picture dictionary for ELL students

http://k6educators.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.enchantedlearning.com/DictionaryA.html
I felt that this was a great tool for ELL students. By using a picture dictionary the students can look at the word and the corresponding picture to help them learn the concept and understand better. Students can learn a great deal of information in a shorter amount of time and I feel that they will understand it better because they can relate the word to the picture.

Helping ELL students with math

http://www.nwrel.org/nwedu/11-03/report4/
This site is designed specifically for teachers of ELL students. What really stood out to me is that this service can be customized to meet a specific schools need. The information provided runs in clusters. For example kindergarten through second grade is grouped all together as well as third through fifth grade and so on. They provide various workshops, assignments, videos, and online chats. The contact information of the person in charge is provided at the bottom of the site for anyone interested in learning more. I also took notice to the comment posted by a participant of the online class forum. She said:
“What a difference [this course] has made already!” She went on to reflect, “Creative problem solving had almost been taught out of my students. Now my students understand that math can be done using various strategies and I have seen a huge improvement in comprehension and problem-solving skills from those students who were struggling at the beginning of the year.”

More About the Nukak tribe

After reading the NYTimes article I was curious to see what people who had never been touched by civilization would look like so I found these pictures and additional information on various websites Nukak - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia &

Nukak Maku by NIELS VAN IPEREN

Teaching Guidelines

http://ccsd.net/ellp/programs/teachingguidelines.html
This website provides guidelines for teachers of ELL students. This is useful because it teaches us how to meet student's needs in the areas of study skills, reading, listening, writing, speaking, and research. Student's need to learn how to organize their notes so that they can learn the information from them. The first experience students have with English is through listening. Teachers can help their students by using oral cues, written cues, a combination of both oral and written cues, physical response exercises, and multi-media support. It is extremely important that teachers create a comfortable and inviting environment to encourage early language. This is essential to help ELL students learn and develop. Some techniques include repetition drills, substitution and transformation drills, formulation exercises, dialogues, and role playing exercises. I really believe that role playing is a great way for student's to learn. It is important that they have practice and time to prepare before demonstrating it to the class. The next area is reading. Reading is a difficult skill for most students to master. The teacher can help by providing vocabulary, different exercises such as matching and recognition, and silent reading time. In my sophomore field I was placed in a kindergarten class in Perth Amboy. My cooperating teacher had the children select a book of their choice each week and take it home and read it with their parents. ELL students must also begin writing the English language as soon as possible. They can do paragraph writing and completion exercises. I think it is also a good idea to allow them to peer edit and then check it over as the teacher. This will help them to develop their skills.

http://teachersfirst.com/par-esl.cfm

Teachers first is a very valuable tool. I have used it in some of my early childhood classes, such as EC 2950-Technology and the child. This site that I found provides several individual links that all provide strategies and creative ways to teach ELL students. For example I opened up the first link which contained printable handouts, lesson plans, and quizzes. I was really impressed because it contained so worksheets for beginners, intermediate, and advanced ELL students in all subject areas. This is great because it helps meet the student's needs based upon the level they are currently at. Another link was titled learn english kids and it contained stories, songs, and games to help teach children. The only downfall is that it requires flash so you have to download that in order to use this site. Another link was titled teach children ESL-games. This link contained so many games that are a great tool for teachers and students. Games are good to add to lessons because children enjoy them and it makes learning fun for them. This website is a useful tool and I hope you all check it out.

United Kingdom's way of teaching English

At first I was just searching different games for ELL learners. I was quite intrigued that I found many and they all seem quite useful. However, when I looked more into the website, I realized that this was not United States based. This website is from the United Kingdom. I was amazed when I went to the core of the site http://www.bbc.co.uk/
That the site had a link on how to learn English! After clicking on the site, it seemed like any other English website. There was quizzes and interesting facts about the English language. This site gave examples of how to use the “English language today.” I never came from a different culture so I do not have the skill to know and understand two languages. I know have an understanding for these English language learners. I knew it was hard, but to have a site for adults on how to teach English really puts learning the language into perspective. This site even has different ways to learn English, such as by songs, pronunciation, and phrases to choose from. From random searches, I found: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/index.shtml
This website gave more games on how to teach others the English language. I was quite shocked that the majority of the every site I went to, mentioned something about learning English!

YOU

YOU

Everything ESL

This website has everything for teaching ELL/ESL students. It has access to 49 in-service ideas and strategies for both ESL and mainstream educators. It has featured teaching tips, year-round tips and twenty-five quick tips for classroom teachers. There is a link for every topic you can think of. For example: under featured teaching tips there are two topics which include, Elementary Web Sites for English Language Learners and Getting Started with English Language Learners: How Educators Can Meet the Challenge. The site also has tips on communicating and students’ learning styles. This site is very informative. Check it out! http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/

Cara

Online games to teach english

Need a fun way to teach ELL’s students? Teach the students by the use of online games. Here is a fantastic website that teaches students different basic words such as animals, body parts, fruits, and other information. Click on this website to explore: http://www.1-language.com/memorymatchelem/index.htm

ELL (readingrockets) website

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/417
Hi everyone! Check out this website. It is about teaching language learners ways to read. Not only have I used this website to find more information on teaching ELL, but I have also used it for other Education classes. It has some really good articles on different ways of teaching children to read. The site can be used by both educators and/or parents.

Cara

Test

One item that I truly enjoyed last week in class was taking the Multicultural Educations and Equity Awareness Quiz. There are a few items which I found appalling. The first item which was amazing was that the two richest people in the U.S. own more personal assets than the 60 poorest countries combined. This is absurd because there are obviously poor countries and yet the richest people in America are living luxury lifestyles. Another ludicrous question and answer in this packet pertained to the powder cocaine and crack cocaine and the amount needed to be convicted of possessing. The amount of powder needed to get convicted is 500 grams and at the same time only 5 grams of crack. It just so happens that most white people have powder and most African American people have crack. This I view as a racist type of law and unjust. Why I ask is the amount not the same? A final question which stood out was that children raised by single mothers attain, on average the same level of education as children raised by two parents. The majority of us I say probably said that children raised by one parent receive 2 years of education less than a child raised by two parents. I guess all I can say to this is good job there single mothers! This information was all very shocking to me but at the same time interesting.

Sense of Belonging for ELL's Students

As a teacher one of my goals will be to make my ELLs students to feel comfortable and to give them a sense of belonging in my classroom. The question is how can I make this possible for students who do not understand the English language or have a minimum vocabulary. Here are some of the things that a teacher can do in the classroom to make their ELLs students feel comfortable.One way is by sitting the ELLs student towards the front of the classroom and/or partnering the student with someone who speaks the same language. This way if the ELLs student does not comprehend what is instructed by the teacher the student then can ask his/ her partner who does speak the same language.The other way to make the ELLs student feel comfortable is acknowledge their culture, country, and language. This will be very difficult task for the teacher because there are many different places in the world. So, I found this exciting website that is helpful to understand basic facts about different countries. The link for this website is:http://www.factmonster.com/countries.htmlThe more the student feels as if they are part of the team (classroom). The less they feel shy and is will to participate in classroom discussions.

Left Brain vs. Right Brain learners

The teacher should understand the different learning style between boys and girls. Girls tend to learn more with their left brain and boys with their right brain. The left brain dominate learners, usually girls, learn by sequence, parts to whole, phonics, letters, words, symbols, reading about it, detailed and orderly, internal focus, structure and predictability. The right brain learner, usually boys, learn random, whole to parts, whole language, pictures, graphs, charts, experiencing it, spontaneous and impulsive, external focus, surprises, and novelty. In my perspective, the teacher should utilize both left brain and right brain learning styles. This way the student will be able to learn retain the information that is beign taught. Here is weblink to give more information: http://www.funderstanding.com/right_left_brain.cfm

Chapter 1

I teach in East Orange, NJ, about 80% of my students are of Caribbean or African ancestry or some of them are directly from those countries and have migrated to America with their parents in quest of a better lifestyle. While reading I could invision my students as well as myself among those pages. It is paradoxical in some ways. I as teacher in some situations experience the feeling of inadequacy when I speak to certain people, not because of my vocabulary, but that of my accent. On those occasions I am so self-conscious that I bungle my words and get all nervous. Words I normally pronounce properly I say ineptly. I feel like I am having an out of body experience. I have heard others made fun of, because of their Caribbean accent. Lots of Caribbean people say #3 as tree, and I have heard the jokes. As a result, I find comfort in teaching children of foreign ancestry. I feel they would know where I am coming from if on occasions I go colloquial. I also make them feel proud of their heritage by playing up the positive. For the high percent of Haitian students who are embarassed to let you know of their ancestry I talk of Jean B Du Sable and his contribution to America in particular Chicago. Another great Haitian Toussaint Le`Vature.who worked with William Wilberforce to help free Caribbean slaves. These things make them feel accepted. Each child in my class also does a family tree and we get to find out about each other, and where their great, great grandparents were born.
Ann Marie

Culture Day

Last Friday the school I am currently performing my junior field at held a Culture Day, an opportunity for children to wear the attire that represents their culture as part of their Spirit Week festivities. Many students throughout the school participated and multiple cultures were represented including Indian, Portuguese, Chinese, Greek, and many more. I thought it was a really neat idea and found that the kids were really excited to get a chance to talk about their cultural background.
I think it is important to make students from different cultures comfortable and willing to open up and most importantly give the students around them the recognition and knowledge that there are people in the world who are different from them and they should be accepting and welcoming of those people.
To address this special day, my cooperating teacher asked the students who participated and dressed in the traditional garb in each of her classes to share a little bit of the background of their culture and outfits. Afterwards, the students were instructed to write a reflection in their journal on the importance of having different types of cultures around the world. I really appreciated the idea of Culture Day and believe it can definitely have a lot to offer especially in diverse classrooms where ELL students can be found. These students will appreciate the day dedicated to sharing a part of who they are with their classmates. A great idea would be to extend Culture Day to a week-long event including guest speakers, a chance for students to bring in traditional dishes from their culture, and additional time to learn about the various cultures that are represented throughout their school across all of their curricular subjects.

Daily OM

The daily OM made me stop and think about the power of words. I agree with the article, but I never really gave much thought to my words in that way. May be I could say that I took my words for granted. Added to this, I think we should also be aware of the tone or body language that we exhibit with our words. For there are times when we say certain words, but our tone or body language state that we are insincere. Children tend to have a keen sense to pick up on these expressions.
Ann Marie

International Food Day

I am doing my junior field experience in a 7th grade world geography class and this Friday we are having International Food Day. I think this is a great way for students to share their cultures and traditions with their classmates. The students are asked to bring in a food dish that is part of their culture. They are also asked to tell why they chose this dish, whether it is a holiday tradition or just one of their favorite foods. They are also told that they should have a hand in preparing the food so it gets them involved in creating a food dish that is part of their background. This can be a great activity with ELL students because it allows them to bring part of their own country with them to school and they are able to share their culture with the other students. This activity can also give ELL students a chance to see that many other children in their class have backgrounds from other countries as well.

Tips for Teaching ELL

After reviewing many of the posted websites and informational resources listed in our blog, I found the following website to be very benefical to all teachers, and field expereice students alike!

http://www.celt.sunysb.edu/ell/tips.php

I hope that you too, take the time to review this computer based resource because i am almost certain it will help you to find a strategy to assist your ELL students. Afterall, there are 12 different strategies to choose from! Everything from hands on activities to teaching language along with content are all included. A personal favorite of mine was the "Create a Welcoming Language-Rich Environment with Opportunities for Immediate Success" strategy.

Please take the time to review this website and get back to me. I am curious to know what you all though of it. Thanks!

Helpful Website

Here is a helpful website I found. It has a translation link on it which I found to be really neat. I was playing with it putting in random phrases and it was interesting seeing the same phrase in different languages. There is also sites for students and teachers. Put this site in your favorites! :-)

http://www.dist113.org/hphs/departments/library/Web-based%20Tools%20for%20ESL-ELL%20Students.htm

Multi-Culture Day

The school in which I am in for my junior field experience, celebrated their annual multi-culture day May 24, 2007. The day dedicates about two hours of the school day to acknowledge and appreciate the various cultures with in the school and around the world by gathering teachers and students in the gym for an assembly presented by participating students and teachers of the school. Parents, family, and friends were all invited to the event to watch their children represent either their culture or another culture of choice. The assembly consisted of assorted performances such as poem readings, songs, dances, and a showcase of costumes from each country.
The multi-culture assembly was extremely interesting, exciting, and enthusiastic. The students really got into dressing up and performing. I thought the idea of multi-culture day was a great way to honor the many different cultures of the students. It offered students to represent and demonstrate what their individual culture is about. For a school that contains students from so many countries I feel that it is important for the students to hold onto their cultures and be proud to display where they are from. In a school atmosphere students typically leave their cultures in their home to return to when they get home. This day allows students to bring their cultures with them to school and educate their peers about their lives and history.
The school that I am assigned to has many ELL from other countries or students that are first generation to America. I feel it is important for families to hold onto their cultures and never forget who they are. However, in many school settings students are to leave a majority of their families cultures at home. By dedicating a day for celebrating multi-cultures students get the chance to share with teachers and peers of who they are, their customs, foods, and clothing of their countries culture. I really enjoyed getting the chance to learn about all the various cultures with my class let alone the entire school.

Using Cooperative/Collaborative Learning

While reading through Chapter 4 of The Amazing English How-To Handbook, I cam across the Using Cooperative and Collaborative Learning section. This has great information. “Cooperative and collaborative learning requires students to interact and rely on others and themselves to accomplish a task. These interactions may be structured formally, with each student assigned a specific and defined role in the group or informally, with students collaborating to accomplish the task.” Students working in groups show the best working environments and it is proven that students learn the best from other students. With that said, students need to work in groups and this is especially true for ELL students. When working in groups there is no pressure on the ELL student to feel bad about not performing excellent. It is a great time for students to practice and learn!

Logs or Journals

After reading Chapter 5 called “Assessment and Evaluation” I noticed how keeping a learning log or journal is a perfect method for ELL students to express themselves. It is also a great tool for students to develop their reading and writing skills. As brought out in the reading packet, “students are often amazed to see their own growth and development over time. Isn’t this a wonderful opportunity to build our ELL students self-esteem? In the beginning of the school year I had the students decorate their journal book, front and back, with pictures that describe who they are they. They were able to use stickers, photos, magazine cut-out pictures, and whatever else they wanted to use to creatively decorate their journals. The purpose of having them decorate their own journals was because they are more likely to treasure it. Additionally, they are more likely to have a closer connection with the journal they decorated since they put the time and effort into it. In overall, journals provide the teacher with a complete evaluation of each student’s progress. This is an excellent tool to show parents during conferences.

Anecdotes about Others' ELL Experiences

VIGNETTE: Way Too Nice

Marianna was a vivacious student from Brazil. It was only the first week of school but already, all of her teachers had fallen in love with her. Though her English skills weren't very strong, she was a warm, friendly, obedient little girl. She always wore a smile and greeted all of her teachers with a great big hug. Marianna did exceptionally well at her elementary school and was later promoted to the sixth grade. She was really excited about attending the middle school. It was only her second year in the country and already she had heard from her friends how wonderful it would be to attend middle school. Just like in elementary school, her teachers all talked about her. But this time it wasn't the same. During lunch one day, her homeroom teacher asked the others what they thought of her and immediately they acknowledged her friendliness, but complained that she was somehow different from the other kids. She kissed and embraced her friends every morning and she even went as far as to try to hug some of them and would stand really close when asking a question or making a comment. The teachers just felt uncomfortable.A group of teachers decided to mention this problem to the administration before things went too far. After all, the State Department of Education Educator Code of Conduct states that teachers should avoid hugging or touching students in any way that could be misconstrued as sexual. The principal and her assistant heard the teachers' concerns and decided to have a conference with Marianna's parents. Did this group of teachers do the right thing?
Options
A. Yes, it is wise to always let the administration know what is going on.
B. No, the teachers who weren't comfortable should let Marianna know that her behavior is inappropriate.
C. No, they should have called her parents first.
D. Yes, but they should not get her parents involved - rather handle it themselves by talking to Marianna, the ESL teacher and/or a counselor.
Analysis
A. It is always wise to let the administration know what is going on. However, this situation can be resolved at a lower level.
B. This answer allows the teachers to be insensitive towards the child. To Marianna and members of her culture, there is absolutely nothing wrong with her behavior.
C. Her parents may not understand the grievances of the teachers as there is a strong possibility that they might not be proficient in English.
D. would be the best possible answer in this situation. It has been said that spatial distance in American culture is much greater than that of some Hispanic and European cultures. For example, Americans will engage in casual conversation standing 3-4 feet away, while Hispanics feel comfortable conversing only a foot apart. Americans tend not to touch one another while talking, whereas, this is commonplace in other cultures. A child only learns a culture when he or she is exposed to the culture or explicitly (yet kindly) told about cultural differences. The ESL teacher would be the best person to help Marianna adjust to the new culture.


I can strongly relate with Marianna because in the Hispanic culture we are very affectionate with people. This behavior is acceptable in my culture, but obviously it is not acceptable in the United States. When I first read this I did not understand what was wrong with Marianna’s behavior, but when I saw it from a teacher’s perspective I understood how her teachers may have felt, especially because they are not familiar with the her culture. Also, because by law teachers are not allow to touch or hug their students due to many incidents on the news about sexual harassment or sexual abuse in schools happening between teachers and students. I believe that the principal and the assistant principal do not need to have a conference with Marianna’s parents. I think having a talk with the ESL teacher and helping her transition to the customs in the United States is the best solution.

Rubrics and Portfolios

As I began reading the “Assessment and Evaluation” packet, I came across rubrics and portfolios. Though we tend to hear about the importance of these types of assessment and modes of student progress, you cannot truly appreciate the importance until you have witnessed their impact on a student’s work. I first encountered a rubric when I began grading projects in my junior field placement. Students were given this rubric and the point values associated with each section before the start of the project. I feel this is important, especially for adolescents and older students because they know exactly how they will be assessed and can plan accordingly. I also feel this helps teachers grade accurately and without bias.

Portfolios are also beneficial for teachers to use in their classrooms. I believe that this is an effective way for teachers to assess students’ progress throughout the year. I also like the fact that portfolios can directly involve the student by allowing him/her to pick what pieces they would like to include. This shows the teacher what the students value as their best work, and can allow for discussion on how to improve pieces they did not choose. Portfolios can also be used in parent conferencing to show parents their child’s work and progress. If a teacher has an ELL, a portfolio would be a great way for the teacher to see the progress this student has made in written and oral language development throughout the year.

The importance of getting acquainted

On my first visit to my junior field placement this semester, a new student just started the day before I arrived. As I spoke with my teacher, she informed me that her students would be coming to school tomorrow with a prepared list that included their likes/dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and one other piece of information they would like to share with the class. This type of activity is similar to the “Circles of My Multicultural Self” worksheet we completed in our class last Tuesday. My teacher informed me that she generally does not begin the school year with this type of activity because students know each other since they have already spent a year in this school together. I was able to see the students discuss their lists with each other, and the new student was able to acquaint himself with the rest of the class.

I found this type of activity to be beneficial for students, especially adolescents, because they get to decide what information they reveal to the rest of the class. This activity also helps students feel more comfortable and less self-conscious around their classmates because each student is revealing a portion of his/her life. I feel that doing this activity with the arrival of a new student allows the student to feel welcomed and safe in a new environment.

THE BIG ASSIGNMENT

I'm curious about the reaction and execution of this assignment.

Not one person has asked or commented about it since it's been posted.

I can't believe no one has asked how much of it you're expected to do...there are so many links to more to read and think about.

What are you doing?

Are you reading every page of every section?

Skimming?

Thinking about it or barely getting through it?

Are you really going through every link on every page?

Warning: if you don't think it's a lot, then you're probably skipping much of it (knowingly or not...)

Reminder: On Tuesday when we meet, I'm expecting some comprehensive discussions between you students--on material you've learned about directly from this site...which again, is:

http://www.state.nj.us/education/njpep/pd/ell_mainstream/index.html

Another activity will be groups of you deciding what the one written assignment will be; (grade=1/3 in-class participation; 1/3 Blog participation, and 1/3 the one written assignment.

Hope you enjoy your long weekend--see you Tuesday.

Another Valuable Website for Teachers of ELL students

A website from Teaching English Language Learners is http://www.celt.sunysb.edu/ell/problems.php called “Commonly Encountered Challenges”.

I also find this website to be helpful and beneficial for teachers. The website shows many different comments made by classroom teachers about the behaviors of their ELL students. Click next to the comment to read the explanation some of the possible reasons for the behaviors of the ELL students. As you can see from the comments on this website many teachers are unaware of other students’ cultural customs. From reading Chapter 1 it declared the importance for teachers to obtain as much knowledge of different cultural expectations because this will help teachers gain understanding of each ELL student’s behavior. I definitely recommend this website!

Newspaper Article

As I read the newspaper article “Leaving the Wild, and Rather Liking the Change,” I realized how the Nukak could be compared to ELLs. It amazed me to think of how the Nukak could be so out of touch with the modern world, but then I thought about ELLs and the similar feelings they must have. When ELLs come to an American school not being about to speak the language, they feel as isolated and confused as the Nukak felt after seeing an invention such as the car. According to the article, “the Green Nukak said we could not keep walking in the jungle, or else there would be problems.” As I read this line, I thought about ELLs and their move from their homeland. Just as the Nukak were thrown into a new world, young ELLs are forced into school systems and styles of life that are drastically different from what they are used to.

I also found it interesting that the Nukak’s eventually became dependent on the modern civilization, “ensuring not only that they never return home but also that they never learn how to live in their new world.” This can be seen as similar to enabling ELLs. Though most ELLs want to learn the language, some teachers do them a disservice by allowing them to complete class work in their original language, and not encouraging English language skills. However, even though ELLs want to learn the language just as the Nukak wanted to learn Spanish, they generally do not want to lose their traditions and native tongue. People must accept the traditions of others, while still helping them to learn the language of their new country.

I suggest that everyone read this newspaper article. The Nukak’s migration to the modern world is fascinating and it is interesting to see how ELLs may face the same hardships.

ELL and Programs

The class in which I am completing my junior field experience in has many previous ELL students. Most of my students have either moved here from another country or are the first generations of their family to be born in America. The class I have been assigned to is a fourth grade class in Elizabeth, I do not have any students that are in the ESL classes offered here. After discussing with my teacher the background of my students, she informed me that there are three students that do not speak English in their homes. This information really shocked me since I do not have students in ESL classes. After questioning how this was possible she explained that they have already completed the ESL classes recommended. She also told me that the ESL instructor of the school works really well with the students; this allows the students to learn English fairly quickly. Most of the students involved in the ESL program that start from kindergarten usually conclude the program by third grade. I think having such an effective instructor in the ESL program is highly important and beneficial to the students. ELL should not be rushed into learning English. However, schools should be motivated to have programs that accelerate the learning process in an effective way. As future teachers we should look into our surrounding schools to be sure they have adequate and beneficial ELL programs.

Bank Street~ELL helpful site.

http://www.bnkst.edu/literacyguide/main.html

This is a website is from Bank Street College and was created as a literacy guide for educators. I know this is put out from another university, but from my own experiences they seem to be head on with tips for teachers. For English language learners or beginning readers, they explain certain categories of books to read that might be helpful. For example, they gave books to read to children out loud and other books for Early Fluent and Fluent Readers. They also have another site for online articles about phonics and reading instruction and other key areas. There is also a section for English language learners and some important facts. Some of them include:
“By the year 2010, over thirty percent of all school-age children will come from homes in which the primary language is not English.”
“Though we tend to think of immigrants settling in primarily urban areas, large numbers of recently arrived families live in rural and suburban communities.”
Soon all teachers will have at least one ELL student in their classroom. As we become teachers of the field, we should become aware of everything we can until we do get there!

Interesting things for ESL/ELL students

http://www.netc.org/focus/challenges/ell.php

After I made a comment about ELL useful site I became interested in ELL. I wanted to learn more about ELL. When researching, I found the site above had some key facts that every teacher and teachers to be should know. The quote used by Kathleen Leos of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) said, "the role of every teacher in every classroom in the nation has never been more important than today." Teachers are always underpaid, but the fact that society does not realize is that we ~ the teachers ~ shape the minds of tomorrow’s future. The government is starting to realize that early academic intervention is very important to the ongoing development of every individual student.

In the article, it stated some facts about ELL.
"Teachers of Spanish-speaking students who are learning English found that common visual language is effective in enabling students to transfer their patterns of thinking from Spanish into English. (Hyerle 1996)."

"Modifying the language of test questions (for example, to avoid jargon or unnecessarily complex sentence construction) can increase ELL performance by up to 20 percent (Abedi & Dietel, 2004)."

"Culturally congruent teaching methods and curriculum contribute to improved learning and outcomes, especially for bilingual and American Indian students (Reyhner, 1992; Stokes, 1997; Tannenbaum, 1996). "

These facts are very important to understand, reflect and to help improve the classroom. I was a little shocked about the quote on modifying the language test questions for ELL students. This is something teachers should do for all students. From my experience in college level classes, some exams I have taken are so complex; I have no idea what I learned. I believe having a test that is simple and is understandable to all students will be more effective than making the test complicated. The point I’m trying to make is that teachers should make questions as simple so to find out if the student understand the material that was taught.

Chinese foot binding

Some cultural practices may be easier to understand than others. Does anyone know the history behind foot binding?

This video was posted by a student in my other section:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eoca1Ou_6TE

Watch this...it's really good!

A Valuable Website for Teachers of ELL students

I found a website for Teaching English Language Learners, which is http://www.celt.sunysb.edu/ell/polite.php called “Test your Cultural Awareness- Is it Polite?”

I discovered this website to be very interesting, informative, and effective for us teachers. It allows us to attain a developed understanding of what behaviors ELL students consider unacceptable and acceptable according to their culture. At times, the various behaviors of our non-native English-speaking students are sometimes baffling to classroom teachers. Some behaviors in the United States may be unacceptable in other cultures and what may be acceptable in other cultures may be unacceptable in the United States. This website connected well with page seven where it states, “Behavior standards are not universal. What is common and expected in one culture may be unacceptable in another”.
The goal of this website is to make you imagine yourself as a new student from another country who just moved to the United States and you are sitting in a classroom there for the first time. How would you feel? This website asks questions about behaviors we in the United States normally do and find acceptable to do, but in other cultures, it is not. For example, question number three asks, raise your hand when you want to ask a question? Is this acceptable? Yes or no. When I clicked yes, it explained that in some countries students never question their teachers. The only time a student would dare to speak to a teacher is when directly addressed, which I was unaware of. In contrast, in the United States this behavior is acceptable in our culture. It is polite to raise your hand when you want to ask a question because if you do not and call out then you are being rude. From this website, I learned many other cultural behaviors of other countries. This information is extremely useful for all teachers. Now, it is your turn to visit this website and test your cultural awareness. Enjoy!

Leanna Traill's Quote

I strongly agree with the quote written by Leanna Traill on page eleven in Chapter 1 called “Culture and Cultural Diversity.” I believe that children need to feel respected and valued in order for children to learn, especially for ELL students. They particularly need to feel that their teacher respects and values their cultural background from the very beginning of the school year. This will enable them to be comfortable enough to open up and achieve that feeling of enthusiasm to want to learn the English language. Teachers never want students in their classroom to feel different or isolated just because they come from another country or because they speak a different language. Feelings like these can turn the student away from wanting to learn the language because of emotional damage. As a student teacher, I give my best in effectively creating an organized, child-centered classroom atmosphere that is welcoming and positive for all my students. Leanna Traill supports my idea by stating, “When attention is given to creating a classroom environment and organization where it happens, the conditions for learning are established.” Therefore, a positive learning environment is crucial to establish for our ELL students' language development.

“Feeling Our Words”

The article printed from the DailyOM called “Feeling Our Words” is extremely beneficial to all, but especially for teachers. It is about how words have either the potential to heal or to hurt. I’m sure at times we forget to think about how what we say can affect others. I really enjoyed reading this article because I teach my students to always speak politely with their classmates and to never call someone an unkind name. In this particular article it brought out how we all can remember a time when someone gave us a compliment or even when a friend or sibling called us a name, but either way it stuck with us. This goes to show us that words have weight and can affect us whether they are positive words or negative words.
Therefore, how much more important is it for us teachers to be aware of how we use our words with our students. When I am student teaching, I try to pay extra attention to how my words affect my ELL students. For instance, in the classroom I have a student from China. I notice when I speak to her sensitively, respectfully, and encouragingly it emits positive feelings, which in turn effects me in a positive way making me a more confident teacher. On the other hand, I also make sure that my words never humiliate, offend or downgrade any one of my ELL students because I would never want to give feelings of emotional pain to them. Thus, as teachers I suggest that we always strive to use words toward our ELL students that up build their self-esteem and that promote productive feelings. Consequently, this will allow them to achieve higher levels of language skills in English, as well as, encouraging them to continue to speak their natural born language.

EMSE 3903 THE BIG ASSIGNMENT

The NJ Dept of Ed has put together a very comprehensive unit on teaching ELLs.

Your assignment is to go through the entire unit. It's entirely online, and includes quizzes, voicetracks and some videos. It has many links to a great deal of useful information and material. Be sure to use your back button as well as going through all four parts.

At this point I'm thinking of our one writing assignment and it will probably have something to do with this unit...we'll discuss that together.

