The content in this course,
methodology, as well as Second Language Acquisition have given me a little more
insight into teaching and advocating for English Language Learners. My
experience being in a military family and then joining the military myself, has
given me a good amount of perspective when dealing with individuals who do not
speak English as their native language. These skills along with the content
provided in this course will ensure that my future English Language Learner students
will be provided the most efficient and effective education possible. One
particular area that I was very interested in when taking this course was the
concept of Dual Language Programs. Wright mentions that the dual language program relies on teaching students
content in both their native language and second language. (Wright, 2015) These
would be such beneficial programs if more schools were able to incorporate
them. Providing English Language Learners with the opportunity to learn their
L2 language along with perfecting their native language can only be beneficial
to the student and the teacher. I will be teaching Science and the subject is
comprised of a lot of abstract concepts. These can be already difficult for
native speakers to try and understand, let alone an English Language Learners. If
there were schools were English Language Learners were able to learn those
concepts in English as well as their native language they will have a better
understanding of the concept overall. Being able to explain a concept in the
student’s native language when they are unable to understand something in
English will be able to ease the learning process for both the instructor and
the student.
I
would like to think that going into teaching I will be more cognizant and aware
of my English Language Learners. I will ensure that I have comprehensive lesson
plans that not only are effective for my native English speakers but also for
any of my English Language Learners. I am quite looking forward to the
challenge and hopefully I will be an effective teacher.
In
regards to the course, I think it was partially my fault in not getting
everything that I was hoping to get out of this course. A good amount of the
material were concepts that I had already had a good idea about but now I have technical terms for these concepts. I feel as well that because it was a summer
course the material was considerably rushed and I do not feel that I got as
much time to really soak in the information as I would have liked. I understand
that it is a summer course, I should have taken it during the fall, however,
graduation is in December and I had no choice but to take the class this
summer. I was not that impressed with the formatting of the tests with audio
and video clips. I felt that watching videos, one being an hour and half, and
uploading audio files is not the most conducive to a testing environment consdering that they are timed tests.
References:
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub
Hi Jerome, first of all, I want to say thank you for your service.
ReplyDeleteI too found the dual language program very interesting. Another program that I found just as interesting was developmental bilingual education. This program is similar to the dual language program with the difference being that student are first instructed in the majority of their native language with only a few elective classes being in English (Wright, 2015. p. 99). As the students progress in their grade, so to will the number of English instructed classrooms. Eventually, the ELL student will end up having something very similar to the dual language program. As a future educator I also plan of implanting a variety of strategies that would benefit both ELL and non-ELL Students. I wish you the very best in your future classroom.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub
Thanks Eddy. Yes I think dual language is the most beneficial to growing ELL students in their L2 acquisition while perserving their L1 native language. Wright(2015) states, "English speakers and ELLs in dual language programs spend most of the day together in the same classroom where they receive content-area instruction in both languages from qualified bilingual teachers" (2015, pg. 100) This even sounds like a more comprehensive approach when it is read and should be something that is implemented in more schools.
DeleteWright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub
Hi Jerome! I also agree on the dual language program being an effective second language program. Wright mentions that aside from finding the best teaching strategies, teachers are to question whether or not they are meeting their English language learners' academic needs (2015). This aligns exactly with what you are saying about the importance of English language learners to be able to comprehend the content being taught. Therefore, as you mentioned, it is important that schools take into consideration their students’ academic goals and progress because as educators what we want at the end of the day is for our students to learn whether it be in one language or two.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Pub.
Learning about the different types of language programs was informative for me because it was one of the areas that I was least familiar with. According to Wright, “educators who work with ELLs determine what instructional programs are appropriate for their school,” so it is important for us to be knowledgeable of each model (2015, p.89).
ReplyDeleteI actually think that the testing format was fine because we were at least given enough time to complete them without feeling super rushed or pressed for time. In the past, I have had professors post online exams with 50 questions and only give us an hour to take it, which is really frustrating when you want to thoroughly examine each answer choice as well as double check answers.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.