VBlog Entry #1
VBlog Entry #1
As stated in my video, I grew up speaking primarily English, but was introduced to Spanish at birth by my mom's side of the family as they are all from Mexico. I was always aware of the fact that I needed to know Spanish in order to communicate with my family members as most of them only spoke Spanish, such as my abeulita. I wish I took learning Spanish much more seriously when I was younger so that I could have better communication skills and general connections with my family members. With that regret of mine, I do not want any of my students to feel like they do not connect with their English speaking peers as I want them to feel whole in my classroom. I also do not want my students to lack in their learning because their primary language is not English. I want my students to know I am there for them and that I will never give up on them when it comes to helping them understand the English language. According to Wright, a huge "misconception is that immigrants today are slow o learn English and that most children of immigrants have limited English proficiency". I know first hand how untrue this misconception is as many of my cousins were entirely Spanish speaking, and before I knew it, not only was I able to communicate with them in Spanish, they were communicating with me in English as if we were practicing with each other.
One thing to note about the culture of schools in the United States is "ELLs represent a wide variety of ethnic and cultural groups. Teachers need to know their students cultural backgrounds and how culture influences learning at school" (Wright 2019). It is important that I look after my students and make sure that I develop a connection with them in order for them to acquire the learning the students deserve. I want my students to feel as if their language barrier should not stop them from being successful and I want them to feel and see that I am willing to help them every step of the way as I have seen first hand the struggles of understanding a language that sounds completely alien to you.
I will help my students by providing them with the materials they need to be successful when it comes to learning English such as translation books for multiple languages, translations of classroom materials, and the support from myself in order for my students to feel connected with their teacher. In order to build connection with my students, I will be "careful to avoid stereotypes and generalizations" (Wright 2019) that may be detrimental not only to my students learning, but also with their connection within my classroom. I will make sure to include all cultures within my classroom so know student feels left out, this will also add to the praise of every individual students. My biggest goal when it comes to teaching ELLs is that no student ever feels left out or behind as they continue to learn English.
Wright, Wayne. (2019). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice(3rd.). Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
Hi Adelaide!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your language experience. I believe your diverse upbringing will be so beneficial to you as a teacher because you are already aware of how difficult learning English can be. I love that you pointed out that proficiency in speaking English does not equate with someone’s intelligent – I think this is such a huge misconception and often hinders student’s learning. Wright points out an important distinction made by Ruiz between “language-as-a-problem and language-as-a-resource” (Wright, 2019, p. 3). If we use ELL’s home language and their culture as a resource for learning the English language instead of as a problem to overcome, then we can really help them achieve higher levels of understanding and proficiency.