Interview with ELL Student
I interviewed my
friend Natalie who is an English Language Learner. Natalie learned English
starting in 1st grade at Golden Acres Elementary in Pasadena ISD.
According to Natalie learning English was far more simple than learning Spanish.
She said that the Spanish language is more challenging to learn and comprehend
than English because our words are shorter. Natalie also said that she learned
English through social settings such as school, friends and going to the
grocery store. In her household Spanish was the dominant language because both
of her parents are from Mexico and know very little English. According to
Wright Natalie is a heritage language learner because she comes from a home
where a language other than English is spoken and she speaks and understands
that language (p.5). Natalie also talks about how her teachers helped her learn
English. That her teachers and aide would pull small groups to help students
more one-on-one with their English speaking. According to Wright “teachers need
to know their students’ cultural backgrounds and how culture influences
learning at school (p.17). It is our job as a teacher to know our students’
backgrounds, and the way they learn. Therefore, when teaching them a new
language or helping them learn a new language we know what best benefits each
child individually. Each child may learn a new language differently and what
works for some students to learn English might not work for the rest. Natalie
said her teacher using songs and books is what helped her learn English the
most. I feel as if being a teacher is not challenging enough helping a student
learn a completely new language is very rewarding and challenging at times.
Hello Emily, thank you for sharing your blog with us! I really enjoyed learning more about your friend Natalie and how you have applied what we are learning with your friends’ own personal experiences as an ELL in the public school system. I was inspired by your reflection and complete agree that the teacher plays an enormous role in the students’ language development. In fact, according to Wright (2010), “knowledge of language is relevant to the many roles teachers play as communicators, educators, evaluators, educated human beings, and agents of socialization” (Wright, 2010, p. 45). I definitely agree that they should also be aware of their cultural background and how it influences the school. Great information!
ReplyDeleteHey Jessica, thank you for watching my video! Yes teachers do have such an important role in ELLs language development. I feel as if teachers don't understand their students cultural backgrounds then it will be difficult for them to connect and understand the student's. Having that connection with your students opens up that door to them trusting and feeling comfortable with you. If you do not have this connection then your students are just going to feel shy and intimidated to be in your class.
DeleteHello Emily,
ReplyDeleteNatalie has a very interesting story! It sounds like phonology played a huge role in her learning English. Wright wrote, “Phonology is the study of the sound systems of languages. Segmental phonology focuses on the discrete sounds within a language, called phonemes” (2015, pg. 31). Her teachers used various strategies that included phonemes, like reading to the student as the student listens, or even using songs to help the student learn English. I would just like to add, I think it is great that her teachers utilized various strategies to better accommodate to the different learning styles of their students. This really sets up a great environment for the students!
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hello Melissa, I completely agree with the fact that phonology played a huge role in learning her second language. Natalie's teachers used various amounts of strategies to help her learn English. I feel as if this helped her tremendously in learning English. Teacher's have a huge impact on the way a student learns.
DeleteEmily,
DeleteTeachers definitely have a huge impact on the way a student learns. Often, people think teachers are solely responsible or what a student learns, but they are also responsible for how they learn. Natalie’s teachers seems to have an emphasis on paying close attention to their ELL students’ learning styles, and adjusting their lesson to accommodate their needs. This is such a great method of teaching!
Hey Emily!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your interview with your friend Natalie! It was fascinating hearing about how she learned and developed an understanding of English, having learned Spanish first. Spanish being a Romantic language and English being a Germanic language they have many differences compared to others of the same language variety. I thought it was interesting how she said that her understanding of English was kind of random. I bet learning the language from a young age was very beneficial to her and is why it seemed so random! I wonder if phonology, which "addresses syllable structure and the sequence of sounds in a word," (Wright, 2015, p.31) was a crucial part for her quick comprehension of English. Awesome video, thanks Emily!
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hello Emily,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this interview blog. What I learned from your interview are some strategies that I would like to use in my classroom like small group guiding, using songs and on-level books to help my ELLs students. Wright (2010) also provide some good strategies include create instructional wall displays in home language, provide bilingual dictionaries and allow students to help each other (pg. 303-306).
Hello Quynh,
DeleteYou made a great point! I would definitely like to incorporate some of the strategies mentioned in Emily’s video in my future classroom. Phonology seemed to play a huge role in Natalie learning English, and I think this would be helpful strategy to utilize for any ELL student.
Hi Emily! It sounds like Natalie’s teachers did a great job of making connections with their students to build relationships to aid learning. The use of small group instruction can be so helpful to students and give them the opportunity to have more individualized instruction. Thank you for sharing Natalie’s story with us!
ReplyDelete