Entry 4
Reflection
Upon reflecting this class, I’ve realized several things.
Overall, Methodology really helps educators understand, the backgrounds,
thinking processes, teaching techniques and much more in order to help
educators prepare themselves to teach ELL students. I believe educator’s need
this guide because it’s very important for them to prepare themselves on how to
appropriately and successfully educate ELL students. In the past, I was not
fully aware of all of these things and had no idea that there was this much to
consider for these students. I also realize how important it is to get to know
you students and acknowledge the diversity of your classroom. Wright states in
the textbook that, “knowing a student’s ethnicity and country of origin, for
example, allows the teacher to incorporate appropriate multicultural education
strategies and techniques into the classroom,” (2015, pg.16-17). Students come
from all types of backgrounds, cultures, and family structures that play a key
role in their learning processes. All of these factors can influence how the
ELL students will acquire learning a second language in school. When we
conducted the video blogs in the class, this also helped me understand those
who come from different cultural backgrounds. It was a great opportunity to
hear about how individuals acquired learning a second language and what they
wish their teachers had done in the past. It gave me the opportunity to
interview someone closely related to me and see how their educational
experience was as well. It opened my eyes to see how much impact their past
teachers left on them. I learned that those educators who just showed that they
cared was very important to students and made their learning experience more
meaningful. I was able to make connections with my current student teaching
experience as well. It was thanks to our interview with an ESL teacher that
really gave me an idea of what to expect. Although I would see what was
happening while they used their strategies in the classroom, I still did not
get the reasoning behind until I interviewed them. Analyzing and using the
examples of work done by the ELLs really helped because I saw the connections
they were able to make after receiving proper scaffolding made by the teacher.
It was also thanks to this
opportunity that I was able to shape more of my teaching philosophy. In the
past, I truly wanted to make sure that my students felt that were comfortable
in the classroom and formed a community with one another. In order for this to
happen teachers must consider many things within their lessons. Reading and
experiencing the methods that educator’s implement for the ELLs in their
classroom added more to my philosophy. If an educator wants to form a friendly
community in the classroom, they must find ways for the ELL students to blend
in and work together with the other students. One of the approaches that I like
that teacher’s use is the Natural Approach method. This is something that I
think all teachers should consider in their classrooms. They need to give
opportunity for students to naturally talk amongst one another and learn from
each other. Wright states in the text that, “the teacher’s job is to provide
comprehensible input in a safe and enjoyable classroom environment. Such an environment
helps it lower the affective filter and thus maximize comprehensible input,”
(2015, pg.61). This can strongly influence the community and the comfortableness
of the classroom. Being able to read and research about this method also made
me realize how much my mentor teacher uses this method in her own classroom on
a daily basis. This is one of the few methods I found very effective and I
definitely added this towards my teaching philosophy.
In the end, I’ve become very aware of
the responsibility teachers have when it comes to working with ELL students. It
makes me appreciate educators and see how much work goes into planning their
lessons. They must understand how to balance all of these factors that
influence not only their ELL students, but all of their students in their
classroom.
Wright, Wayne.
(2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language
Learners:
Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice(2nded.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
Hi Nicole! I really enjoyed reading your blog. Just by reading through it I can tell that you learned a lot from this course. This course also made me realize the importance of knowing your students and their background. I can tell that you learned many things that you plan to incorporate in your own classroom one day. Wright mentioned, “academic success depends in large part on how the school and wider society treat them, their language, and their culture” (page 19) By implementing the strategies you learned in your own classroom, you are on the right track. I know you are going to be a great teacher!
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Carina! Thank you for reading my blog entry 4! I’m glad that you agree that through this course we learned to realize how important it is to know your students’ backgrounds and cultures. I love how you mentioned from the text how academic success is determined upon how much teachers treat their students cultural and language differences in the classroom. If it wasn’t for the way teachers treated their students, many students would never look back and say they had a great learning experience. That’s why it’s important as educators to make sure that we find multiple ways of acknowledging these aspects of students’ lives.
