Entry 3: Interview with ESL teacher
Last year Roxana did teach ESL classes instead of
sheltered instruction, but the school switched to sheltered instruction to
focus more on academics. The text book talks about the difference between ESL
and Sheltered Instruction, ESL is more focused on teaching English to students
that aren’t proficient while Sheltered Instruction is more focused on
content-area instruction being more comprehensible for ELLs (Wright, W. E. 2015).
Roxana stated that she believes this
method works better for the students in the school because most of the time we’re
only focused on ELA classes for ELLs, which leaves them helpless in their other
classes. Sheltered instruction is giving them better support for all their
classes and is teaching them English at the same time. A lot of times teachers
forget that knowing and understanding English is needed for every content-area.
If an ELL doesn’t understand English in an ELA class chances are they won’t
understand it in the other classes as well.
I agree with Roxana’s advice about having
patience with ELLs and to understand that they’re going through a difficult
time. The biggest thing I think we should take away from the interview I did
with her is that we should try to learn about our students’ culture and
background. ELLs can be a wide range of students, but we need to show them that
we care about who they are as individuals and show them that we’re interested
in learning about them. I wanted to interview an ESL teacher who’s been
teaching for at least three years and who could speak the language that their
students speak. I have a lot of teachers in my family so it’s easy to find
people who have experience and knowledge about the programs.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for
teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice (2nd
ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing.
Hey Karen! I really enjoyed your video! I think that we should have "a teacher pulls small groups of ELLs out of their regular classrooms to provide ESL instruction, typically for 30 to 60 minutes or more a day" (Wright, 2015) This way, students are able to practice some key phrases and terms. If students don't understand English in their ELL classes, i think they will also suffer in other classes. I agree with you there. Something that I've always wondered was do they teach students the names of science phrases in English as well? There are a lot of different words in Spanish for science phrases that aren't the same in English. I'd be interested to see if there is a difference there.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great if they did pull-out ESL in every school, but it's usually only done in elementary schools (Wright, 107). I feel that a lot of students in middle school, and even high school, could benefit from this type of instruction. Newcomer ELLs aren't only entering elementary schools, so it's insane to only include pull-out ESL in these schools. A lot of the students in my 1st period class could benefit from pull-out ESL, even if it's just a little bit of help.
DeleteWright, Wayne (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, Second Edition
That's how I feel about my students as well. I have several students who cannot read at their grade level and I often feel conflicted with how they got this far. It's sad because you can tell that they are trying but they needed more help. I often try to help them and give them a little more of my time since right now I am allowed too, since I am the student teacher. However, I do have to raise the question: What will I do when it's just me and there is not another person there to help me with this.
DeleteHey Karen! I appreciated your approach to this interview. I liked that you asked questions that required a deeper answer. Just like you I agree with Roxana's advice. If a student who isn't an ELL requires a lot of patience, a student who is an ELL requires even more patience. Her advice to future ELLs was very helpful. She managed to talk about how knowing about the ELLs culture and background will ultimately help you (the teacher) build a relationship with the student, and this is completely true. It's easy to be oblivious and just go into class and try your best to teach, but the moment you understand your ELL on a deeper and personal level, you manage to learn what works for them and what doesn't. Wright talks about how “Teachers can help ELLs acquire new words in instructional and natural, non-instructional ways, by understanding that vocabulary acquisition happens most easily in context and related to topics that the students care about” (Wright, 2015, Pg. 35) By building a strong relationship with your student, you'll be able to push your ELL to limits them nor you thought possible.
ReplyDeleteI wish more teachers were like Roxana and had patience with the students, but because of the NCLB plan a lot of teachers don't. Some teachers are too concerned with meeting the AYP and don't pay attention to how the students feels throughout the whole process. There is a purposeful under-identification of ELLs and some educators encourage ELLs to drop out (Wright, 136). It's ridiculous that these students aren't receiving the best help they can get and are being encouraged to give up. This isn't something that good teachers and educators should do.
DeleteWright, Wayne (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, Second Edition
Hello Karen! I agree with Daisy, I liked how you demonstrated your interview! I felt the same way as she said when I was pulled out as a kid. When you are a kid, especially in Kindergarten, you do not really understand why you need extra help outside of the classroom. In my case I was often times pulled out during recess so it felt like I was being punished. Having to see that I was the only one in my class who needed to have extra help made me feel like I was not smart enough like the other students. You mentioned how sometimes she has a difficult time helping them in their pronunciation because of her first language. I think this is a bonus for her because she understand the challenge her students are going through in having to go from Spanish to English. It also shows students how it is important to continue practicing but that it is also perfectly fine to mispronounce sometimes. Sheltered English Immersion is new to me so I liked that I was able to get an understanding of it from your interview. Wright (2015, pg. 109) mentioned how "teachers should use ample PLS to help make English instruction more comprehensible". This is what Roxana said she does in her classroom when her students are having difficulty. I think no matter which program is being used having that little bit of help in their native language can help them. Also just giving them breaks to just speak in their native language can help them clear their mind.
ReplyDeleteWright, E. W. (2015). Foundations of Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Caslon Publishing.
That is such a great idea. In one of my classes, I have a lot of students who are previous ESL students and because my middle school does not have a ESL class, these students are often being told to only speak English. However, sometimes you just want to speak Spanish and clear your mind, like you said! I feel like we should be making the kids feel more at home and more welcomed.
Delete