Video Blog Entry 3
Click here for my video
Through
the years my mentor teacher noticed that majority of her ELLs struggle with
academic language most. For example,
word problems are one area where our students have difficulty in. This happens when students have to decipher
the meaning of certain text they are unfamiliar with. In chapter 8, Common Core State Standards
third idea is “Regular practice with complex text and its academic language” (p.190) recommends student have regular exposure to build there complexity of academic language. With that, I agree with the author and my experience as a student teacher. Once
a student understand the words like join, combine, all together it will be
easier for the student to comprehend its meaning the next time they see the
word in text. Then, with practice students will be able to build upon their understanding.
In addition, my MT has policies and procedures
we use to aid our ELL in their comprehension.
Fourth grade math content is intense because of its rigor we use
think-pair-share constantly for our students to share their opinions and hear
out each other perspective. “Think-Pair-Share provides built-in wait time in a
low-risk environment” (p.171) I believe this strategy is great for ELLs and
non-ELLs. Students are able to interact
with each other and sometimes a peer to peer experience can convey a meaningful
lesson just as a teacher can expect.
What I
notice in my MT classroom is a mixture of practices from what we have been learning. I can also see how some strategies will work
well for some and not others. Each
student will have their own learning style.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language
Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon,
2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Thom, I really enjoyed your interview with your mentor teacher! I agreed with many of the things she talked about! Something that really stood out to me was that the biggest motivation for students is working in partners or in small groups. I believe that when students work in small groups, it is benefitting them a lot because they are able to practice with someone they are comfortable with. Another word for working in small groups is cooperative learning. The book states that, “cooperative learning is a form of scaffolding provided by classroom peers that contributes to the oral development of ELLs… (Wright, 2015, Pg. 170)” this is beneficial to students because they have to talk and listen to each other to finish the assignment, which helps them practice their speaking skills.
ReplyDeleteAgain, really enjoyed your interview!
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Danna,
DeleteI also believe peer to peer interaction is key because they are also building those friendships they need to create their identity. As mention in our text, "language socialization is the process by which individuals acquire the knowledge and practices that enable them to participate effectively in a language community"(p. 58). Most of what we are reading also helps build a learning community in our classroom to benefit the whole class. I like that the strategies to help our ELLs also let the entire class learn and grow from it too. Our ELLs get to feel safe while expressing themselves while their peers also gain from these interactions.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Thom,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching your interview. I know that your mentor teacher is compassionate about teaching and loves what she does. I agree that many students, not only ELL students struggle with academic language. I even notice it a with many of my fifth grade students who happen to be also be English Language Learners. Wright mentions that teacher can "structure their classes to help ELLs learn to use English for their academic purpose"(Wright,2015, pg. 42). I also like how you discussed how to motivate students through cooperative learning. This is very beneficial for students to relate to one another as well. Wright states that "ELLs feel comfortable speaking with peers in the small groups than they are being called on to speak in front of the whole class."(Wright 2015 pg. 170).
Wright, Wayne E. (2015) Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners, Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi Celeste,
DeleteI also notice with the strategies Wright has mentioned in the text also benefits the class as a whole. I enjoy seeing peer to peer interactions in my class. I always use turn and talk in my lessons. Sometimes the student can learn from one another because majority of the time they do not relate to the same things. Think-pair-share lets student partner up with a classmate and build their confidence. (p. 171)
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Thom,
ReplyDeleteYour interview was very informative and full of first hand experiences. I enjoyed watching your video with your mentor teacher, she had a lot of information to share. I do agree that it is harder for ELL students to express themselves so they tend to repeat themselves multiple times. It is also difficult for ELL learners to become comfortable in their learning environment because their culture background does not fit into their school setting. "ELLs, however, may experience a cultural and linguistic mismatch between the culture and language of their home and school's culture and language." (Wright, 2015, p. 19). I also liked that you shared how student enjoy working together. This is a great way for the students to get to know each other and learn from their peers backgrounds and cultures. This will help the students feel more comfortable in their learning environment. "Helping ELLs succeed academically requires helping them adjust to the culture of the classroom and the school by giving them access to what McKinney and Norton (2008) call "dominant or privileged ways of knowing and doing." (Wright, 2015, p. 19).
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Hi Josefina,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the culture difference. In my placement I can tell when beginner ELLs are having a hard time adjusting. They kind of have the deer in headlights kind of look to them. As the teacher with the authority its in our best interest to help our students succeed in their daily assignments. Wright mentions how we need to "coordinate interactions between ELLs and English proficient students in the classroom that will further assist ELLs in learning English" (p.108) When pairing students for math work I also use this strategy to help students. They both gain from this activity.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.