Entry 3: ELL Teacher
Interview
Hello everyone! Welcome to my Blog entry #3, where I
interviewed Ms. Valdez, who teaches the 4th grade in a bilingual
classroom. It was a pleasure to hear Ms. Valdez perspective in the knowledge she
has while working with ELL students. I asked Ms. Valdez a few questions and
some of her answers really stood up since I could correlated her answers with
what we are learning in our classroom. One answer that really stood up for me
was the methods Ms. Valdez use in the classroom to help English Language Learners
learn English. Ms. Valdez explained how she uses cooperative learning in the classroom
and let peers “work together to complete a task.” I found this interesting
because from what I have learned from our class, “Cooperative learning focuses
on the use of small groups within which students collaborate to solve problems
or complete academic tasks” (Wright, 2015, p. 63). Also, cooperative learning
help students “engage in meaningful communication and obtain comprehensive
input as they interact to complete academic tasks” (Wright, 2015, p. 63). Ms.
Valdez not only does she uses cooperative learning in her classroom, but also
uses Think-Pair-Share as a strategies for student who do not want to share out loud
with the classroom, so they share among each other. According to Wright (2015),
students “turn and discuss their answers with their partners” (p. 171).
Another interesting answer Ms. Valdez
gave in the interview was the advice she will give to other or future teachers
of English Language Learners. Ms. Valdez explained, “My advice to current or
future teachers that teach English as a second language is for them to
encourage English Language Learners to develop their home language while
learning English.” Ms. Valdez advice is critical since learning a second
language should “be view as an additional language rather as a replacement for
their home language” (Wright, 2015, p. 22). Also, being bilingual is of great
benefits for the students’ future and it can open possibilities that require
bilingual skills.
References
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching
English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice.
Philadelphia, PA:
Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Video link to interview:
Hello Carla,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching your video with Ms. Valdez. I learned from watching her video, that it can be challenging for most ELL students to understand instructions and new content being taught with a whole group. I really felt her methods for teaching her ELL students was authentic. Both, cooperative learning, and think-pair share are excellent tricks teachers can use in the classroom. I also found her advice to future ELL teacher meaningful because he states how it is beneficial for students to continue to develop their home language while learning a new language. “The most effective way to make content comprehensible to ELLs is to teach it in the students’ home languages” (Wright, 2015, pg.91).
Hello Angelita Vasquez,
DeleteThank you for visiting my blog and commenting. I agree with you in that Ms. Valdez uses excellent methods for ELL students to learn in her classroom. I was pleased to learn the way she uses cooperative learning and think-pair share to help ELL students learned English with their peers. According to Wright (2015), "as students learn the new language, they gain knowledge about how to use the language in sociocultural contexts and construct their social identities through their participation in language mediated-activities” (p. 58). The students are not only learning English as a second language, but are also learning to socialize and form friendships with peers.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hello Carla,
DeleteThat is a very interesting point. Social skills is one important skill ELL students needs to be familiar with. I believe by interactions with students will help their language skills. My son is in a duel language class and they use the buddy up system which they are pair with another student who is strong in one language. For example, my sons native language is English, so he is partnered up with a buddy whom native language is Spanish and together they both learn and build on literacy skills together in both languages.
Hi Carla, thanks for your post! I love that your interviewee, Ms. Valdez uses a lot of cooperative learning strategies. I think it is so important to give English language learners many opportunities to practice using the language, using small groups or pairs also takes some pressure off the students who might shut down when they have to speak in front of the whole class. Who wouldn’t when everyone’s eyes are on you and you are not great at speaking the language as the other kids in the class. Wright says that, “cooperative learning allows students to engage in meaningful conversation where comprehensible input and output are obtained” (p.63). This develops the students’ confidence and engages the student as well which is something a teacher wants to do for all students, not just the ELLs. Also, I think the benefit of cooperative learning is that (especially in the younger grades) there are often hands on activities that are done in small group. This makes learning more tangible at the same time (Wright, 2015, p. 170).
