Entry 4: Reflection
I thoroughly enjoyed taking second language methodology. Learning a second language is not easy and as educators, we should take the time to get to know our students so we can better help our English language learners. Each student is different and I will take the time to know my students because I can research their culture to get ideas as to what I can do "to be sensitive to his or her culture and incorporate aspects of that culture into the classroom" (Wright, 2015, p. 24). I like the idea of teaching students something about the culture of an ELL student that they are passionate about. For example, maybe they are interested in plants so they can become an "expert" when talking about plants from their country. It would allow for the student to better feel a part of the classroom and the students get to understand the ELL student.
This class has taught me multiple strategies I will take with me into my future classroom. For example, total body response, songs and chants, and think-pair-share are strategies I would like to use. I would like to teach kindergarten and they learn colors. I could use total body response for my students to point to things that are a certain color in the classroom. For songs and chants, there are quite a few songs I was taught in elementary school that I remember fifteen years after learning them. I learned a song to spell every color, to learn shapes, and other things. Therefore, it would be beneficial for ESL students to learn songs themselves to learn new vocabulary (Wright, 2015). Think-pair-share would be helpful for ESL students because it gives every student the opportunity to talk. The ESL students would also hear from someone who is fluent in the language.
I learned how much of an impact I have on my students as an educator while going through this course. No matter what type of ELL program my school has set for the ELL students, they are my responsibility. Wright claims some teachers see their ELL students as the ESL's teachers responsibility, but these students will spend a lot of time in my classroom as well and I cannot ignore those students in favor of my non-ELL students who spend all of their time in the classroom (2015). In the 2009-2010 school year, there were over 726,062 ELL students in Texas, with a density of 15% (Wright, 2015). As time progresses, the amount of ELL students will only grow, and it is unlikely I will not encounter an ELL student in my classroom. How I choose to approach teaching my students will effect their learning. I already thought of patience as an important part of my teaching philosophy and this course has just emphasized the importance patience. From there, I will add keeping an open mind to my teaching philosophy because some things that may have worked for ELL students in the past may not work for the ELL students I have in the classroom at the moment or my ELL students in the future.
This class has taught me multiple strategies I will take with me into my future classroom. For example, total body response, songs and chants, and think-pair-share are strategies I would like to use. I would like to teach kindergarten and they learn colors. I could use total body response for my students to point to things that are a certain color in the classroom. For songs and chants, there are quite a few songs I was taught in elementary school that I remember fifteen years after learning them. I learned a song to spell every color, to learn shapes, and other things. Therefore, it would be beneficial for ESL students to learn songs themselves to learn new vocabulary (Wright, 2015). Think-pair-share would be helpful for ESL students because it gives every student the opportunity to talk. The ESL students would also hear from someone who is fluent in the language.
I learned how much of an impact I have on my students as an educator while going through this course. No matter what type of ELL program my school has set for the ELL students, they are my responsibility. Wright claims some teachers see their ELL students as the ESL's teachers responsibility, but these students will spend a lot of time in my classroom as well and I cannot ignore those students in favor of my non-ELL students who spend all of their time in the classroom (2015). In the 2009-2010 school year, there were over 726,062 ELL students in Texas, with a density of 15% (Wright, 2015). As time progresses, the amount of ELL students will only grow, and it is unlikely I will not encounter an ELL student in my classroom. How I choose to approach teaching my students will effect their learning. I already thought of patience as an important part of my teaching philosophy and this course has just emphasized the importance patience. From there, I will add keeping an open mind to my teaching philosophy because some things that may have worked for ELL students in the past may not work for the ELL students I have in the classroom at the moment or my ELL students in the future.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub.
Hello Veronica! You mentioned one of the strategies you would take with you to your classroom is songs and chants. I think this is a great idea "because learning to sing songs in English can be an enjoyable way to learn the language, music is a big part of many classrooms for ELLs of all ages and proficiency levels" (Wright, 2015, p. 169). Songs and chants also help student’s memories the content of the songs easier. Think-pair-share is an excellent strategy as well because both the ELL I interviewed and the ESL teacher said that it is easiest to pick up social conversation from interacting with peers. The ELL learner told me speaking with other native English speakers helped her tremendously in the pronunciation of words.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
DeleteHello Tori,
I understand what you mean. Think-pair-share is a great strategy that works well for many different students. Not just ELL students. This strategy is a good way to ease ELL students out of their silent period. Silent period is a time when an ELL student is not speaking in the classroom (Wright, 2015. p. 155). Using one of the cooperative learning strategies will show the student different view points of other students and will push them to share what they think. In doing so, the student will learn how to appropriately form sentences.
Wright, Wayne. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice(2nded.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
Hi Tori! Songs and chants that are catchy stand out to students. Learning these songs "also help students master the proper intonation of words and phrases" while chants can assist ELLs in learning language structures (Wright, 2015, p. 169). While using songs and chants, we can take it a step further and use gestures while singing. By doing so, we give ELLs who are having a hard time learning English the opportunity to actively participate (Wright, 2015).
DeleteWright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub.
I am definitely an advocate for using music to learn material. It has been a tool that I have used consistently throughout my academic career. There is a ton of research that explains the extent to which music can enhance the learning process. Wright tells us that by adding, “a rhythm or a tune to a piece of text and it becomes more memorable” (2015, p.169). I used this strategy in my chemistry course just last year to help me memorize the periodic table. I do not think that I would have been able to remember all of the elements names and placement on the table without the use of a catchy tune!
