Hello, welcome to my last
VBlog!
Before
this course I had a concept about English Language Learners students. I have
learned that we are starting to stay away from certain terms such as first language
we should say home language, such as English is the students additional language
rather than saying second language (Wright, 2015). I was aware of small things that
took in place to teach ELL students a new language. But I never imagined that
each little detailed makes a difference to the students. Throughout the course I
was able to learn more in depth of how an ELL student may learn and grasp the instruction
in a different environment. I have learned that in some schools students are
placed in mainstream classes when the school does not have a certain amount of
ELL students to make an ESL classroom. It is crazy how students are thrown into
mainstream classroom letting the students to sink (Wright, 2015) .
Being
able to learn how to implement strategies to help my future students is a great
tool for me. By learning strategies and how I could implement them in the classroom
is beneficial for the teacher and the students because we would be learning
together. I thought that majority of the ELLs home language was mainly Spanish.
I was able to learn how learning another language can become a challenge for
some. Letting the students use trans language will help the teacher and student
know what they are trying to say as the students is trying to understand the
new language (Wright, 2015). After learning about how ELL students learn their
additional language. It has shaped my mind on how I could help the students. I know
that I want to structure my classroom with several things to help ELL students.
One of the things that I will absolutely do is have a lot of group work. As the
ELL students learn from teachers and their peers, they will be able to bond and
speak more (Wright, 2015).
In
my opinion one of the aspects that should require more attention is math. The reason
is because according to Wright (2015), math vocabulary can be confusing. As there
may not be cognate words that the students could familiarize. As well as
Speaking, ELL students need time to process new information and translate it in
their home language at times.
Now
that the semester has almost come to an end, I have learned a lot. Being a teacher
means that I will have to face several challenges to make sure
that my students get the education they deserve. Just how Wright (2015),
mentions that students need we have to include students into our community which
we do once we start to introduce English to them. This course has given me a
different point of view. I know that it will take a lot of different strategies
to meet each individual of my ELL students. As a bilingual individual I know
what it is like to learn a new language. I feel that because I have been on
that journey, I will be able to provide a bit more to them.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
