My experience in this class has been absolutely wonderful and very enlightening. I have realized even more how much I love the subject matter and how much I will love working with ELL students and implementing all the information I have gathered and all the strategies/methods I have learned from this class, SPSE 6820 and my future classes in this subject area.
I believe that I will be able to welcome my students and their families into my classroom using brochures, informational handouts and other discourse methods such as phone calls, emails and parent/teacher meetings. I know that it is important for me to make sure my students and their families know and understand all that I expect from them and all that I will do for them. I want them to let me know what their expectations are of me and what information they need from me. I plan to make sure my students and their families understand the importance of literacy in both their new language and their native language and what strategies I will be using to promote literacy in my students as well as what strategies the families can use to encourage and promote literacy in their children. I am positive I will be using WikiSpaces as a form of communication with all my students as well as their parents. I believe using a Wiki will make it faster and easier for parents and students to see what we are doing in class and get the help they need with assignments, promoting literacy and practicing their new language. I like the choral reading strategy as a way to help my students practice pronunciation as a class and possibly learn new vocabulary words and promote BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) through discussion of the choral reading. I will definitely use the Cloze procedure to gather information on my students reading and vocabulary levels as well as to model problem solving strategies for reading such as context clues and substitution. I like that the SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English) lesson plan focuses on vocabulary and allows for the inclusion of different subjects and their learning objectives. The lesson plan that I helped create with my fellow group members focused on vocabulary that may be used every day, such as the food and weather vocab, as well as vocabulary in the content area of geography. Also, the activities we were able to include brought in some math and included many of the different learning styles that our students will have. I feel that the SDAIE lesson plan model is very well rounded and can be used in many different types of lessons. Since I already have experience teaching English at the Secondary level I really enjoyed creating the writing prompt and anticipatory guide. However, I do believe I am still catering to students with moderate to high levels of English proficiency and plan to practice developing writing prompts and anticipatory guides for students of lower English language proficiency. Still, I believe these tools help students with comprehension and to connect with the content and materials they are working with. Finally, I encountered two different evaluation methods in this course: the SOLOM (Student Oral Language Observation Matrix) Instrument and the OLD (Oral Language Developement) Instrument. I found that I preferred the SOLOM instrument, although the OLD was just as easy to use. Still, I feel that the two instruments could be combined, since they are quite similar, and be used with great success.
For those of you who are just begining your journey to teaching ESL, I beleive it is important to remember the following things: (1) Always keep good communication between yourself, your students and their families. (2) Make sure you are differentiating your instruction to include all learning types, stages and abilities. (3) Do not let yourself become frustrated. Some things come with time. You will always continue to learn new strategies/methods and tricks of the trade and your students will continue to learn as long as you are there to help them and encourage them. (4) Make sure your classroom is a safe place and promotes literacy and exploration. (5) Encourage your students' parents to promote literacy at home in their native language and, if they are comfortable with it, their student's new language. (6) Be aware of the different stages of language acquisition. Do not worry when a student goes through the silent period. (7) Evaluate your students and yourself often. (8) If something does not work very well, just try something new. Be willing to ask fellow ESL teachers for help and if you can bounce ideas off of them. Be a team player. :) (9) Be aware of your students' backgrounds, personal struggles and academic difficulties. Finally, (10) Make sure to stay up to date on current research and stay flexible.
I know that I will use all the information, methods and strategies I have learned from this class, from SPSE 6820 and from my future classes. I also know that I can incorporate much of the information, strategies and methods I have learned from my classes in English and Secondary Education. I am looking forward to learning even more....
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Selecting and Evaluating Materials to Promote Literacy in Second Language Learners
Over the past week I have spent time looking at different types of materials I may use in my ESL classroom. I have also spent some time reflecting on how these materials may help to promote literacy in my ELL students as well as teach content, spark engagement and encourage motivation.
When selecting and evaluating these materials I used a rubric that addressed three key areas of language instruction and literacy: discussion generation, metacognitive skills and vocabulary for both basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). These three areas are very important when selecting and evaluating materials for use with any student, especially second language learners. Still, I also feel that it is very important that the texts we use contain many illustrations that support the text so that students may still use other skills such as context to comprehend the information in the text. I feel that illustrations are even more pertinent for ELL students because they may help the students understand what the they are reading even more as well. This is especially true for students of lower English language proficiency. I also feel, especially for students of lower proficiency, that texts which may lend themselves to group activities which encourage and promote BICS are very important. I believe that texts which promote CALP more are much more important for students of higher proficiency levels because they have already become more comfortable with using their new language and are ready to move into more academic language. Still, it is always important to teach and encourage the use and learning of both in any lesson and with any type of material. So, for my students, I want material that will generate a lot of discussion. I also prefer material that the students may connect to. For example, when evaluating and selecting material for students who have immigrated it can be very helpful if the information in the text is connected to the immigrant experience or new experiences period. Also, for adolescents there is a lot of concern with friendship and fitting in. So, texts that address these topics will be much more engaging and spark much more discussion and connection with the material. Finally, I believe that texts which lend themselves to the creation of metacognitive tools such as graphic organizers and that encourage writing, for examples journal prompts, are very important in the ESL classroom.