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Hi Veronica,
ReplyDeleteIt was enjoyable to read your reflection. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with us. It is true that the population of our society is growing culturally diversity nowadays. It is important for current and future teachers need to pay attention and be aware of the needs of the ESL students in the classroom. As experiencing an ESL student myself, I understand that ESL students have to face many difficulties in their learning due to their language barrier and culture differences. Teachers should take their time to get to know their ESL students’ cultural backgrounds and home language(s) to find out the struggles that they are facing and provide effective and appropriate instructions which help them meet their needs, overcome their obstacles, and achieve their best academic performance. Like what Wright said, “ Knowing a student’s ethnicity and country of origin, for example, allows the teacher incorporate appropriate multicultural education strategies and techniques into the curriculum. Knowing the student’s home language or languages allows the teacher to provide primary language support that can accelerate the student’s acquisition of English and comprehension of academic instruction (2015, p. 16-17).”
Reference:
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub.
Hi Trinh! I agree that we as teachers need to be aware of our student's needs. Wright (2015) gives an example of a student having literacy skills in their home language. He said a teacher can then "use bilingual dictionaries and other written materials in that language to provide support and use strategies that facilitate literacy transfer from the home language to English" (Wright, 2015, p.17). If the teacher does not know the student if literate in their home language, they would never know they could use a bilingual dictionary.
DeleteWright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub.
Hello Veronica,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your reflection for this class. I agree as educators we need to know all our students. In what I have observed with past teachers, this is can be hard. I found if teachers culture background was different from the students, there was more of a disconnect. If this approach is taken, it can cause a breakdown in learning environment. For an ELL student, this is harder because not only is there a learning barrier but also a language barrier. Once educators know the background of their students, they can know what differentiated instruction to use. According to Wright 2015, “this approach, of course, requires more work, but it is the hallmark who are true professionals” (p.264). In the end the hard work will be the biggest pay off.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Adrene! I think Theodore Rosevelt's quote, "Nothing in this world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, and difficulty," rings true for most things, especially teaching (Baer & Feloni, 2016). Getting to know every student takes time and effort but it is for the benefit of the students. Wright (2015) mentions by understanding your student's culture, the teacher can understand the student and include their culture in the classroom. It would allow for the student to feel welcome.
DeleteBaer, D., & Feloni, R. (2016). 15 Teddy Roosevelt quotes on courage, leadership, and success. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/theodore-roosevelt-quotes-2016-2
Hello Veronica,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your reflection. I agree that educators should take the time to get to know each student. Our students may come from many different places. This is why I will be using the list that Wright suggest for educators in his text which says that we should know: “(1) language and literacies used at home; (2) ELP level; (3) educational history in the home country and in the United States; (4) length of time in the United States; (5) reason for immigration; (6) number of siblings; and (7) parents’ educational history, employment, and proficiency in English and other languages (2015. p. 23). I would pay the most attention for the last 3 suggestions from this list. Some parents leave their home countries for a variety of reasons that might affect the students learning, especially if the family left in fear. The number of siblings could be a factor in the students’ misbehaviors. Maybe they are not getting enough or too much attention at home. If parents have fallen on hard time, this would increase the stress for children even in the classroom.
Wright, Wayne. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice(2nded.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
Hi Eddy! You give great examples as to why you would focus on the last three suggestions from Wright's list (2015). I also find it interesting that you choose the the last three suggestions because personally, I would focus on the first three. If a teacher knows their home language, they can find out if they have a similar sentence structure to English or not. The student's English language proficiency allows the teacher to know if they are in a silent period or if they are near fluency. The educational history allows teachers to know if they can transfer the language to English.
DeleteWright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub.
Hi Veronica,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your reflection on this class and I share a lot of the similar feelings that you do. I love the idea of using songs and chants to help students learn new information. I would also like kindergarten or first grade, so I can really relate to this idea. I can imagine that teaching in Texas with a 15% students population of ELLs (Wright, 2015), we will encounter ELL students in our classroom. Learning everything we did in this class will definitely help us succeed in teaching ELLs in our future.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Hannah! I think songs and chants will stand out to our students and be a fun way for them to learn. I believe since I can remember songs from years later is a testament to the fact that they work. Spanish is the most common language among ELLS (Wright, 2015). In Houston specifically, 38% of the population speak Spanish (houstontx.gov). I agree what we learned in this class is invaluable to our future classrooms.
Deletehttps://www.houstontx.gov/ispeakhouston/top25HoustonLanguages2014.pdf
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub.
Hi Hannah, I do believe that integrating songs and chants to help students learn is a valuable tool, as well. In my own experience, it seems to resonate deeper with me, as I am sure it does with you and the other commenters who also agree. This tool aids in a students' oral language proficiency, which is "essential for reading comprehension" (Wright, 2015, p. 180). These tools in conjunction with each other seems to be a marriage that produces valuable outcomes. I will be sure to incorporate other forms of oral language skills, because I am aware of the indirect benefits it has on an ELL’s success.
DeleteReference:
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub.
Hi Verionica! Thank you for sharing some of the things that you learned throughout the duration of this course and explaining some strategies you will use in your classroom with your ELLs! It seems like you have such a positive attitude and a true passion to help any ELLs you may have learn to the best of their ability and that is inspiring. Ortega mentions that having a positive attitude is not the only thing that will yield a true understanding of the L2, but that it is still important (Ortega, 2013). I think that you will instill a positive attitude in your students and they will be very excited to learn from you.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Hello Verioniva!
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost thank you for sharing your view on the classroom and some of the things you have learned throughout the course. I agree with you on taking the time to get to know your students and their needs as it is essential to their success. I do believe each student is different in their own right and needs special attention. It is also essential to know this will take time. I do agree with you on how this class has taught us multiple strategies to take in the ELLs classroom setting. My favorite strategy would have to be to incorporate songs and chants as I believe they would be easy to remember. And lastly I agree with you on pair-sharing on how it would be a useful strategy to use to allow students to be outspoken.