I am observing two fourth-grade
teachers. In each of these classess there are students have who just arrived in the
United States. They arrive only a few weeks ago. Since
they do not yet know English, it is difficult for the teachers to communicate
and provide help to these students. The
students do communicate with one boy in the classroom who speaks Spanish with
them. What concerns me is that even the
ESL teacher is struggling to communicate
with these new students. This is because,
as my cooperating teacher told me, this particular ESL teacher, at the time of her certification, was not required to learn a
foreign language. This ESL teacher has only completed minimal coursework in
Spanish. I am seeing that sometimes even a specialist struggles to provide the right services to
students. Now the school is waiting for
more support from the state and more teachers with advanced Spanish
knowledge. It is frustrating to me as a budding educator to realize that students have to wait for
more support. Also, I am noting that it is very difficult for these particular students to
participate in all of the school activities right now.
One of my cooperating teachers said
that it could take up to seven years before these students academically
understand the language. Don’t you think that is too long for these children to
be struggling? What are your suggestions for the meantime? Some strategies I
have learned about are picture dictionaries and differentiated cubes such as those
found on the following website: http://teachhighschoolmath.blogspot.com/2009/12/cube-differentiated-instruction-lesson.html
. I suggest these because I believe that these teaching aids
can help to promote simple conversation
questions.
What is your opinion about the fact
that the ESL teacher in this school was not required to learn a foreign language? What are
some strategies that you would suggest to help these recently arrived students?
My cooperating teacher said, “The classroom is changing these days.” Do you agree with her statement? Are there many ELL students in the classes
in which you are doing your observations?
Have you or any of your family
members ever been part of an ELL program? Was it helpful? Do you know another language? Do you think it would be helpful to know
another language fluently? Which
one? Why? I look forward to reading your comments
Hi Megan,
ReplyDeleteThis is very disturbing for me to hear especially since I am a Spanish major. I absolutely think that an ESL teacher should, if not fluently, have a good base in at least one other language. Since the population of Spanish speaking people in this country is increasing more and more, I would think the ESL teacher would have some more knowledge of the language.
I absolutely agree that the classroom is changing. There are so many diverse students that require more than just a general classroom teacher. Since there are so many different types of students, teachers need to be more equipped to educate their students.
I agree that pictures are very helpful and just immersion into the language is the best way to help students learn the language the quickest.
Hi Megan,
ReplyDeleteI am actually shocked that the ESL teacher doesn't have a decent background in Spanish. If the ESL teacher doesn't know much Spanish, how would they even be able to teach the student any English? I think if an ESL teacher didn't need to be fluent in the language when they got their certification, they should at least try to learn the language on their own, to be better at their job. Even I took a Spanish course here at Caldwell just to get the basics down, in case I ever have an ELL student in my classroom. Last spring semester I observed a class that had one ELL student, and my cooperating teacher didn't speak fluent Spanish, but she was able to communicate with the student here and there when the ESL teacher wasn't in the classroom.
I agree that the classroom is changing, which is why teachers should try to become more and more prepared for what their classes will consist of. I think taking a basic course in Spanish could prove to be extremely helpful for both the student and the teacher. It would also probably make the student feel more comfortable and welcome if their teacher could communicate with them in their own language from time to time.
In the meantime, I definitely think pictures and flashcards could be useful to the student. I also think songs and recordings could also be helpful for the student struggling with the language.
Hi Megan,
ReplyDeleteThis situation is very shocking, I figured when being an ESL teacher the most popular language to know is Spanish. Many school districts are becoming more and more diverse as the years go on. Which is making an ESL teachers position more important, I feel she should take her job a bit more serious and take more classes and learn the spanish language for her students. This is something that the school should realize she does not have, and either encourage her to hurry and get some lessons to help their students or hirer someone with more experience.
For the teacher it may be hard to teach them much, but it is just like having a student who has a certain way of learning. With them not knowing the language they can learn visually. The teacher can use a lot of different pictures connecting to certain words to get them to understand what it is they are learning.
Them not knowing English they may have a disadvantage in grasping the entire concept of certain lessons, but I do not think they will fall that much behind. They will start to pick up certain words from the teacher working with pictures and also hearing other students responses.
Hope this helps.
Hi Meghan,
ReplyDeleteI am shocked that this particular teacher is certified to be an ESL teacher but was not required to learn a second language. I am confused how that could happen. She needs to understand that Spanish is being spoken more and more today and as an ESL teacher, she needs to learn it, fast.
I agree that flash cards and pictures could help the students and teacher communicate. I also feel that the students should be introduced to Rosetta stone. The administration should get that program on their computers so the students can go on and use this as a learning tool. This is another great way to incorporate technology with learning and, it will also help the student and teacher.
I agree that the classroom is constantly changing, and it will continue to change as the years go on. I do not think that teachers should "fall through the cracks" by getting by with the bare minimum of their education. The most important part about this profession is the children, and with this situation they are the ones who are going to suffer.
This teacher needs to attend more classes in learning Spanish, but in the meantime, flash cards, pictures, and Rosetta stone should help.
I hope that helped!
Hi Meghan,
ReplyDeleteAs well as many of us I am very shocked about this situation. First of all, I thought being an ESL teacher he/she has to be fluent at least in one language. The school I'm observing now has a few ESL teachers that speak numerous of languages. Also, what is shocking to me is that school hired someone that has no experience in Spanish knowing that this is becoming the second most spoken language. The school needs to come to a conclusion fast for these students to be able to learn the English language.
When I was taking a Spanish course here, it was required to complete 6 hours of Rosetta Stone. It was very helpful because there's a section for speaking, writing, and listening. For the listening part, you had to match the picture to what the speaker was saying. This can be very helpful for the students to learn the basics of the English language because Rosetta Stone focuses on the common "everyday language." My cousin who recently moved here from Italy learned a lot of the English language by using Rosetta Stone.
I agree to the teacher's statement that the classroom is constantly changing. The class I'm observing now is very diverse. What I did notice in the classroom, since the majority is Hispanic, the teacher has labels both in English and Spanish. This is also helpful for the ESL students to recognize the labels in their own language as well as English.
Hey,
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else that it is very shocking that the ESL teacher did not have to learn any other language. I think the ESL teacher should have at least some basic foundation in any other language in order to help these students. I do agree with Donna and think that having students use Rosetta Stone would be a great help when teachers can't help and when a school lacks resources.
I also agree that the classroom is changing everyday because even from the time all of us where in elementary school things have changed, for example the use of technology in classrooms and how often it is used.
Hey,
ReplyDeleteAs a student who needed esl for a short period of time it is sad to hear this. Now that we are all one step closer to being educators it breaks my heart even more. I do not think it is fair that students should have to wait so late in the year to get the help they need. Many times teachers are now using the inclusion method which means that the students just have to learn as they go by listening to others. I find that this although may help in certain aspects it still cheats the students out of that one on one attention. This school should a least try to hire tutors or more one on one subs that will help the school and students until they are able to get more staff.