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Jauclene Gauthier,
DeleteThank you for visiting my blog and commenting. I agree with you in that placing children in small groups or in pairs of two might be easier for them to speak out-loud and ask questions in English. I remember when I was learning English as a second language, I barely raised my hand to ask a question because speaking out-loud in front of the classroom was something terrifying for me. I didn't want any classmate to make fun of my accent or to laugh at my question. According to Wright (2015), "ELLs may feel more comfortable speaking with their peers in the small group than they are being called on to speak in front of the whole class" (p. 170). That is why cooperative learning is an effective method of teaching English as second language in the classroom.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Carla,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your interview, I really enjoyed it! I love that Ms. Valdez incorporates a lot of collaboration in her class. As you mentioned, cooperative learning is a great way for ELL students to interact with their peers, gain confidence in themselves, and ease them into participating in class discussions and activities. Wright (2015), talks about the importance of providing accommodations for ELLs and mentions that it is okay for ELLs to be administered tests in small groups. It's a great idea for Ms. Valdez to keep in mind since she allows them so much to cooperate with each other to test them together. They would feel more comfortable testing away from their peers who are proficient in English (pg. 131).
The think-pair-share activity is also a great way to assess students, because oral assessments are essential to track the growth of English Language Learners. I love that advice, allow them to keep their native language but just add another one. Being bilingual is definitely something we should encourage to our students.
Hello Farah Zayid,
DeleteThank you for visiting my blog and commenting. I agree with you in that Ms. Valdez uses a lot of collaboration methods to teach ELL students in her classroom. Cooperative learning and think-pair share are great strategies not only for teaching English in the classroom, but also allows students to practice and develop their English speaking skills. According to Wright (2015), "the most important and beneficial listening and speaking that student will do is through interaction with their teacher, their fellow ELLs, and proficient English speakers within the sociocultural contexts of their classroom, school, and neighborhood" (p. 170).
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Carla!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your interview featuring an ELL teacher with us! I thoroughly enjoyed watching your interview with Ms. Valdez. I have noticed that she mentioned some things that my 4th grade teacher does a lot in the classroom, especially in allowing cooperative learning to take place. Both our teachers believe that it is important for students to speak in the classroom and help them become more confident in their English-speaking capabilities. Ms. Valdez mentioned that one of the approaches she implemented is by providing students opportunities to work together in completing tasks. Furthermore, she finds it utmost effective for her students. According to Wright (2015) Ms. Valdez 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 their ideas orally” (p. 156-157). Students can have this opportunity during think-pair-share, that Ms. Valdez also uses, allowing her ELL students to speak out loud and share with classmates their own thoughts and feelings on a given topic. I find that it helps students develop relationships with their peers and avails them in feeling more comfortable speaking in the classroom setting.
Hello Jessica Lopez,
DeleteThank you for visiting my blog and commenting. I agree with you in that Ms. Valdez uses strategies for the classroom that help students collaborate with each other and develop English skills while working in pairs or small groups. Ms. Valdez support students' participation by allowing them to share their thoughts, questions, and concerns during cooperative learning activities and the think-pair-share sessions. According to Wright (2015), cooperative learning and think-pair-share are strategies for the classroom that "create opportunities for meaning interaction in ESL and sheltered content-area instruction contexts as students use their developing oral English skills to accomplish authentic tasks" (p. 170).
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hey Carla! classroom. I think it’s great the Ms. Valdez uses cooperative learning as a strategy in the classroom. This is a strategy that I have seen in a few of our classmate’s interviews. According to Wright, “Cooperative learning appeals to language teachers because it offers rich opportunities for students to engage in meaningful communication…” (Wright, 2015, p.63). It’s great to hear how think-pair-share and cooperative learning has impacted Ms. Valdez students and their language growth. Many of the language learning theories include the use of communication and practice as a way to learn new languages. Thank you for sharing your interview with us!
ReplyDeleteHello Daijah Wiseman,
DeleteThank you for visiting my blog and commenting. I agree with you in that cooperative learning is a great strategy for ELL students to learn in the classroom. Like you said, it is a highly use method by many ELL teachers, since cooperative learning allow students to interact in small groups and support each other in learning English as a second language. According to Wright (2015), "cooperative learning is a form of scaffolding provided by classroom peers that contributes to the oral language development of ELLs in several ways" (p. 170). Apart from practicing English language skills with each other, students are also learning appropriate social skills required when speaking other language apart from their native language.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.