Hi everyone! Welcome back to my blog. To see my interview with an ELL teacher click here!
For my interview, I talked to my mentor teacher, Kelli Recchilongo who is a first grade teacher at Foster Elementary. I have worked with her throughout all of student teaching. We have three English Language Learners in our class and a few ESL students as well. One thing that I found in my interview is how important it is to be patient when you are working with ELL and ESL students. They deserve the same education as other students, but it might take them a little longer to process everything. In the text, according to the usage-based theory, learning constructions and their meanings does not require any specialized innate knowledge of linguistic rules or principles. One of the skills needed for this is analogical reasoning which allows the student to compare across different constructions and work out what commonalities are. This happens through socializing with their classmates.
Rowland, C. (2013) Understanding Child Language Acquisition
For my interview, I talked to my mentor teacher, Kelli Recchilongo who is a first grade teacher at Foster Elementary. I have worked with her throughout all of student teaching. We have three English Language Learners in our class and a few ESL students as well. One thing that I found in my interview is how important it is to be patient when you are working with ELL and ESL students. They deserve the same education as other students, but it might take them a little longer to process everything. In the text, according to the usage-based theory, learning constructions and their meanings does not require any specialized innate knowledge of linguistic rules or principles. One of the skills needed for this is analogical reasoning which allows the student to compare across different constructions and work out what commonalities are. This happens through socializing with their classmates.
Rowland, C. (2013) Understanding Child Language Acquisition
Hey Savannah, thank you for sharing your interview! So when you spoke about one of the students in your class that is very bright, but isn't comprehending the content, it made me think of one of my ESL students. This student is also quick and will finish assignments, but when asked a comprehension question he usually cannot answer it, because he does classwork like a puzzle and gives us, his teachers what he thinks we want to hear. I also agree with the fact that we have to give these students time to process not only what is asked of them, but how they are going to respond to our questions as well. Both of those pieces are very important factors for ESL students. "Harley and Hart reasoned that, since memory is heavily
ReplyDeleteinvolved in general implicit learning processes and analytical processing of
information in general explicit learning processes, memory may be more predictive
of differential outcomes with young learners, whereas analytical ability might play
a much larger role in explaining differential success among older learners." (Pg. 158-159) With that being said, it made me think of my student who just memorizes what to do, but doesn't truly understand what they are saying or doing.
Rowland, C. (2013) Understanding Child Language Acquisition
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DeleteHey, Kirstie! Thank you for your comment. I am glad I am not the only one that is experiences with a student like that! Sometimes it is hard to transfer information in a way that can help him understand it better, because he is so smart. He might overthink things, or not be able to connect things. Once we help our students with the vocabulary and to show them what those vocabulary words mean, that knowledge turns into strength which concerns the relative ability to use a given own word productively or to recognize it passively (Ortega, 2013).
DeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge
Hey Savannah! Awesome video! I like that you mention being patient with the students. I think that is one of the most important things that a teacher can offer a student. Patience is key because when it comes to students they, you want them to know that you are on their side and trying to help then, not trying to hurt them. I have had some experience with that this semester in my student teaching school that I am in. I have had to sit down with kids for 15-20 minutes to write 3 sentences. The key for me is not to get irritated with them because they are just learning. They don't know any better. This made me think of Ortega saying, "Environmental control: Eliminating negative environment elements and maximizing positive ones" (pg. 212). It is also important to keep the students in an environment that is positive and ready for learning because it will get them more motivated. Having patience when them and then also giving them the environment to succeed is key.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge
Hey Emily! Thank you for commenting on my video! I think being patient is definitely an important thing for both the teacher and the students. If we are not patient with them, it can cause a hostile environment and it can make things a lot worse. You made a good point that students all learn differently which is another reason why its so important to be patient. We must use all of our resources to figure out what helps our students the best!
DeleteHi Savannah! Thanks for sharing your interview with us! I think that it's a valid point for you to say that being patient is a key with ELL students. Sometimes, I will have to repeat things to my ELLs several times, and I get a little frustrated because I've run out of ways to explain it. However, I keep persisting and breaking down the information bit by bit until the students do understand, because I know that they're trying their best to learn. Understanding that some ELL students may take more time to process things is really important, because you should always try to put yourself in another students' shoes to see how they are understanding the material. I hope that I never forget about this point when I am teaching!
ReplyDeleteHey Astyn, I enjoyed reading your comment to Savannah and the connections you made. That's interesting how both of the teachers you two interviewed mentioned the importance of wait time because it's something that wasn't mentioned in my own personal interview but I feel it is a crucial detail to remember in successful teaching of ELLs, and any students for that matter. The quote you connected it so simple and susinct, yet incredibly important for teachers to understand because we talk about student cognition everyday, so it's super important to know what we mean by that, and also understand if we are doing what's best for our students' cognition as they learn. Wait time is only going to help in their cognitive processes, especially for ELLs. It sounds like you have had some great experience with your first graders, thanks for sharing!
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ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting! You have to watch out for those first graders when something in the schedule doesn't go right. Haha Wait time is definitely important for any student but especially ESLs. Their brains have to transfer and process everything and almost do more work by doing so. Ortega mentions on page 50 that proficiency is a factor when talking about processing (2013). ELL and ESLs may be more prone to transferring aspect of whichever language they are more proficient in and this would explain why it takes them a little longer to process things in school.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge