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Blog Entry #4: Self-Reflection
After a semester of this course and a nearly a full school year of working with ELL students, my understanding of learning a second or ...
After a semester of this course and a nearly a full school year of working with ELL students, my understanding of learning a second or ...
Hello Thao,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your video with us. I enjoyed learning about your life growing up. I can relate to you during your childhood years. I was also placed in the ESL program in my early school years. The activities that you mentioned like using flashcards and a practicing with a lot of reading is very similar to what I did in my ESL classes. You mentioned that with time you eventually became fluent in English but you were still able to speak Vietnamese at home. According to Wright, (2015, p.21) additive bilingualism occurs when a student develops proficiency in a new language without losing his or her home language. I can relate to that because I also speak my native language Spanish at home and English in most social interactions. I also completely agree with your ideas of what is essential in a classroom of English language learners. I agree that small group discussions and using visuals are a great way to help English language learners. You have really great ideas for your future classroom. Thank you for sharing your story. It was a pleasure visiting your blog.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hi, Yerali! Thank you for commenting. I'm so glad you were able to preserve your native language too! While I am not as fluent in Vietnamese as I am in English, I am still grateful to be able to understand others when they are speaking Vietnamese and hold a conversation in Vietnamese. I wish that there were more efforts for children to keep their mother tongue while they learn English.
DeleteHi, Thao. I relate with you a lot, since I rarely spoke Vietnamese outside of my family and grew up in a English speaking environment in the classroom. I also got pulled out of class, along with other Vietnamese students, to learn English. Like you said, it's important as teachers to be trained and understand how to approach students who are learning new languages. According to Wright, (2010, pg. 25), teachers are not only educators, but also communicators to students. They have to analyze what students know and understand the language and content areas, and what teaching methods would be useful to improve. It would take time and adjustments, depending on their proficiency levels, but I do believe that these students can overcome obstacles if they are given chances and opportunities to get the education they deserve.
ReplyDeleteWright, W. E. (2010). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hey, Michelle! Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting. Yes, I find that all of my current ELL students are actually quite intelligent and do understand the material, however, they have trouble communicating their knowledge to my mentor teacher and me due to their lack of English fluency, especially when they are asked to write. When I do have the time to talk to them and ask them questions to guide them through their thinking, they understand just as well as the other students whose native language is English. As a teacher, I want to be able to use more strategies to help my ELLs.
DeleteHi Thao!
ReplyDeleteI was also raised speaking Vietnamese and learned English through informal opportunities as well. I wasn’t placed in ESL but I had to go to Vietnamese church school every Saturday for 8 hours! Even though we’re doing the opposite; you learning English and I was regaining back my Vietnamese. You felt anxious not knowing how to fluently speak in a certain environment, where as I felt awkward for not knowing Vietnamese around my family members. I feel like it goes both ways! I agree that teachers should we aware and understand how to approach English language learners and how to improve instruction for those students with specific needs. “Teachers can also identify multicultural literature that may be interesting and motivating to ELLs in learning to read and could help other students in the class learn about and appreciate an ELL’s country and culture” (pg. 24) I feel this would help motivate the ELL students because they could relate better. This also diminishes the anxiousness like how you felt when you were younger. If other children learned about everyone’s different culture it would help a lot with moving forward! Thank you for sharing your blog with us! I wish you well on graduation! You’re almost there!!
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hey, Taylor! Thank you for commenting. I think it is so interesting how individuals of similar ethnic backgrounds such as you and I can have different linguistic experiences. Although I was an ELL as a child and felt anxious that my English was inadequate compared to my peers, I can emphasize with feeling awkward around my Vietnamese relatives due to my lack of Vietnamese fluency now. Since living in the U.S., my English has taken over my Vietnamese and I can only speak on an elementary level. However, weirdly enough, I still have moments of insecurity with my English.
DeleteHello Thanh! Congratulations on your anticipated graduation, I know it probably feels like it has been a long time coming. I also wanted to applaud you because you have a wide spectrum of languages that you know and I know it could not have been easy to learn them all. During your video you mentioned that you have become more frustrated when speaking your mother language of vietnamese because you began to use English more. That seems like what Wright (2015) described as assimilation (p.19). Although, you may not have lost your values and cultural norms you abandon your language to an extent. Hopefully, you can you can prevent assimilation and promote acculturation with your students.
ReplyDelete