Blog 4- Reflection

Before taking this class I had previously taken Second Language Acquisitions therefore I had previous knowledge on ELLs. I knew taking both of these classes would help me further my knowledge on ELLs and the strategies that I could use in the future. Being in this class, it has helped me develop stronger knowledge on ELLs and how to assist them in my future classroom. I feel more prepared after being in SLA and SLM this past year when it comes to teaching my students that are learning English as their second language.  There was a lot of information I did not know about ELLs until taking this class. It has given me the opportunity to strengthen my knowledge on ELL students and what it takes to help them succeed in learning a new language. I know that when a student is in the beginning stage of language proficiency there is a lot of modeling to the student. Modeling and having pictures gives the student more understanding of what is being taught. Having students that are not English language learners working with ELLs could also be a huge benefit to them. It will let them communicate and build vocabulary off of them.

I have learned a tremendous amount of knowledge from my classmates this semester as well. Being able to see their insight on the subject due to their blog replies helped me understand ELLs in multiple ways than just my own. It also helped me see the importance of my student’s home life and culture that they come from. I felt as if I learned quite a bit of information this semester from my classmate’s comments.

I personally think that some of the blogs are helpful but then others are not. For instance, I am not at a bilingual school so for me to interview teachers that were was very difficult and time consuming considering I am the full time teacher this semester. I feel as if the blog topics should be ones that are open to everyone because like me some people may not be at a bilingual school either. Also I feel as if there was not much instruction on what to read specifically in the class. I did enjoy learning from my classmates though it made you able to get different perspectives and thoughts on the information on ELLs.

This class has made an impact on my teaching philosophy, it has given me a chance to understand ELL students and how to help them learn the best that I can. Coming from a monolingual household growing up and not being bilingual and not knowing anything about it this class definitely helped me in that aspect. I am the main role in the ELL student’s classroom therefore, I need to learn how to best assess them and help them grow as they learn a second language. I know that this class will definitely help me in the future because the district I am planning on working in is Title 1. Therefore, the majority of the students are English language learners.