Entry 1
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Entry 2- ELL Interview
ELL Interview In this interview, I decided to interview my mom. My mom has always been an inspiration to me, at 12 years old she came to the United States without knowing any English and she attended school in Brownsville. My mom was born in Brownsville, Texas but she was raised in Mexico until she was 12 years old. Her desire to learn English was greater than any fear. She moved to the U.S with family members and began 6th grade there. Her first day of school was one of the hardest things she had faced at that age. She had lunch by herself, her teachers were not very welcoming and she did not make any friends because she couldn't speak the language. She remembers another student who welcomed her and guided her through the school. She attended school here until she was 14 and then went back to Mexico to attend a technical school for accounting. Unfortunately, she did not learn any English in school. Instead, her family members that lived in Brownsville taught her English by...
Hi Mercela, I'm always fascinated with those who can speak more than one language and I know this ability will take you far in teaching both ELL and non-ELL students. I can't imagine the stress of going into 3rd grade, learning both new content and a new language, and being tested on both to determine if you are good enough for the state of Texas. I understand that testing is required and we do our best as teachers to prepare students for it, however, that is a lot of stress for an 8 year old kid. In Wayne Wrights "Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners", the author writes "it takes 1 to 2 years for ELLs to develop conversational fluency in English but it takes 5 years or longer for ELLs to catch up to proficient English speakers in academic language proficiency" (2015, p. 40). As a student teacher who has ELL students in my classroom, I can only be patient and empathize with my students while also pushing them to learn and grow like your teacher did for you.
ReplyDeleteWright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing.
Patience is key when teaching ELL we can easily get frustrated or tired because they do not understand. I have found myself in those situations before and I just have to stop and remind myself that I was once in their shoes and remember how it was for me. Also, some kids don't know what they are capable of. It is easier for a young child to pickup a language than an adult. We have to constantly be pushing them and building on previous schema.
DeleteHi Marcela,
ReplyDeleteHow fortunate you are to be fluent in two languages! I grew up like you, in a Spanish speaking household and in predominantly Hispanic schools. In my blog entry I actually spoke about being transferred out of bilingual classrooms because my parents did not want me to struggle with English as I got older. Like you, I think being completely cut off from being able to speak Spanish really helped me in the long run. It is hard to branch out of our comfort zones but untimely it helps us.
It must have been hard for the kids in the classroom where you were to have a teacher who did not understand their native language. Students are at a "disadvantaged when schools do not recognize, value, and incorporate these differences (Wright, 2015)." I’m sure they appreciated the help and connections you were able to make with them.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing
Hi Isabel, what age were you transferred off Spanish classes into English? Do you think it helped you a lot more? Have you forgotten your Spanish at all? I was in Spanish classes for most of my elementary years and now I feel like my Spanish is choppy. My boyfriend, however, was in all English classes his whole life and his Spanish sounds better than mines. I think it all has to do with how much you practice it at home and with others.
DeleteI agree with you how sometimes students are at a disadvantage when they don't receive that recognition. I think Texas has done a good job with incorporating bilingual education and ESL into the classrooms.
Hi Marcela,
DeleteI was only six years only when I was transferred from a Spanish class into an English one. When I was younger I really hated being a year behind but as I grew up I understood why my parents did it. I do believe the transfer helped me grasp the English language a lot faster and with more success. My Spanish speaking skills are limited but I do not shy away from trying to speak it when it is necessary. My brother and I have always spoken Spanish at home and with our families so I do agree with you in that practice is a component in how well you are able to speak a language.
It's awesome that you are bilingual! I would imagine that's a really great quality to have teaching the second grade. I've seen a number of videos in my two painfully similar classes where other students forgot one of their languages and you she be very proud that you had parents that ensured you retained both languages. I've been on the fence when it comes to banning Spanish (ESL student situations only, of course) from my future classrooms because of how politically charged everything is nowadays. Instinctively I agree with you that the best way to have ESL students learn English is to have them strictly speak English, but I just don't feel like it's my place to decide whether or not that is the proper way to conduct my classroom. Either way, it's really good to have Spanish and English speakers such as you joining the Education field in America and you have an invaluable ability being able to speak both languages.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. I think there is a proper way of adjusting the language in the classroom. It sounds rude and disrespectful to those students if I just told them they could not speak it at all. I would probably begin by having them speak it in workstations only and then having them speak Spanish during recess. The best strategy would probably be to build on it instead of asking them abruptly to stop speaking in Spanish altogether.
DeleteAlso, I can't say my Spanish is perfect but I try to better my speaking everyday.
"They (Teachers) need to know about language variation and bilingualism and be able to recognize and value nonstandard varieties of English" (Wright, 2015)
ReplyDeleteWright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing
Hi Marcela, I’m really jealous that you can write and read Spanish. I’ve always had problems writing and sending message to my family in Spanish. Looking back I think it’s crazy that the TAKS test didn’t have translated version for ELLs when we were little. It doesn’t seem fair to make students, who are barely learning the English language, to take a state test in English. I’ve heard that the STAAR test now has a computer version for ELLs to take to help them with any translation problems. I really like that you explained why the teacher didn’t allow the students to speak Spanish in the classroom, it’s very important for everyone to remember that the term ELLs doesn’t just apply to people from Mexico and that there might be students from other countries in the ESL classes.
ReplyDeleteYes, ELL does not only apply to students from Mexico. It applies to any student coming in from a foreign country. Personally, when I use to think of them term ELL I immediately thought of kids from latin American countries, mainly Mexico. But there are many students that immigrate from other countries as well. ELL also does not define someone who just came here from another country. Often, kids are born here but their parents may be from another country and they may not have picked up the English language. All they can teach their children are their home language. In my case, I was born here, both my parents spoke English and Spanish but they made sure to instill that Spanish in me.
DeleteHi Marcela! I always find it very interesting to hear from people are also bilingual. I saw I your conversation with Eric and I just had to bud in. I immigrated to the U.S. when I was 3 years-old and began learning English in a formal setting when I started kindergarten. Now, years later I am fluent in both English and Spanish. I have personally been in an ELL class where I was told I could not speak Spanish. Even at the age of 7 I felt uncomfortable being told I couldn't speak my native language. While I understand the importance of submersing oneself in a language, I think the best way to help ELL students is by using their home language in conjunction with English. Wayne E. Wright calls this translanguaging or encouraging students to use their first language in the classroom in conjunction with English (p. 39, 2015). I think using a student’s first language can help bridge the gap and help them learn English in a comfortable way.
ReplyDelete