Reflection
Last semester, I had an
opportunity to do some research/facts about HISD. After that, I started concern about how
to teach English Language Learners. In HISD, the ethnicity percent of students are listed as follows: 61.84% Hispanic, 24.02% African
American, 4.05% Asian, 8.7% White and about 100 languages spoken. The percentage of students participated in any ELL support programs are 31.47% in Limited English Proficient (LEP) program, 12.35% in English Second Language (ESL) program and 20.01% in Bilingual program. Just
by looking at those numbers, I thought Second Language Methodology course can somehow
beneficial in my career. Therefore, I enrolled in this course but I have never
thought this course will bring many useful knowledge that
help me to become a good teacher not only for my English Language Learners but
also for all my students. I feel that I have learned many different knowledge
about teaching, supporting my English Language Learners from the video, blog,
reading, and assignments.
According to Wright (2015, p. 2), ELLs vary widely by race,
ethnicity, home language, levels of schooling, socioeconomic status, parents’
level of education, parents’ proficiency in English. Teachers should know about
student’s background, cultural, and their interests. It will help me as a
teacher to better support my students in the classroom and make ELL students feel
more welcome and comfortable in the new environment.
I
felt every blog, video, reading and assignments in this course was relevant. It
was my first time creating a blog so it’s very interesting but I was a little
nervous to recorded myself and sharing my thoughts. After 1st Blog
Entry, I felt more comfortable to share because my classmates had established
an effective and safe online classroom environment/ community. I feel blog is a great tool
for me to keeping my learning journal and learn from my "online" classmates. For me, the reading is a little
bit to hard to read and find the main ideas. I hope that there is some study
guide to support the chapter reading then it would be perfect for me to get the content and learn the main ideas.
You made a great point regarding teachers being able to relate to students from all backgrounds, cultures and languages. We as teachers can do this by communicating with the students, parents, reviewing the student IEP and observing. Observing provides teachers with a way to assess English Language learners’ performance, progress and expectations (Wright, 2015, p. 139). There are many ways to observe which includes; informal observation or by using assessments to gauge a student ability, strengthens and weaknesses. Teachers become better equipped to teach their students when they take the time out to know their students. Many students find themselves overwhelmed with school, learning a new language, adapting and peer pressure. The classroom should be a place where they feel safe and ready to learn.
ReplyDeleteWright, W.E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English language learners: research, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hey Nicole,
DeleteI agree with the fact that it is extremely important for teachers to understand every students backgrounds and cultures. As a teacher we do have to make every student feel safe and comfortable in our classroom that is our job. If a student does not feel this way they will think they do not belong. Which will hurt their self esteem and confidence level. So therefore, what you said is really crucial in a classroom.
Hi Nicole,
DeleteThank you for reading my reflection. I’m agreeing with you that there are many ways to obtain student’s information. We can ask the parents, in a sensitive way at a back- to- school or during teacher- parent conferences. Another way that I had seen and would like to do is including “All about Me” activity at the beginning of the year.
Hello Emily,
DeleteI think you’re totally right about the important of “knowing our students” and their feeling in our classroom. According to Wright, “Teachers must get to know their students by obtaining information about their sociocultural background” (p. 24). This information will help teachers make the best possible decisions to provide effective instruction for their ELLs.
Hello Quynh!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to a lot of the topics that you touched on in your blog, as well as learning from some of the statistics that you mention. I was not aware that the ELL population was as vast or diverse as it is. That makes taking this class all the more worth it. I initially chose this class because it sounded interesting and because it appeased my degree plan, but I am so grateful that I took this class. I have been able to learn a lot of strategies that could help me become a better teacher to all my students, especially for my ELLs. I also agreed with the ambivalence about making video blogs. At first I thought it was weird because it is not something I would usually do, but I feel that it made the class more personal. I was able to connect with my classmates more over video in this online class.
Hey Nadia!
DeleteThank you for reading my reflection and my blog. I had the same feelings as you at the beginning of this course. I was not comfortable to recording myself in the interviews and sharing my thoughts. But then, I feel lucky to have the opportunity to do these things. Wright (2015) mentioned “All teachers are language teachers”. In my opinion, this course is not only beneficial to Language Art teachers but also to all other content teachers.
I also believe that this course will prove to be very beneficial in my future career as an educator. I also work in a district that has a high number of students participating in some type of ELL program. This class has definitely taught us to be aware of ELLs’ different learning styles and how to incorporate that into our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteI also didn’t like to record myself for the blogs at first, but like you mentioned, Dr. Avellaneda definitely helped establish a safe online classroom community.
Hi Angelica,
DeleteThis class was really beneficial when learning about ELLs and their environment. Coming from a school where we do not have ELLs this class helped me gain a better insight on strategies I can use when I do have my own class and if I have ELLs. I think this was a great class to help me with my future classroom.
Hey Emily,
DeleteThank you for adding comments into my reflection blog. I think at this time we’re getting ready to graduate and have our own classroom. What strategies would you use to support your ELLs student in your classroom? For 1st year teacher, I belief reach out to ELL/bilingual colleagues, reading specialists, special education teachers, and parents will valuable.
Hey Angelica!
DeleteAbsolutely! I couldn’t agree more about the beneficial of this class. One way to incorporate and support ELLs is adding a multicultural perspective to the lesson. Students may also be motivated to explore content and deepen their understanding of material that they had not previously shown interest in. What other ways to support ELL that you will use in your classroom?
You mentioned that teachers should know about student’s background, culture, and their interests. What strategies will you implement to get to know your students beyond their academic skills? I definitely believe that by first understanding who our students are as individuals can help us as teachers create lessons that tend to the student differences we will experience in our classrooms. One strategy that I plan on using throughout the school year is to simply observe my students. Listening not only to their academic dialogue, but their social dialogue can provide insight as to what students' like/dislike, what their norms are, and then you can take this information and use it to your advantage.
ReplyDeleteHi Maggie,
DeleteThank you for taking time to read my reflection and your comment is really meaningful. “Observe student” strategy is exactly what I was thinking in my head and for sure I will be using in my classroom. Additionally, the efforts that teachers make to add a rich, cultured dimension to the curriculum enhance the learning and understanding of students and create excitement in the classroom.