I really enjoyed the reading and video for this week’s class. I have a special interest in this topic because my kidwatching kid is ELL, so I found this really helpful. More about that later…
I found the workshop video to be especially enlightening because I got to see teachers who really made efforts to teach and include their ELL students. I think it’s so important to show ELL students (and their parents/caregivers) that their cultures and languages are appreciated, and I liked how the second teacher in the workshop examples made her Chinese-speaking students feel included in the classroom. She read a book related to their culture, brought in food samples, and had them help her with Chinese words she didn’t know. Even if teachers don’t know any language other than English, and many of them don’t, they can still make efforts to reach their ELL students.
Of course, if you *do* know another language, AWESOME! Like the last teacher who could speak Spanish. Because she was able to speak to the students in both English and Spanish, she was able to explain English grammar and syntax to her students in a way they could understand. She was able to say, “In Spanish, we say it this way, but in English we say it like this.” Having some sort of grasp on your ELL students’ native languages can be really beneficial because teachers can understand why their students are doing certain things, like using “on” in place of “in,” like the bird lives “on the nest” instead of “in the nest” (the example in the workshop). I took five years of high school Spanish, so I can do some basic communicating in Spanish. I tried to take advantage of this fact in my last session with my kidwatching student. We were doing an object talk lesson with Play-Doh, and I incorporated some Spanish into my lesson. For example, I didn’t know the word for “cake” in Spanish, so I asked her, “Como se dice cake en espanol?” My girl got such a thrill out of hearing my speak Spanish to her that she was much more excited about the lesson. Even though the majority of our session was done in English, my student realized that I appreciated and understoof her native language, and she was much more focused than in our previous sessions.
I think teachers should take advantage of ELL students. I mean, here we have students who have unique experiences and understandings of another language! Why not put ELL kids and native English speaking kids in groups. Native English speakers can help their ELL peers develop their CALP skills during book discussions and other activities. Many schools are incorporating foreign languages into their classrooms, so what better way to teach native English speakers another language than to have students who speak that language help? This makes the ELL kids feel appreciated and important while helping the native English speakers improve their foreign language skills and learn about a new culture. Like, I didn’t know how to say “cake,” and my kidwatching kid got a kick out of teaching the teacher something.
Entries (RSS)