Blog Entry #4
My learnings throughout the course have developed into being more
open-minded and being able to have great information when assessing second
language ELL students. I thought it would be an easier path for me since I have
been through the same route that many of the second language students go
through. Then, again not all students learn the same way as others.
Throughout the course, great information was given to all of us
that will be useful in the future. Through the readings from the book
Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners by Wayne E. Wright, there
were many misconceptions that I had that were proven wrong. Every chapter that
I read made me realized that I was not aware of the important things I needed
to know in order to be prepared to fulfill the student’s needs. From the great
example scenarios that were given in every chapter. I was able to have better
understandings of what answer I would be looking throughout the readings. I
have learned so much from the background knowledge of different ELL students to
the difference between an Ells and ESL. I understood that many of the Ells are
from different part of the world, not every student will come in speaking
Spanish, as some students will come speaking another language that as a teacher
I will be able to know how to help them meet their academic needs. This course
allowed me to be able to get an insight of how I can become a better teacher
that is able to teach ELL/ESL students that are learning a new language.
Throughout this course, I have gained the correct knowledge about
constructing an appropriate lesson plan that will meet the student’s needs. I
personally understood the appropriate way to assists the students in
constructing appropriate lesson plans/ (SIOP) instructions that include a
variety of activities in order for students to understand the topics. The
inclusion of effective activities, interactions, graphic organizers and visuals
that gives the opportunity for the students to interact with one another.
Making these simple changes in your lesson can allow you to create a better
learning environment for the students. I would have never taught of using
graphic organizers and incorporating home language to fulfill me student’s
learnings. According to Wright providing
ELLs with content instruction in their home language helps ensure that they
will complex academic content (Wright, 2015, pg.91).
One of the best learnings that I have received and I can relate is
being able to give corrective feedback to the students. The way that a teacher
corrects the students may affect their future response. Growing up I would
always get corrected in a way that I felt like I was always being judged. As a
future teacher, I understand what it feels to go through the process of what
the ELL/ESL student’s experiences. Instead of correcting them in a negative way
I will respond in a correct positive way. The use of corrective feedback can
allow the student to not be afraid to speak out in the future. It really can
change the student's response and mindset. I also understood the process that many
of the ELL/ESL undergo before they reach their highest potential to speak out.
I went that same route without noticing. My teachers would think I was not
learning, but I wanted to be able to gather as much information about the topic
before speaking. I was afraid of being able to say something that was not
appropriate. Same goes for the students in a class when they feel like they
need extra time to process their thinking before speaking out loud. As a future
teacher, I would definitely use the same strategies to all of my students that
are not in an ELL/ESL program because I believe every student should be
receiving great oppurtunities to learn.
Overall, the course has impacted me in a positive way. I have
gained many learnings from the readings and my peers. Interacting using blogs
has created a community that I feel comfortable to explain my learnings to
others. As well as I learned many things from my peers. I had the opportunity
to create a connection with others and be able to relate to their own personal
experience. The use of blogs is an amazing opportunity to bring into my future
career. It will allow all educators around the world to input their opinion and
their suggestions. One thing that I was most thankful, is being able to
identify this practices that I was not aware of in the classroom observations.
This course has made me understand the importance of being able to get more
insights when teaching ELLs/ESL students. Very grateful for the new learnings,
background knowledge, and most important the information provided when
assessing the students.
Wright, W.E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, Publishing. Second Edition.
Hello Luz Alonzo,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we have gained a lot of knowledge and understanding about the uniqueness of English Language Learners in our classrooms. Like yourself, I also have learned how to give a positive corrective feedback to students that allows time for students to think and to reply in their timing. Growing up, I sometimes felt scared of my teachers’ corrections since I felt I was pressured to answer at a specific time. That is why I agree with you in that a positive correction from the teacher can have a huge impact in the children learning experiences. According to Wright (2015), “teachers can scaffold and support student participation in whole-class and small-group discussions by structuring opportunities for students to think deeply about academic content and to express and elaborate tehri ideas orally” (p. 157). As future teachers, we can relate our experiences and from the knowledge we have gain from our class to create corrections that have a positive impact in children’s learning.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHello Carla Flores,
DeleteThank you for your comment. I agree, with you, we have gained so many learnings from the course. All my life I have seen that many teachers that don’t have the patience to wait for students to gather their thoughts giving the example of wait time. I as well experience this throughout my elementary school, that is why when I was reading this it made me realize that I did not have the opportunity to have teacher that gave me corrective feedback. Instead my teachers would make it seem like I was always incorrect, because some would get frustrated and just get tired of correcting. As Wright mentioned, “Errors are a normal part language learning, but, on one hand, of students are corrected by their teachers every time they open their mouths, they are likely to get frustrated.” (Wright, 2015, pg. 127) That is certain as the teacher can easily get frustrated so, does the students when they are constantly getting negative feedback of correcting their way of speaking. I was able to understand that many teachers need to scaffold to allow the student to be able to have a better learning experience. This is one thing that I experience and was able to relate. As a teacher, I want to be able to practice the learnings that I gained from this course and strategies that could help me become the teacher that I never had to avoid students feeling what I felt. Thank you, Carla, for your time!
