For this blog, I asked my Reading
and Writing partner teacher, Mrs. Dunn, for an interview. After conducting the
interview, there were some things that surprised me and did not surprise me.
For example, she mentioned that she uses a lot of visuals in the classroom and
has a dictionary readily available for her ELLs. She takes her ELL students’
first language into consideration and acknowledges that using pictures as an
aid will help them make the connection between the picture and the word since
her ELL students tend to have difficulty with abstract concepts, partially
content related vocabulary and topics relating to language arts. She typically
also uses cognates, or “words that are similar in English and a student’s
native language because they come from the same root”, with her Spanish
speaking ELL students (Wright, 2010, p. 29). Because I work with the same ELL
students she has, I was most familiar with the type of approach she uses with
them, however, it was interesting to hear her thoughts on standardized testing
and the No Child Left Behind Act.
Mrs. Dunn is a fairly new teacher
of nine years. Therefore, she has always taught under the No Child Left Behind
Act and could only compare the learning conditions children undergo today with
the education she has a child. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is the “a
reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act” that “places
heavy emphasis on accountability through standards and high-stakes testing”
(Wright, 2010, p. 314). When I asked her whether or not she believes that
NCLB’s focus on standards and high-stakes testing, she said that for her
personally, it is neither beneficial or detrimental since regardless of whether
there was such a high emphasis on STAAR, she would still teach the way she
teaches now. However, she did mention that because of high-stakes testing,
teachers such as herself are more accountable and keep better track of the data
on student success and progress. On the other hand, she feels as a teacher the
curriculum is unofficially designed to have teachers teach to the test. I will
confess that as a student teacher and an upcoming certified teacher, the
thought that whether or not our students will do well on standardized testing
such as the STAAR and benchmark tests tend to always be in the back of our
minds.
Hi Thanh
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your interview with us, I super enjoyed watching it. :) I find something similar about Ms.Dunn and my interviewed teacher is that both them are using a lot of visuals and picture dictionary in the classroom. I think this is a great strategy to help ELL students to make the connection between the picture and the word. As for myself, I don't really like the high stakes testing, according to Wright “Among the many other problems with high-stakes tests is that they provide just one piece of evidence about what students know and can do,” (pg 144, 2015). I think we should always find the best assessment for each individual, and the suitable strategies for our students to achieve their learning success. Overall, I love you interview with Ms.Dunn and really enjoyed it.
Fei, thank you for your kind words and for commenting! I agree, I think that use of visuals Is essential with any classroom with ELL students and helpful. I also agree with your sentiment on high-stakes testing. I understand that it is important to assess students’ knowledge on what they have learned for the school year and to make sure that teachers are held responsible for what they are doing in the classroom, however, I do not think it is fair for all schools and school districts. I believe it is more detrimental than it is beneficial.
DeleteAfter reading your reply to Fei, I agree with several of your statements. Visuals are so important in helping ELL students understand their new language. I also think that high stakes testing can be detrimental to these students. Many of these tests have a bias toward students who are native English speakers and can inaccurately measure ELL student's knowledge.
DeleteHello Thanh,
ReplyDeleteGreat interview with Mrs. Dunn, thanks for sharing. Mrs. Dunn shares a great vocabulary strategy. She mentions that she does not only give words to ELL students with the definition. Mrs. Dunn allows ELL students to infer what the word might be, allows them to write what it actually means, and lets them attach a visual to the word. According to Wright, (2015, p.161) vocabulary instruction should not use outdated and ineffective methods such as having students look up and copy dictionary definitions. Rather, they should combine direct explanations of the meaning of words followed by interactive, thought- provoking, and entertaining activities to reinforce these meanings. It is important for teachers to use effective vocabulary methods. These methods should be interactive and not just the traditional dictionary searching. Thank you for sharing.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Yerali, thank you so much for commenting on my blog. I agree, it is extremely important that we teachers help our students, especially our ESL students, make connections with vocabulary words to pictures, the real world, their prior experiences, etc. It is also important that we keep up with recent research and strategies so that our students are getting most out of instruction and the classroom.
DeleteI find it very intriguing that Mrs. Dunn only uses two approaches to teaching in her classroom. Do you think that having only two approaches is effective when providing instruction to English language learners? You mention that Mrs. Dunn is your Reading and Writing partner teacher, so I am curious to know if you have seen these approaches be effective or additional approaches she uses that were not mentioned. Also, how do you assess the learning of your students? Something that I do constantly, and it is stated in Chapter 6 is, “The easiest way to assess ELLs is simply to watch them” (Wright, 2015, p. 139).
ReplyDeleteMaggie, thank you for your comment! Mrs. Dunn uses more than two strategies, however, I felt like using visuals and having dictionaries in the classroom were the ones that came to her mind during the interview. I find that having visuals during instruction and independent work is always a must for ESL students. Typically our ESL students do ask for dictionaries and for us to explain things like vocabulary in other ways.
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