For my final
interview I chose my aunt, Mrs. Gates.
She teaches in a small rural elementary school in Sealy, Texas. She has mostly students from low socio-economic
backgrounds. The students have not had
many experiences that would help them learn the English language. Many of their parents do not have a college
education, work long hours at minimum wage jobs and do not really know how to
help their children with homework. The
children at this school fit the educational achievement section from chapter
one where it says,” … the majority of ELLs are ethnic minorities from
low-income families,” (Wright, 2015, p.13).
My aunt says she believes that consideration of her students’ home
language and culture is important for her success with these children. She has a self-contained classroom and has
great support from the ESL teacher if she needs additional strategies. At this
point in the school year, my aunt says her students’ English skills are
definitely progressing. The students,
with older siblings at home, are making the most gains because they are able to
practice English at home. Wright refers
to this when he states, “If the student is one of the younger children in the
family, and the family has been in the United States for several years, it is
likely that the older siblings speak English and use it often in the home,
“(Wright, 2015, p.17). The students who speak only Spanish at home are also
progressing, but at a slower pace.
Mrs. Gates says the students need to have
daily opportunities to practice English.
She does this by encouraging them to practice in small group settings. She says the activity they enjoy the most is
doing picture walks. She puts the students
in small groups with a picture and then they share information about the
picture as she walks around listening to each group. This gives the teacher time to offer
corrective feedback and share correct English with the whole group. This is an example of what Long refers to in
chapter seven when he says,” … proficient English speakers should provide
corrective feedback when they interact with ELLs,” (Wright, 2015, p.158). When
I asked her, what was the most important piece of advice that she would give me
to help my English language learners, she said,” Be patient.” She says at first many ELL students will be
afraid to speak especially in a classroom full of other students. She said to make sure that you learn what you
can about your students’ languages and their backgrounds. By being informed about simple routines or
religious beliefs, you can help a student and their family feel valued in your
school. The last thing she suggested to
me was to provide daily opportunities for students to practice their English in
a safe, non-threatening environment. The
students will not leave your classroom speaking perfect English and may not be
as good as other native English speakers for some time. With daily practice in
the classroom, they will leave you knowing more English vocabulary and with
English confidence they did not have previously.
Wright, Wayne E. (2015) Foundations for Teaching English
Language Learners, Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing