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Luz Alonzo
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your reflection with us, after reading your reflection I find found many similarities thoughts about our learnings from this course. Before taking this class I always though ELLs and ESL are the same things. Throughout the readings from the book Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners by Wayne E. Wright, I understand that how "Important to recognize that though ELLs may come from a Spanish-speaking country, their home language may not be Spanish"(pg10). Before taking this course, I had many misconceptions, now from learning through our peer blogs, reading the text and class observation it had overcome them. As a future educator, we should always continue learning and try our best to help our students out.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Fei (Lori) Zhao,
DeleteThank you for your lovely comment!
I agree with your connections with the course. I as well did not think beyond and was very closed minded. We are so focused on what we hear and see that we think that many of the students that are mainly ELLs are Hispanics. I think many have that mindset, due to today's society and what we see in classrooms. As I read in wrights’ book made me open my mind and made me understand that there are different types of English language learners. We have native U.S born Ells which they are born here, but at home, they use a different language. As Wright mentioned “It is important to recognize that though Ells may come from Spanish speaking country, their home language may not be Spanish.” (Wright, 2015, pg.10) I agree many of these students that come from homes that speak Spanish may talk another native of their countries. As an example, many of the Spanish speaking countries all seem to talk Spanish, meanwhile, we all have different backgrounds and speak Spanish in different ways. For example people that live in Mexico may speak Spanish differently from someone who speaks Spanish in Cuba or in Central America. They all have their own way of speaking depending on the native of their country. As teachers, we should be able to understand and know the correct way to assess these students and be able to scaffold to create a great learning environment for these students.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Luz!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for you sharing your reflections with us! It was lovely to read that you have learned a lot though the course. I liked how you touched on the different strategies we have learned about that will help us scaffold student learning. Like you stated it is very important to give students time to think out their answers before answering out loud. Wright(2015) states, "Giving students time for this process after asking them a question or requiring them to respond is called wait time (p.156)". This is not only helpful for ELLs but this is a technique that should be used in all classrooms, so that students are given the opportunity to give thoughtful responses. This is also a great opportunity to informatively assess students.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Ana Gonzalez,
DeleteThank you, Ana, for your lovely comments. We have learned many new pieces of knowledge throughout the course. I think we all understood the proper way to scaffold and assess the Ells. As you mentioned it is important as a future teacher to know these qualities and strategies not only to assess the Ells, but this will also benefit the non- Ells and can create a great opportunity for the students to have a great learning experience. The importance to give the student wait time can make a difference in the child future interactions in class. Giving the students the opportunity to gather their thoughts can motivate the student to become more interactive in the classroom. As Wright mentioned “Teacher must be patient after asking a question. One strategy is simply to wait” (wright, 2015, pg. 156) as simple as it makes seem many teachers in public school lack these strategies many teachers lose their patients and move on to the next kid that has their hands up because of time limits. It is important as future teachers to be able to know what is best for your students and their learning.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your reflection with us. I’m glad that you learned a lot this semester. In particular, you pointed out that something that you learned was corrective feedback. I think that this is something very important for teachers to be familiar with especially because it plays a big role in the way that ELL students perceive themselves and can impact their performance. According to Wright (2015) “Teachers should correct only those errors students are ready to learn how to correct.” (p.157). Teachers should be aware of when and how to correct students. Great point. It was a pleasure learning with you this semester.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hello Yerali H,
DeleteThank you for sharing your comment. We have gained really important information to use as future teachers to be able to assess the Ells students that will be in our classrooms. I agree one of the most important learnings that I learned and that I was not able to relate due to my experiences in the past was the proper way that a teacher should give corrective feedback. Many teachers are so focused on making sure that you understand your mistakes and as a young kid that makes you feel some type of way. Instead, as Wright mentioned “A key issue is how corrections should be provided. To keep the affective filter low, student’s errors should be corrected in a manner that avoids embarrassment, particularly in front of their peers.” (Wright, 2015, pg. 157) I agree, many teachers now in days make it seem like correcting should be a type of embarrassing the students. I have personally experience and seen it with my own eyes. I have seen where students due to the negative feedback that students receive in front of the class can cause an embarrassment to the student and will most likely stay quiet from that point on. It is very heartbreaking, but the learnings that were learned in this course made me think that we are capable to change the future in their lives to make their learning experiences one of a kind. Thank you, Yerali for sharing your blogs throughout the semester.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hello Luz,
DeleteWe both had the same concept of believing that every student should be given the opportunity to learn! Adjusting and accommodating to all students will give a more positive learning environment for everyone. I was able to get strategies through everyone’s blogs and incorporated it into my classroom! Thank you for sharing your reflection!