When beginning the teaching program, it is a requirement to
take a class called Diversity in the Classroom.
There is one class period that is dedicated to ELL (English Language
Learners) and then it is never really talked about again. In the school district I am placed at there
are a decent number of students who are ELL.
I can tell when students are not comfortable with English because they
are quieter and do not want to contribute as much. As teachers we need to help ELL students feel
confident when they are asked to answer questions in class. If I end up working for the district I need
to know strategies that were not covered during that one class.
The
class that I am placed in does have ELL students. These students can read and comprehend in
English because they have been placed in an honors classroom. According to Kristina Robertson and Karen
Ford’s chart, I would place these students in intermediate fluency. They can communicate in the second language
but do have “gaps in vocabulary knowledge.”
They are still the quieter ones in class because they do not want to be
wrong in front of the class. How can I
help ELL students feel more confident to speak their opinions in front of
others who learned English as their first language?
One
strategy I think would be beneficial to ELL students in my classroom is
Robertson and Ford’s strategy of error correction. This would be done one-on-one rather than in
front of the class. When students are
working individually I would be able to conference with each student. With ELL students I would work on their language
skills with whatever the conference is about.
According to Penny Kittle in Book
Love (2011), conferences are a way to “increase complexity and challenge”
for students (p. 84). For example, if I
am conferencing with an ELL student about his or her essay they are writing I
would correct the error and then explain the difference. This way the student is still learning the
language to get him or her to advanced fluency without the potential to be embarrassed
in front of his or her peers. I think
if students are corrected often in front of their classmates then there is a chance
ELL students will not volunteer to answer questions. There needs to be a balance with the number
of corrections given.
Another
strategy I want to try to help ELL students feel more confident from Robertson
and Ford’s strategies is learning another language. Students do become excited when their
teachers attempt to learn their language.
I remember when I was a para one of the ELL students was shocked when I could
have a short conversation from the little Spanish I remembered. When he tried to further the conversation but
I had to tell him that I was unable to continue in Spanish. He told me I should learn more again. When I think back to this encounter I now
realize how important it is for all students to feel comfortable speaking in
the classroom. Trying to learn some
words in students’ languages may help them feel more comfortable to try to
speak in English. I regret not
continuing to learn Spanish and I hope my future ELL students do not give up on
English.
Sources:
Kittle, Penny (2011) Book Love. Portsmouth: Heinemann.
"Language Acquisition: An Overview" by Kristina Robertson and Karen Ford. http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/language-acquisition-overview#h-stages-of-language-acquisition
