I decided to
interview my sweet friend Ms. Gonzalez, who happens to be a first-year teacher.
You would never know she is a first-year teacher from my interview, because she
has so much knowledge of English language learners and her classroom!
Ms. Gonzalez
teachers first grade in which many of her students are from low socio-economic
backgrounds. This aligns with what Wright mentions in the book Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners,
as it states, ”… the majority of ELLs are ethnic minorities from low-income
families,” (Wright, 2015, p.13). This happens to be very accurate in Ms.
Gonzalez’s school because she does work at a title I school. She mentions that more
than half of the students in her class are ELL and that many of her English language
learners’ reading level is very low. It is hard for students who struggle to
speak English to be able to read English to be on level for their age. Ms.
Gonzalez mentions that her students are pulled for ELL work as well reading
fluency work. Although these students are getting the extra help they need during
pull out, Ms. Gonzales still provides many pictures and a constantly updated
word wall that she claims the students use often. According to the text,
“younger children learn new vocabulary through oral activities” (Wright, 2015,
pg160). One of my interview questions to Ms. Gonzalez was what are some
activities she implements to improve her students oral proficiency. She
responded with by doing many turn and talks and students sharing out with each
other as well as sharing to the class.
Ms. Gonzalez is
very passionate about teaching and ensuring her bilingual students are getting
the best education. I cannot wait to graduate and get ESL certified so I can
help bilingual students just like she is!!
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for
Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice.
Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Rachel, I enjoyed watching your video while you interviewed Ms. Gonzalez. She sounds very passionate about helping her ELL students grow. It was great to hear that her students do show growth when comparing the beginning of the year to where they are now. I love how she uses the strategy of pairing a low kid with a high one because this allows them to help one another. The low student can have the high student reinforce their knowledge, and the high student can help the lower student reach where they need to be. This collaborative style of grouping is wonderful to use with ELL students and Wright even states that “a productive support system would help the student close the ZPD and attain higher levels of knowledge and performance” (Wright, 2015, p. 57). This is the environment that Ms. Gonzalez is creating with her students.
ReplyDeleteHey Rachel!
DeleteI agree with Jennifer. with Ms.Gonzales does sound like a passionate knowledgeable teacher.
I believe something in common she shares with the teacher I interviewed is that both , as Wright states in the book, ”… the majority of ELLs are ethnic minorities from low-income families,” (Wright, 2015, p.13), teacher in school where there are a lot of low income families. As I am placed there I have had the chance to see how some of the students lack in resources, clean clothes and shoes, and thanks to wonderful teachers they have managed to find extra resources for these students. It would be great to have Ms.Gonzales help my interviewee be more familiarized with ELL's because although she is also ESL certified she hasn't had an ELL in her classroom yet, therefore she said it is hard for her to be familiarized exactly what to do as she hasn't experienced yet.
Thanks for the comment Jennifer! I agree, Ms. Gonzalez is very passionate about helping her ELL students. After interviewing her I implemented one of the strategies she mentioned in my student teaching placement and I loved it. I pared my students who mastered the content with my students who were struggling, and I saw so much collaboration and learning going on. I used this in my math course and my one ELL was paired with a struggling student. My ELL in my class does not struggle with content as much as pronunciation. This strategy was great for this student because it required oral communication. I think this would be great for a class with many ELLs.
DeleteHi Yardia! For me, unlike your interviewee and Ms. Gonzalez, I have a different experience. In my student teaching classroom, I only have one ELL and the student is not from a low-income family. Many of the students from my placement school are from middle-class families. Referring to what you said about the students lacking resources, that breaks my heart and reminds me why I want to be a teacher in the first place. These teachers have to be so strong to provide for their students as you mentioned, as well of educate them.
DeleteHey, Rachel! I really enjoyed watching your interview with Ms. Gonzalez. I am actually currently student teaching in a first-grade classroom. I think the ELL students are benefitting by getting extra assistance when they get pulled for ELL work as well as reading fluency work. This allows the students to get extra practice that focuses on building vocabulary. Additionally, I love how determined Ms. Gonzalez is that she provides visuals and constantly updates the word wall. I did my interview with my mentor teacher and she pointed that visuals are very important for comprehension. By knowing students and creating goals for these students, it enables teachers to select strategies that will enhance the oral language use and develop of specific ELLs and to differentiate instruction for the range of learners in their classes (Wright, 2015, pg. 165).
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Yanely! I love using visuals as reinforcements for the students. Not only are visuals beneficial for ELLs but they are for our students who are visual learners. I think my favorite strategy that Ms. Gonzalez mentions are her oral strategies. Communication is such a huge role in our lives and its great for these students to get many opportunities throughout the day to use speak with their peers. Ms. Gonzalez mentions implementing many turn-and-talks as well as sharing out. I have used these strategies in my placement and also felt they were beneficial to the students.
DeleteHey Rachel! I love the fact that you pointed out the importance of communication. I feel that it is very important for us to communicate effectively with students so that they can understand and it is also important for us to give them opportunities to share with others. Classmates may have different opinions on topics, leading them to discover and learn from each other during interactions. Wright states that, “students must receive comprehensible input, and much of that input comes from listening in the context of meaningful interactions” (Wright, 2015, p. 165).
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Rachel! I enjoyed watching your ELL teacher interview video with Ms. Gonzalez. In your VBlog entry, Ms. Gonzalez mentions the program model used for ESL instruction in elementary school, which is pull-out. Similarly, the ELL teacher I had interviewed with, Mrs. Wilson, uses this kind of program model as well at Lexington Creek Elementary in FBISD. It is a commonly used model specifically for elementary schools where certified ESL teacher pulls small groups of ELLs out of their regular classrooms to provide ESL instruction. This is based on the in text of Wright. My ELL teacher also provides visuals for her students using the IPad to help them learn new and unfamiliar vocab words to sharpen their oral and written proficiency skills. According to Wright, he states that, “Vocabulary instruction, however, should not use outdated and ineffective methods, such as having students look up and copy dictionary definitions” (Wright, 2015, p. 160). He is opposed to this method rather it should be more engaging interactions and hands-on activities for ELL students such as providing linguistic representation of pictures. I agree to use this concept when I become an ESL certified teacher. All in all, I enjoyed watching and following along with your VBlog throughout the CUIN 4361 course of Spring 2019. Best of luck to you, Ms. Barnes!
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.