck" there are some Spanish speaking countries that call it by "Troca" and others by "Camión". It just depends which country you are in. And it is important to know specifically where a child comes from because you can be pronouncing an object in Spanish that is not the word they say in their culture. According to the text, many ELLs may speak a variety of their home language that differs from the standard variety (Wright, 2015, p 11).
DeleteAn idea of yours that I agree with is the necessity to maintain the English language learner’s native language. Wright (2015) believes that a key determinant in a student’s success is the availability of programs that aid in the student maintaining proficiency of their native language (Wright, 2015, p. 2). My stepsisters were taught Spanish as their first language; however, due to its rare use in our home, their fluency decreased drastically. Couple that with the fact that they do not consume Spanish-speaking media nor have opportunities to read and write in the language and it is clear to see how easy it is to lose one’s native language. Hearing that you’re interested in learning new languages to achieve a level of understanding among your diverse students seems to be in line with Wright’s thinking. Providing instruction in their native language, if possible, will surely be a rewarding supplement as well.
ReplyDeleteReference:
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub.
Hello Brandon! Regardless of what school, title, of level of income district that I am in, I personally want to be the best teacher for each child regardless of their circumstances. Wright states, "Public education cannot fulfill its mission if students growing up in poverty, students of color and low-performing students continue to be disproportionately taught by inexperienced, under-qualified teachers" (2010, pg. 15). I think that statement is wrong and unacceptable, and that is why I believe that it is important to know a student's background and make the appropriate accommodations to an ELLs work. As a future educator, you should do the most to be able to have each child succeed.
DeleteHi Harlie! I enjoyed your introduction and listening about your experience with Spanish as a second language. When I was in high school I took French, and even though I didn't stick with it, I do remember how well my teacher taught us through the main quadrants of language being speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Wright states that teachers as educators are to evaluate their form of instruction to fit students' language needs both written and oral (2015, p.29). The fact that your Spanish professor put little to no emphasis on the oral part of the language is disappointing. As well, I remember my French teacher referencing back to our home languages being Spanish and English to help us catch on to words or phrases that are similar in both languages which could help us remember, and that is something that Wright also mentions that teachers are to recognize students' home language as a resource for teaching (2015, p.29).
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub.
Wow, it seems to me Nancy that you had an incredible foreign language teacher that wanted you all to learn about the connections of language. According to Wright, "Most educators agree that multicultural education is important, but there are vast differences in how schools address it" (2010, pg. 21). It seems to me that your school took multicultural education very seriously.
DeleteHi Harlie! Indeed, sometimes all it takes is teachers to promote bilingualism or multilingualism. In fact, my French teacher was a great example of promoting "additive bilingualism", for she never stopped speaking to us in English as a way to help us notice the differences and similarities between the languages (2015, p.21). I found her way of teaching motivating since not one of us in class felt pressured to learn the language, but instead felt motivated to learn.
DeleteReferences:
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub.
Hi Harlie! I love that one of your teachers was able to incorporate the students culture into the classroom, I am glad that she used that to bridge not only a connection to the students but also allowed the students to a bridge a connection to the English Language Learner. I agree with you when you said that you should try to adapt each students culture into your classroom to ensure that they are able to succeed. I loved your idea of having the assignments in both their native language as well as English. There is a list of what every teacher should know about their students and that includes the language and literacy at home. (Wright 23) I believe that using this can help create the connection you need to your students.
ReplyDeleteHello Nayab! I feel like if we adapt each child's culture into our classroom environment, then they will look at school as a comfortable, trusting and home-like environment. Wright states, "Helping ELLs succeed academically requires helping them adjust to the culture of the classroom and the school by giving them access to what McKinney and Norton (2008) call "dominant or privileged ways of knowing and doing" (p. 201)" (2010, pg. 19.) Like I mentioned above, I have to agree with Wright in this statement, because in the end, all students need to be comfortable.
DeleteHey Harlie! Diversity is very important when working with students, especially in a city like Houston. In order to form a classroom environment that supports trust and welcomes all students, all types of diversity must be recognized, such as diversity in similar languages. Wright explains how there can be differences within the same language, such as in Spanish (Wright 2015) . A student from Mexico and a student from Puerto Rico will both speak Spanish, however different words and phrases may be spoken differently. As an ESL educator, we should recognize the diversity within languages and understand how the variations of a language may impact how a child learns, instead of just lumping all Spanish speaking students together, Recognizing their differences is a sign a respect which may increase student interest and motivation in return.
ReplyDeleteI actually have witnessed the differences within the same language through a close family friend of mine. It is important as an educator to realize these things and take them into consideration when teaching an ELL student. Like you mentioned, Wright also says "Educators who work with ELLs must be aware of the linguistic diversity in their schools and surrounding communities" (2010, pg. 16). Teachers must be very alert of their surrounding and soak that in to be able to perform the job correctly and appropriately.
DeleteWe do live in a city that has a lot of diversity and I believe people forget this. Some have the expectations that all that live in Houston speak English or should only speak English. The beauty of Houston is the diversity it offers. The other day I was at my daughter’s high school graduation, and I had a family member that lives only 4 1/2 hours away, and she said, “Wow I forgot how diverse Houston is, I forgot this because where I am living now, we do not have this kind of diversity.” I feel that diversity brings more benefit to our city. I also feel as a future educator the diversity we have is also a benefit for our schools. We must embrace it and help cultivate it. According to Wright (2015), Data from the NCELA (2011), reveal that in the 2009-10 school year, most ELLs lived in the following eight states: California, Texas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Arizona, New York, and North Carolina” (p.7). This has been several years ago that this data was collected, so I can only imagine how much more it has grown. The data shows the state we live in, this shows teachers will have ELLs in their classroom, we need to make sure as educators, we are on board to do whatever it takes to help give the support our ELL students need to have the academic success they deserve.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.