I will say that I have had a considerable amount of experience with non-native English speakers. They ranged from individuals who knew absolutely no English to individuals who were efficient speakers. With teaching I believe that Math is probably the easiest to teach to English Language Learners because numbers are universal and Math concepts are universal. I plan on teaching Science which does involve a lot of reading and vocabulary comprehension. This will be a challenge for non-native speakers because there are going to be a lot of Science terms that are unfamiliar.
Ortega (2011) mentions that it is hotly debated whether students should be taught grammar and vocabulary directly or approximate in the “natural language meaning-making process” (p. 8) while in the classroom. I had ELL students in my Student Teaching 1 semester and noticed that all of them are different in their learning. I had the luxury of having an aide specifically for special needs and ELL students which really helped when I was going over more complex concepts. When I would engage with the ELL students and explain to them a concept, I would use the appropriate vocabulary in English but also ask them what the equivalent was in their language. This not only gives them a mental recognition of the vocabulary but also shows them I am trying to meet them halfway which will encourage them to progress. I have dealt with a good amount of non-English speakers so I am very patient with ELL students and speak slowly so they have time to translate in their heads. I look forward to sharpening these skills through this course.
Thank you for sharing, Jerome. I completely agree with your statement regarding that all students are different in their learning, and this especially applies to ELL students. As explained by Ortega (2011) “universal influences help shape the nature, pace, route and finish line in the path towards learning a second language” (p. 9). Some of these contributing factors that apply to ELL students are “ age, mother tongue, environment and cognition” (Ortega, 2011, p. 9). You also mentioned that when speaking to ELL students, you would slow down your speech in order to give them time to mentally translate what was being communicated to them. I believe this goes hand in hand with what Gass (2013) referred to as phonological knowledge which “involves knowing what happens to words in fast speech as opposed to more carefully articulated speech” (p. 8). There is a correlation between your experience and phonological knowledge in that they both contain awareness of the benefit of slow, articulated speech to ELL students. I hope you keep up this practice and learn even more about the deeper meanings to the great service you are doing towards your students.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Gass, S. (2013). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge.
Ortega, L. (2011). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Yes Yasmin, I agree. I also believe what Gass (2013) said about the phonologicla knowledge and that it "involves knowing what happens to words in fast speech as opposed to more carefully articultaed speech" (p.8) I grew up around a decent amount of people who did not speak English as their first language. So I learned to slow my speech to ensure they other person had time to translate what I was saying and then give them the opportunity to reply. This has also been implemented into my classroom. When a student sees that you are trying to meet them halfway they will be more willing to try and communicate.
DeleteReference:
Gass, S. (2013). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge.
Although you slow down your speech and offer more time to elicit a response, have you found your students struggling to comprehend certain phrases? The reason for bringing this up is that Gass mentioned pragmatics “is another area of language… that is part of what second language learners need to learn” (2013, p. 13). It is “the way in which we use language in context” (Gass, 2013, p. 13) meaning students have to understand what something being said means in that specific situation. An example of this would be asking your students “What’s up?” Students that are English Language Learners that are not proficient in pragmatics may respond with “the ceiling,” assuming you are asking what is physically above them, rather than what is going on in their life.
DeleteReferences:
Gass, S. (2013). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge.
Hello Jerome!
ReplyDeleteAs I am reading your post, I wanted to comment your thoughts on how Math is probably the easiest subject to teach to English Language Learners. I believe this has some truth in it because as a Spanish speaking child, I struggled learning English and I found numbers being my escape from the everyday English language at school. In the book, it states that “language learning consists of more than rule memorization… it involves learning to express communicative needs” (Selinker, p. 3). In other words, we need to emphasize communication where a child can understand the concept of what is being taught and find a way to maximize the process of learning.
References
Selinker, S. M. (2008). The Study of Second Language Acquisition . In Second Language Acquisition An Introductory Course (p. 3). New York: Taylor & Francis.
Hey Gabriela!
DeleteThat is awesome that your experience is similar to mine with Math. I did not have to luxury of learning another language as a child, which would have been incredibly beneficial. Ortega(2011) mentions that "in many parts of the globe, most children grow up speaking two or more languages." (p. 4) One thing I never understood about some people in this country is why it is bad to be multilinguistic. Some people that say a person should only speak English in America are not understanding the benefits socially, cognitively or financially (some jobs offer more money for bilingual individuals). I make it a point to figure out what language my ELL students speak at home and try to incorporate some of their language or culture in the lesson. For example, when we talked about the difference of typhoons, cyclones, and hurricanes, which is that they are the same weather system just in different areas of the globe, I used two of my students countries of origin as examples. This helps them reference new material to something tangible and also gives other students the opportunity to learn about another area of the globe.
Reference:
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Hello Jerome! It was nice getting to know you more through your video. I want to delve deeper in how you have decided to communicate with your ELL students. I think for those students it would be so helpful to speak the language in their native language but also English, so they see the connections. Like Gass and Selinker (2013) said, bilingual students look at language as more of an inquiry than just an understanding. They tend to have more of a keen eye for the different languages and understand more about the languages. I also believe it is helpful that you have worked with ELL students and have figured out different tactics to help them succeed.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Gass, S. (2013). Second language acquisition: An introductory course (p.29). New York: Routledge
Hey Tobi.
DeleteYes I absolutely agree. During my Student Teaching 1 this past semester I had two students who were from different countries of origin. One was from Taiwan and the other from India. We were learning about weather systems and the difference between cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes, which is that they occur in different areas of the globe. When discussing typhoons, which are the storms that hit these two countries, I used a map and asked them what cities they were from and see if it fell in the range of typhoons. We then talked about the typhoons they have experienced. They struggled a little communicating but overall this was incredibly beneficial for them to connect the lesson to something from their own life. Not only that it gave the other students they opportunity to learn about another country and a fellow classmate. Ortega(2011) mentions that "SLA has unvieled a number of universal influences that help shpe the nature, pace, route, and finish line in the path towards learning a second language. Among these are age, mother tounge, enviornment and cognition" (p.9) Creating this type of enviornment for my students where I can try and relate the information I am teaching to something that is apart of their culture will only reinforce the material I am teaching.
Reference:
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print.
That is a really interesting way to get every student involved Jerome! I think getting them to talk about their home countries would really help them see that connection and get them really communicating and discussing where they grew up with fellow classmates. Giving them that extra reinforcement really shows your students you care and are trying to get them involved in the class dynamic.
DeleteIt is refreshing to see someone interested in bettering their skills as an educator! I feel like our program is one of the few that encourages this through debate and discussion. Your views on Ortega's ideas concerning differentiated learning the the context of second-languages is interesting (2013). I like that you mentioned how varied learning styles affects how a person learns the language.
ReplyDeleteFor example, some students can memorize phrases and sentence structure and learn the language with ease, while others can only master the language through immersion. Personally, I need prolonged exposure, so immersion would only work for me if it was over the course of years, with aids and guides as supplementary tools.
What are your views on how to integrate second-language acquisition into our everyday teaching styles? I value using acquisition methods in mundane teaching lessons as well as in specialized teaching, so I am interested to hear your thoughts.