This class has greatly impacted my
outlook on teaching second language learners and changed my teaching
philosophy. Prior to taking this course, I assumed that ESL certified
specialists will take care of my second language learners in the classroom.
Now, I realize that that idea was nowhere near how it is in the real world. I
learned that second language learners need to be in the classroom exposed to
English content and receiving the modifications to meet their needs. Because
you never know what your school will provide since it varies from school to
school, it is the main teacher’s job to ensure that second language learners’
needs are being met. In order to do this, a teacher must build relationships
with his/her students and find out if they are at a beginner, intermediate, advanced,
or advanced-high proficiency level. Depending on their levels, the teacher
should then use her knowledge on each proficiency level to best teach his/her
students. Without this class, I would not know what each proficiency level
entails and would not be able to identify where the child was at or how to help
them properly.
My
understanding of the learning of a second or additional language is that
everything needs to be research based. Without research being the foundation of
teaching a second language to English Language Learners, the teaching would be
pointless. There needs to be purpose when teaching these children and the
purpose needs to be backed up by a reliable source. “The research evidence
shows that five to seven years are needed… to achieve grade level norms in
academic subjects taught in English” was a statement from the article that I
found profound (Wong Fillmore, 1998). The fact that it takes five to seven
years to achieve grade level norms taught in English shows how difficult it can
be for second language learners to learn grade level content along with their
native speaking peers. Information like this helps me develop the patience
needed to teach my future second language learners.
This class
will impact my professional practice by giving me more insight on how to better
teach English Language Learners. It prompted me to do my own outside research
on how to best teach English Language Learners. For example, I came across a
journal article with recent age-related research on early foreign language
learning. This course provided a lot of information about research already
found, but it was interesting reading about a study conducted on second
language learners.
In this second
language methodology course, I enjoyed how the information was broken up. I
feel like the course flowed and made sense to me. I think each topic and
content area had sufficient attention and I cannot think of any topic I would
need to learn less of. I am interested in learning second language acquisition
and how different it is compared to second language methodology. I plan to go
back and do my own research to learn more, and I plan to do that depending on
the amount/level of the second language learners I will be privileged to teach.
I really enjoy your blog. It is appealing and inviting, and also filled with interesting reflections and connections to theory. However, in this entry I would have liked to learn more about how the process of creating and participating in a blog blog helped you learn more about SLA methodology. What changes will you implement regarding assignments, the use of technology, the interactions with your classmates, etc?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Dr. Avellaneda! I actually really enjoyed the blog aspect of this course. I think that it provoked very interesting discussion and had us interact with each other rather than simply doing a discussion post. It helped me learn more because I got to see other people’s perspectives on each topic and it gave me more insight on how theory is perceived. I definitely think that if I teach an upper grade level, I would love for each of my students to have a blog.
DeleteShelly,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the amount of honesty in your post. Like many in our class, I had many misconceptions of English language learners too. My misconception was that one needed to be fluent in the L2 language to be certified ESL. I definitely agree that this class has helped me grow professionally as well and has motivated me to get my ESL certification. I have never really thought about the sequence of content and how this course was broken up, but looking back it definitely makes sense in how one concept was built on the previous one. Brown (2015) explains that ESL classes are better because students do not miss any content material from being pulled out of class. ESL certified teachers are fully responsible for the education of all their students, including ELL’s. As you mentioned, the ESL teacher will be the sole advocate for what their students’ needs are and to make sure they are being met.
Hi Natalie! I definitely agree that this course has made me think about being an ESL certified teacher. I want to reach my students in every way possible, and I believe that I can help so much more if I am certified. Theory shows that if you students are being pulled out, there is a disruption in their learning, and I would not want to be the cause of that.
DeleteShelly,
DeleteI want to reach my students in every way possible too. There are so many things that are incorporated into learning than I initially realized, one being that there will be English language learners in our classrooms. The pull-out method is not ideal for classrooms because it makes the students miss content area material. One interview I listened to earlier in our semester was that students will only be pulled out of the classroom for extenuating circumstances. This will serve as an intervention for them to get some extra one on one learning the English language, which will help them better in all content areas.
Shelly, through this class, I too, realized how important research was and how everything we do needs to be based on research. Without research we would not know what works and what doesn’t. Also, I was an English language learner myself but like you, prior to this course I did not know all that really went into teaching a second language. This course was really an eye opener and really put things into perspective. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Chenda! I’m glad that your mindset also grew after taking this course. Although I learned English simultaneously with Vietnamese, I am now more grateful for ESL teachers and the thought and effort that is put into teaching English language learners. Especially after conducting the interview from an ESL teacher, hearing about how she also believes everything should be research based allowed me to see how this course applies to the real world.
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ReplyDeleteHi Shelly,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed what you had to say about this course and all the different aspects about it that impacted you. Some of the things you mentioned were very important and one in particular that I agree upon is the amount of research done for ELL students. I believe that it is crucial for teachers to have some substantial evidence to be able to work with in order to have resources that are beneficial to their students. In order to have a successful classroom it is important for teachers to self reflect to see what they are doing that is right and what they are working on that needs improvement (Brown p.541). For teachers to ensure they are making a difference positive or negative within the classroom they need to be able to look back at what techniques and methods they are using within the class that are working. You did a great job of pointing out this important aspect in your blog!
Hi Shelly,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your reflection on the course and how you said that this course gave you more insight on how to be a better teacher for English Language Learners. I completely agree with you how this course educated us a lot and also pushed us to do our own research on the topic. The research we did was very informative and interesting as well. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Shelly!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed learning about what you had to say about this class. Your reflection was contained very interesting findings and connections. I liked how you may a point about how important research is and that it is truly the foundation of teaching the second language to English language learners. This class made me come to understand how critical it is to have facts from research to support whatever you have to say. All in all, thank you for sharing!