Welcome back to my blog! Watch my video here :)
For my VBlog number three I interviewed Mrs.
Cortez. Mrs. Cortez is currently a second-grade social studies and English language
arts teacher in Alvin ISD. She has been a teacher for almost eight years and
enjoys working with ELL students because she gets to see her students’ growth throughout
the school year. A difficulty that she has faced when it comes to helping ELLs
develop oral proficiency skills in English is vocabulary because students’ have
a hard time with words and speaking with complete sentences. Students need a lot
of modeling and she has found it helpful to provide sentence stems so that they
can refer to it which will help them write and speak in complete sentences.
Wright (2015) says that modeled writing “shows students how to convey ideas and
information clearly and accurately and how to produce clear and coherent writing”
(p.233). A difficulty that she has faced when it comes to helping ELLs develop
their reading skills in English has been the comprehension and vocabulary. She
feels like you have to pre-teach the vocabulary and also use pictures so that
her students are able to understand the story. Wright (2015) mentions that “reading
is one of the primary means by which ELLs acquire new vocabulary words”
(p.192). Another way to help students with their reading skills is to start at
the basics with sight words and phonics. She mentions a few programs where
students are able to record themselves and then the teacher and student are
both able to watch it. She also uses vocabulary games, picture word walls, and Rosetta
Stone. A few tips that Mrs. Cortez shared when it comes to working with ELLs is
to really get to know your students and watch them because a lot of them tend
to be quiet. It also helps to talk to parents and obtain background information
like: How long have they lived here, what languages they speak at home, and if
they are getting any type of English support.
Wright, Wayne.
Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy,
and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Hi Melissa, I liked your interview with an ELL teacher. I liked the strategy that she said about using where the students are able to record themselves and can look back to see how they did and the teacher as well to help them enhance their English. Another thing that your teacher had said that grabbed my attention was about the advise that shed give to other ELL teachers. When she was talking about really getting to know the students, doing small group, and at home involvement as well is good for future teachers to know. As Wright (2015) states, “The most important and beneficial listening and speaking that students will do is through interaction with the teacher, their fellow ELLs, and proficient English speakers within sociocultural context of their classroom, school, neighborhood” (p.170). The students are not just learning from the teacher at school. They learn from their peers, at home, and by others. Therefore, as teachers we need to make sure that we really know the students so if we know that the students aren’t getting help from home then more assistance need to come in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Caroline,
DeleteThank you for commenting on my video! I agree with your comment. If we as educators know that students are not getting much help at home, then we need to step in and make sure they get a lot of assistance for them to be successful ELLs. Getting to know your students and their background really is important. Wright (2015) mentions “a search for information about the student’s language may reveal some important similarities and differences between the home language and English that can help the teacher plan effective ESL instruction” (p. 24).
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching your video. I liked what Ms. Cortez said about the ELL students how they can show a lot of growth when they are given them opportunity. As ELL’s students have to learn new vocabulary I liked what Ms. Cortez does by letting the students record themselves and the teacher and how she does a lot of pointing to everything. It is true that some ELL students are quiet as they do not know what is going on and they don’t want to ask questions that may seem very easy to other students. I think that all teachers should definitely get to know their students to help them feel welcomed and cared for. Wright (2015), mentions Positive Transfer which references to how students can use their prior knowledge and use it in their L2.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Verenice,
DeleteI agree with you! I really like the activity Ms. Cortez has for her ELL students. Th fact that the students get to record themselves gives them a sense of privacy because they are leaning the basic concepts of another language. This is also very helpful for the teacher because it lets them know what they have to work on to help their students. Plenty of students are shy and don’t want to speak in front of others because they feel like they will get judged. Some kids struggle with plenty of things but if the teachers go the extra mile they will make their students achieve the impossible when learning a new language.
Hi Jessica,
DeleteI agree that plenty of students may be shy which is why letting them record themselves would make them feel better rather than having to speak in front of everybody. Wright (2015) mentions that teachers should “provide maximum opportunities for student participation” (p. 64) and I feel that Mrs. Cortez does exactly that for her ELL students. It is great to see that many educators truly do care about students’ success.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hey Melissa!
ReplyDeleteI am currently in a second grade classroom and I see the struggle with vocabulary a lot! My students in my classroom can usually describe to me what they are trying to say and the word they are trying to use, but it can be extremely hard for them. This is because there are words that are cognates and false cognates in their home languages. When a word is a cognate, it means that it looks similar in, for example Spanish, and English. This usually can help an English language learner easily try to figure out what word they want if they know the cognate. But there are words that are not cognates which won't help the student at all. According to Wright (2015), if a teacher knows the cognates, they can develop vocabulary lessons based on cognates, or semantically related, words. This can help our English language learners broaden their vocabulary and build their confidence in knowing English.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Megan,
DeleteThank you for commenting on my video! Learning a second language is a struggle, which is why it is important for teachers to “know enough about the structure of language to speak and write so their students can understand them” (Wright, 2015, p. 28). Cognates can be a little confusing but with practice and repetition students can develop that proficiency in English.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Melissa! I really enjoyed watching your video and listening to Mrs. Cortez’s perspective of teaching after eight years. I like that she deeply cares for students and goes out of her way to discover new ways for her students to develop oral proficiency. A way she could increase the development would be to provide more opportunities for the students to speak to each other for example turn and talks. According to Wright (2015) “ “learners need opportunities to interact with other speakers” (pg.53), this method could help with the vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015.Print. Second Edition
Hello Laura,
DeleteI enjoyed reading your comment. I also think that Ms. Cortez has a lot passion in teaching ELLs. As not all teachers are well prepared for teaching ELL it may be hard on them just like it is on the students. That is why it is important to have teachers like Ms. Cortez who truly cares for her students well being as well as she finds different ways to help them learn. ELL students should be involved not excluded from socializing in their school.
Hi Laura,
DeleteThank you for commenting on my video. I agree that learners need opportunities to interact with other speakers. Oral retellings, songs and chants, oral presentations, and minimal pairs allow students to communicate with others and create comprehensible output.Another great way to have students interact is for them to use the strategy think-pair-share. Wright (2015) states that “if students are asked to report their answers to the class, they have already had a chance to practice answering with their partners and thus can answer with greater confidence” (p. 171).
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015.Print. Second Edition
Hi Melissa! I enjoyed listening and learning from your interview with Mrs. Cortez. It’s great that she’s enjoying working with ELL students and seeing their growth as the school year progresses. After reading your connection made from the text, I can see how modeling truly benefits ELLs when it comes to writing. If Mrs. Cortez had not given her attention to what areas her ELL students were struggling in then she would not know what areas need the most modeling. By modeling writing activities, the teacher is giving a clear example for the ELLs and they can make start making connections between writing and speaking the words.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole,
DeleteThank you for commenting on my video! I feel like modeling in general definitely benefits all students. According to Wright (2015) teachers should: “(1) select strategies that will enhance the oral language use and development of specific ELLs and (2) differentiate instruction for the range of learners in their class” (p.165). Oral retellings, songs and chants, oral presentations, minimal pairs are all great ways for students to communicate with others and create comprehensible output.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.