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
Hello Stacey, you have an amazing video! Mrs. Gates provided a lot of advice to help ELLs students. According to Wright (2015), the most important and beneficial listening and speaking that students will do is through interaction.” Therefore, it is important for teachers to use different strategies for classroom interactions such as cooperative learning, think-pair-share, and class discussions. These interactions allow students to share their ideas and expand their viewpoints. In my interview, my teacher stated patience was important for your students. The teacher needs to create a safe learning environment for students to feel comfortable in. So, the students will feel comfortable to explore and gain confidence to learn more.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Stacey! I really enjoyed watching your interview with your aunt, Mrs. Gates. This is amazing how we both have some inspiring family members in the teaching and educational field. My mother is an elementary teacher who has been teaching for over 17 years in FBISD. She has passed the passion and love of teaching onto me now. Currently, I am looking forward to student teaching for next semester and what has in stored for me. On a different note, I liked how your aunt mentioned her teaching belief that as educators we need to consider our students’ home language and culture in the mix of our instructional content in classrooms. As a result, ELL students will become academically successful learning the English language at a quicker pace by simply applying this teaching strategy in classrooms. This is an accurate statement based on your aunt. In chapter 1 of the Wright textbook, Wright addresses the concept more in depth. Wright states that, “Knowing a student’s ethnicity and country of origin, for example, allows the teacher to 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” (Wright, 2015, pp.16-17). In this case, the teaching technique that Mrs. Gates used is the “picture walk”. This is a great way to aid ELL students of familiarizing themselves with new and unfamiliar vocabulary words. I, myself, would consider to apply this teaching technique in my future classroom. Great job! Also, congrats to you Ms. Stary. I am sure you will be a great kindergarten teacher with the nice, encouraging, teaching advice your Aunt has provided for you. All in all, I enjoyed watching and reading your VBLOG videos/entries. I have gained adequate information from your VBLOG, in order to prepare me to become a successful future teacher for my student teaching in the fall semester. Thank you and best of luck!
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Sheena, I agree with your idea with a picture walk. A picture walk allows students to connect vocabulary to the pictures. Therefore, students are able to define the word better, so the students are given more background knowledge of the vocabulary. According to Wright (2015), teachers can analyze text beforehand to determine which word student may need. Therefore, the teacher needs to assess the students’ reading level as the time goes by. Then, the students will be able to see their own reading level and vocabulary growth. Running records are a great example of assessing the students’ reading level and growth.
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Stacey, I really loved your video! Your aunt made some great points about how important it is to create a comfortable environment for the students to practice speaking English in. According to Wright, a student's "academic success depends in large part on how the school and the wider society treat them, their, language, their culture, and their community" (Wright, 2015, pp. 19). I believe this is because how others treat the students will have a large affect on their confidence in school. This is why it is important to learn about your students' cultures and native languages. After watching your video, I can see that your aunt really cares about her students and their success.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.