DeleteHi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteGreat reflection! I like how you talked about how we must know all of our ELL’s background and have an idea of what their story is. I agree with you that their background is a big influencer in how they can learn a new language. As a teacher, we must use many different techniques in order to assist our ELLs inside of our classrooms. Wright (2015) mentions that a teacher should use a “wide variety of techniques, such as total physical response (TPR), ample visuals, small group work, and any other activities involving meaningful communication that can facilitate the provision of comprehensible input" (2015, p. 61). By doing all of those, and other strategies, we can make sure that our ELLs are being helped as much as possible.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Machenzie! I appreciate you reading my reflection and mentioning how important it is to know about ELL students’ backgrounds. Like I mentioned before, It’s a huge influence on their academic success, because without feeling that comfort in the classroom, they might feel left out. I agree with your mention of the techniques to avoid these uncomfortable situations. Small group work is great to get students to get to know each other and make them feel more like a family. Having them feel like this can greatly impact their motivation to want to learn in the first place. Students will feel motivated to come to school and not dread the idea of it.
DeleteHi Nicole! I agree that this methodology course has taught us to better understand the teaching and techniques we need to know as teachers to better understand how to teach ELL learners. The quote you used from Wright that states learning more about your students’ home countries and cultures helps you create more effective teaching and techniques in the classroom is very important. This class has also impacted my teaching philosophy. I have added how being accepting and knowledgeable of my student’s ethnicities and cultures will allow my students the opportunity to feel more comfortable in their classroom environment. It is important to remember that “ELLs come from a wide range of ethnic, cultural, linguistic, educational, and socioeconomic backgrounds” (Wright, 2015, p.24). This class has taught me to recognize this fact, learn more about my students, and deter from generalizations and stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research,
Theory, Policy, and Practice (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
Hey Nicole! I enjoyed reading your reflection, it was incredibly insightful. Knowing the student’s backgrounds and their ethnicity is very important to make sure you are teaching to the whole child. Doing the vlogs was very insightful for seeing what actually works in real classrooms. I enjoyed the natural approach method as well. This really helps the students learn from each other. Learning about the different types of program models was so interesting, because I never truly knew how many programs there are, and all that goes into these different programs (Wright, 2015, p.114). Planning lessons is so important, because there is so much that actually goes into making sure you know what to teach and how to teach.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Hi Nicole! I loved your reflection on this course. I agree that it is so important to be able to teach with your student’s background in mind. It is important to remember that your students background plays a huge role in their education and their motivation in the classroom. I think that it’s great that you want to use this to make connections with your students in order to be able to better teach them and increase student motivation. I love that you took the education that you gained in this class in order to better your interactions and shape your teaching philosophy.
ReplyDeleteNicole, Hi! I love how much you learned from this class and how it seems to have helped you become an incredibly emphatic teacher. It seems like you’ve really grasped the idea that students must me comfortable in their environment to learn and grow. Not only do you understand this but you also know HOW to do this. The textbook had time and time again suggested that it’s imperative to use student-to- student interaction to help students maintain engagement and to help build their confidence levels. (Wright, 2015, p.97) As teachers we have to make sure we are using methods and strategies to help our students feel comfortable learning in our classroom.
ReplyDeleteHi Vivianne! We as teachers definitely need to use methods and strategies to help our students feel comfortable learning in our classroom. This reminds me of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In order for students to reach Self-Actualization in school, they must have the needs of the other levels met first. This includes physiological, safety, love and belonging, and self-esteem. I believe love and belonging and self-esteem are needs that are directly related to the classroom culture we create. We must accept all of our students and build positive self-esteem in our classrooms. I also like that you brought up the point about student-to-student interaction. In chapter 3, we talked about Vygotsky and how he saw learning as a social activity. He believed “knowledge is constructed through interaction and collaboration with others” (Wright, 2015, p.57). This is something I strongly believe in and am planning on utilizing in my future classroom.
DeleteWright, Wayne. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.