Meanwhile, here's the link. Don't expect to complete this unit in less than 6 or more sessions; it's not short--but I believe it covers just what you need.

http://www.state.nj.us/education/njpep/pd/ell_mainstream/index.html

Cooperative Learning and ELLs

As I was reading the material on cooperative learning, I came across jigsaw activities. I found this interesting because my first observation in my junior field placement will be involving a jigsaw. The reason I chose this activity is because it combines cooperative learning, critical thinking skills, and conflict resolution. However, after beginning this ELL class, I began to think about the possible advantages for ELLs. Jigsaws, or most cooperative learning situations, are beneficial for ELLs because all students learn the most from their peers. Through this activity, ELLs would pick up on the English language and establish a sense of belonging within the class. Since these students have a tendency to feel isolated because of their verbal communication barrier with the rest of the class, these feelings would be reduced with appropriate cooperative learning activities. When ELLs are part of a group, their self-esteem is raised because they know they are contributing and their group members want to hear their suggestions.

In my school’s seventh grade English class is an ELL originally from India. After speaking with my cooperating teacher about the jigsaw activity I planned to use, we determined that the activity would be appropriate and beneficial for this student. Knowing that this student is shy, I am hoping the activity will promote socialization and the development of English language skills.

I hope that everyone will consider the importance and potential benefits of cooperative learning activities, not just for ELLs but for the entire class.

NY Times Article --from a student in my other class

NY Times Article

The New York Times recently published an article entitled "Students Search for the Words to Go With Their Cultural Pride" in which it discusses how many students are going back to school to learn their native language, which they decided to put aside when they came to this country.

I am providing a link to the article, however I think you may need a username and password to read the article. Enjoy!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/nyregion/07heritage.html?ei=5070&en=19f5812bde6107f3&ex=1179633600&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1179461067-9+pGaNgrO11BseQn0xAV/w

All youtube.com links must be copied & pasted into the address window in order to view them

Ask or Ax?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlWOu9FHm-I

Why do different groups speak a "special form" of English?

Field Dependent v Field Independent

These terms are used as learning styles and more. Do a little online research and let us know what field dependent v. field independent means in a classroom. What are the general characteristics of each? What are the ramifications in lesson planning? Which are you?

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.

Choose from the following...

As asked in your reading packet: what are some ways that background information will serve as a practical purpose in your instruction? (p. 6)

Elem Ed majors, let us know from your perspective. Subject-secondary majors, let us know from your specific discipline. Be creative. And you know you have to keep the standards in mind...

Secondly: Time for some introspective analysis...(p.9) Where are you in the development of your cross-cultural skills? Review each item on the list and rank yourself.

Also read and share observations (if you like) on Leanna Traill's quote on p. 11.
What do you have to say about the "Hidden Curriculum?"

Please address the difference between BICS and CALP.

Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q

A resource you may find useful

Check out this site; I think you'll find it helpful during your field experience and after...

http://teacher-toolbox.blogspot.com/

Feedback?

Welcome

Welcome--I'm really excited for you!

It's my pleasure to welcome you to this meeting place. My intention is that all of you will read with avid interest all of the handouts I give you, talk with ELLs, observe teachers and students, search the web, converse with others and then you will come to this meeting place and share what you know and want to know about teaching ELLs.

This is what I envision:
You are out in the field (e.g. classroom) teaching. First of all, that's pretty exciting. You're probably already examining your feelings about being the teacher. Don't you want to include all of the students in your classroom? Aren't you feeling a little nagging thought that maybe you didn't reach every student with that last concept you were trying to bring across? In these three weeks you'll be learning methods and techniques by observing, reading, discussing (in person and here) and actually trying things out on students in your classroom.The great thing about these "ELL" methods and techniques is that they don't only work on ELLs. The information and tips you learn during these three weeks will serve you well with all kinds of students (and people in general). And it's a little like acquiring a wardrobe. You try things on, sometimes they fit well and sometimes they don't. You see the outfit on someone else, but it just doesn't work for you. Or, you change the belt and shoes and that's all it took to make it great...you get the idea.

Some suggestions:
Tell us about your day teaching; in this setting, we are most interested in the ELL angle
Discuss your reading assignments in terms of your real life situation in the classroom
What have you found on the web that would benefit/interest the rest of us?
Anecdotes about your or others' ELL experiences
Questions

Tips:
Write well--clear, concise, good spelling & grammar...
Don't mention names when you're relating your experiences from the classroom--even if what you're writing is complimentary
Respond to others' entries--answer questions, give examples, make suggestions
Don't be inhibited; this is a fun learning tool

PS: This is the first time I'm using this tool with a class. I'm pretty excited about it and hope you will put in and get a lot out of it!