Thursday, May 17, 2007

An ELLs personal experience

Since beginning this class, I have stopped to think about the various ELLs that are currently in the middle school where I am performing my junior field. Though I did not visually notice any students that may have learned a language other than English as their first, I knew this diverse school must have some. I spoke with my teacher about ELLs and she mentioned one particular girl who transferred to their school this past October from California. My cooperating teacher informed me that this girl’s first language was Spanish, and she was permitted to speak Spanish in all of her classes in California.

However, my teacher wanted to ensure that this student would not have a difficult time transitioning from schools, which meant beginning the process to learn English. My teacher mentioned several strategies she used to personally help this girl learn English that I thought they would be helpful to other teachers in similar situations. I stayed after class today to observe this lesson take place. First, she emphasized the amount of time she spent with the student each day after school. Since she is in seventh grade, it is much more difficult for her to learn a second language and it will take longer for her to put her newly learned language into use. My teacher gives her English vocabulary books to work on at home (in conjunction with the vocabulary the rest of the class must complete). They practice letter sounds by emphasizing the shape your mouth takes in order to produce the sound, and the student comes to the after school lessons with questions she may have about something she is learning in any of her classes, which needs to be written in English.

After watching this lesson, I decided to speak directly to the student about her English language learning progress. She revealed that her move from California to New Jersey was difficult in the beginning because she felt isolated in each of her classes. She felt that she could not communicate with anyone and eventually withdrew from the entire class. Through the discussion with this student, I have learned that teachers need to be aware of their classroom environment and the feelings of their students, especially ELLs. When you take the extra time to communicate with ELLs and find their strengths and weaknesses, their motivation to learn English and maintain their native language will increase.

1 comment:

Athena said...

Hello Lauren! I completely agree that it is important for teachers to be aware of their classroom environment, as well as, the feelings of all their students. In the reading packet on page twenty-eight it states, “The classroom must be a safe and supportive environment in which students feel free to take risks and recognize that these risks will be rewarded. ELL students need to attain a positive self-esteem so that they can view themselves as capable learners and so they can feel comfortable in learning the English language. As a teacher I would never want any of my students to go through the experience the female student you spoke to did. “She felt isolated in each of her classes. She felt that she could not communicate with anyone and eventually withdrew from the entire class”. Taking the time to communicate and show that we care about all of our students is so vital. It allows them to open up to us, which permits us to discover how each student feels. Open communication between teachers and students should be a number priority. I believe that if the student’s teacher kept lines of communication open with her she would of never had felt those negative feelings of isolation and she would of never withdrew from her classes. Instead teachers should motivate and encourage their ELL students learning process.