As for promoting literacy, I believe this is important for any student and in any subject area. Sometimes people do not realize that there are different types of literacy, for example literacy in Literature/English is quite different from literacy in the Sciences or in Math. So, I believe it is important to teach different strategies for discovering and discerning information and I believe it is important to give students ample opportunities to look at and read many different types of texts over many different subjects. Finally, the most important factor in promoting literacy is that literacy is promoted at home as well. Students must see that literacy is an integral part of life both inside and outside of the classroom. So, parents must encourage their students to read and write as much as possible as well as model this behavior to their students. Parents and teachers must work together to encourage reading and writing in both L1 and L2 in their students. They must also show students why literacy is so important and how much we read and write in our everyday lives.
When selecting and evaluating these materials I used a rubric that addressed three key areas of language instruction and literacy: discussion generation, metacognitive skills and vocabulary for both basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). These three areas are very important when selecting and evaluating materials for use with any student, especially second language learners. Still, I also feel that it is very important that the texts we use contain many illustrations that support the text so that students may still use other skills such as context to comprehend the information in the text. I feel that illustrations are even more pertinent for ELL students because they may help the students understand what the they are reading even more as well. This is especially true for students of lower English language proficiency. I also feel, especially for students of lower proficiency, that texts which may lend themselves to group activities which encourage and promote BICS are very important. I believe that texts which promote CALP more are much more important for students of higher proficiency levels because they have already become more comfortable with using their new language and are ready to move into more academic language. Still, it is always important to teach and encourage the use and learning of both in any lesson and with any type of material. So, for my students, I want material that will generate a lot of discussion. I also prefer material that the students may connect to. For example, when evaluating and selecting material for students who have immigrated it can be very helpful if the information in the text is connected to the immigrant experience or new experiences period. Also, for adolescents there is a lot of concern with friendship and fitting in. So, texts that address these topics will be much more engaging and spark much more discussion and connection with the material. Finally, I believe that texts which lend themselves to the creation of metacognitive tools such as graphic organizers and that encourage writing, for examples journal prompts, are very important in the ESL classroom.
As for promoting literacy, I believe this is important for any student and in any subject area. Sometimes people do not realize that there are different types of literacy, for example literacy in Literature/English is quite different from literacy in the Sciences or in Math. So, I believe it is important to teach different strategies for discovering and discerning information and I believe it is important to give students ample opportunities to look at and read many different types of texts over many different subjects. Finally, the most important factor in promoting literacy is that literacy is promoted at home as well. Students must see that literacy is an integral part of life both inside and outside of the classroom. So, parents must encourage their students to read and write as much as possible as well as model this behavior to their students. Parents and teachers must work together to encourage reading and writing in both L1 and L2 in their students. They must also show students why literacy is so important and how much we read and write in our everyday lives.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Personal Reflections on Teaching ESL
Although I do not currently teach ESL and I have mainly only had experience observing ESL classes, I have developed some personal views on teaching methods, legislation, and other issues concerning ESL teachers and students. From my observations I have learned that it is important to give ESL students the tools necessary for them to become life long learners. Older students who are just beginning to learn English need those tips and tricks so that they may navigate their way through their new language and become college ready. It is important to use all types of medias and cater to all learning styles when teaching all students, especially English Language Learners. It is also important to use many different strategies/methods when teaching ESL. Students must have the opportunity to participate in both small and large groups. It is also good to give them time to work on their own and peer partners can be very helpful as well. It is also imperative that all ELL students feel comfortable and confident in the classroom. Finally, inclusion can be very good for students who are already at a comfortable level, but for those who are just beginning or new to the American school system, need to be given time with students of similar proficiency and comfort levels before being thrust into an inclusion class.
These are my reflections on what I have learned so far. I am eager and ready to continue learning about English Language Acquisition and the teaching strategies and methods that accompany the tremendous responsibility of being a teacher of English as a Second Language.
These are my reflections on what I have learned so far. I am eager and ready to continue learning about English Language Acquisition and the teaching strategies and methods that accompany the tremendous responsibility of being a teacher of English as a Second Language.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Introduction
Hi everyone,
My name is Cristina. I have just graduated from MTSU with a master's in English and a minor in Secondary Education. I am currently working towards my ESL Ad-on Endorsement while looking for a job as a first year teacher. This blog is a way to keep up with what I am doing in my courses for my Ad-on Endorsement. I hope you find it interesting and helpful.
My name is Cristina. I have just graduated from MTSU with a master's in English and a minor in Secondary Education. I am currently working towards my ESL Ad-on Endorsement while looking for a job as a first year teacher. This blog is a way to keep up with what I am doing in my courses for my Ad-on Endorsement. I hope you find it interesting and helpful.
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