Hello everyone! Hope you enjoy and learn from this interview. Thanks to Ana Gonzalez for being such a great interviewee! I appreciated her time with me.
I'm so glad that Ana had a lot of support when learning English. Any language is hard to learn, but English is such a difficult language to learn! I'm glad that she was able to find a bilingual program that supported her needs. Wright says, "the student no longer requires specialized language content instruction and is ready to participate in mainstream classrooms" (Wright, 2015, p. 3). I bring this up because it seems like her teachers taught her English that was beneficial for her, especially since she was able to transfer into an English based classroom by the 4th grade! In the school that I am student teaching in, the teachers on my team who teach in the bilingual classrooms are worried about the STARR test because it is given in English, except for in special circumstances, and they do not feel like their students are ready to test in English. I also found it interesting that she now finds it easier to speak in English than Spanish.
Hey Madeline! You bring up a great point! High stakes testing is stressful, especially in bilingual classrooms. High stakes testing sometimes does not portray the actual knowledge of the students. In fact, Wright(2015) states "Among the many other problems with state high-stakes tests is that they provide just one piece of evidence about what students know and can do. ...It is imperative that teachers use several alternative and authentic assessments throughout the year"(p.144). It is important that students get the support needed to succeed in testing, since this form of testing will not go away anytime soon.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
I'm glad that you enjoyed the video! It is very important for ELLs to have the right support from the start. Being an ELL myself, having a good foundation of mutual respect and trust as well as open resources to help ELLs succeed is what makes ESL classrooms function well. As far as standardized tests like STARR, I can understand that it is very stressful for these students and for their teachers. However, we need to remind ourselves the potential of these students and encourage them that no matter the result those scores do not define them. It is important to note that high stakes testing isn't the only form of academic evidence, and we should continue to make authentic assessments for our ELLs.
I really learned a lot about English Language Learners from your interview with Ana Gonzalez. I really like the fact that Ana Gonzalez mentioned how learning English was a smooth transition in the bilingual school she attended growing up. Ana mentioned how having the staff, teachers, and peers speak both English and Spanish help her learned English. That is great since English is view as an additional language instead of replacing the students hone language. According to Wright (2015), teachers and personnel should encourage ELLs “to maintain and develop their home languages while they develop proficiency in English benefits the individual ELL and his or her family and community, as well as the nation overall” (p. 23).I also went to a bilingual school growing up and it was very useful and comfortable to speak Spanish whenever I felt confuse and didn’t know what to say in English. It does help to have a bilingual teacher, administrator, personnel, and peers in the transition of learning English as a second language.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hi Carla, I enjoyed your response to Kohleen's interview. I think it is great that you had the opportunity to speak Spanish whenever you needed to feel comfortable and also had the support of the staff. As I have been reading from the text, it is extremely important that students have the support of their peers, teachers, and administration to fully support students acquisition of a new language. At what age did you feel completely fluent or comfortable speaking English? Was there a certain grade level in which you could only continue speaking in English?
I'm glad that your experience as an ELL was a great one too! It is important to have such a supportive school staff and great resources for ELLs to succeed in their schools. I like how you noted that Ana's teachers and peers did not see English as a replacement but as an additional language for her to learn and understand. It is vital for these ELLs to know that being bilingual is great and that it is nothing to be ashamed of or meant to be forgotten. I'm very glad for Ana and you that both of you were able to speak Spanish when you want to comfortably.
Hello Kohleen, I enjoyed watching your interview and reading your reflection. I think support is key to all students success, especially so for ELL students success. Support comes in many different forms. I am happy to hear that not only did you and Ana experience support at home, but with your teachers and your ELL programs. I aspire for all of my future ELL students to look back and be able to say that they felt full support from myself as their general education teacher
Hi Kohleen!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that Ana had a lot of support when learning English. Any language is hard to learn, but English is such a difficult language to learn! I'm glad that she was able to find a bilingual program that supported her needs. Wright says, "the student no longer requires specialized language content instruction and is ready to participate in mainstream classrooms" (Wright, 2015, p. 3). I bring this up because it seems like her teachers taught her English that was beneficial for her, especially since she was able to transfer into an English based classroom by the 4th grade! In the school that I am student teaching in, the teachers on my team who teach in the bilingual classrooms are worried about the STARR test because it is given in English, except for in special circumstances, and they do not feel like their students are ready to test in English. I also found it interesting that she now finds it easier to speak in English than Spanish.
Hey Madeline! You bring up a great point! High stakes testing is stressful, especially in bilingual classrooms. High stakes testing sometimes does not portray the actual knowledge of the students. In fact, Wright(2015) states "Among the many other problems with state high-stakes tests is that they provide just one piece of evidence about what students know and can do. ...It is imperative that teachers use several alternative and authentic assessments throughout the year"(p.144). It is important that students get the support needed to succeed in testing, since this form of testing will not go away anytime soon.
DeleteWright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hi Madeline!
DeleteI'm glad that you enjoyed the video! It is very important for ELLs to have the right support from the start. Being an ELL myself, having a good foundation of mutual respect and trust as well as open resources to help ELLs succeed is what makes ESL classrooms function well. As far as standardized tests like STARR, I can understand that it is very stressful for these students and for their teachers. However, we need to remind ourselves the potential of these students and encourage them that no matter the result those scores do not define them. It is important to note that high stakes testing isn't the only form of academic evidence, and we should continue to make authentic assessments for our ELLs.
Hello Kohleen Mendoza,
ReplyDeleteI really learned a lot about English Language Learners from your interview with Ana Gonzalez. I really like the fact that Ana Gonzalez mentioned how learning English was a smooth transition in the bilingual school she attended growing up. Ana mentioned how having the staff, teachers, and peers speak both English and Spanish help her learned English. That is great since English is view as an additional language instead of replacing the students hone language. According to Wright (2015), teachers and personnel should encourage ELLs “to maintain and develop their home languages while they develop proficiency in English benefits the individual ELL and his or her family and community, as well as the nation overall” (p. 23).I also went to a bilingual school growing up and it was very useful and comfortable to speak Spanish whenever I felt confuse and didn’t know what to say in English. It does help to have a bilingual teacher, administrator, personnel, and peers in the transition of learning English as a second language.
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Hi Carla, I enjoyed your response to Kohleen's interview. I think it is great that you had the opportunity to speak Spanish whenever you needed to feel comfortable and also had the support of the staff. As I have been reading from the text, it is extremely important that students have the support of their peers, teachers, and administration to fully support students acquisition of a new language. At what age did you feel completely fluent or comfortable speaking English? Was there a certain grade level in which you could only continue speaking in English?
DeleteHello Carla!
DeleteI'm glad that your experience as an ELL was a great one too! It is important to have such a supportive school staff and great resources for ELLs to succeed in their schools. I like how you noted that Ana's teachers and peers did not see English as a replacement but as an additional language for her to learn and understand. It is vital for these ELLs to know that being bilingual is great and that it is nothing to be ashamed of or meant to be forgotten. I'm very glad for Ana and you that both of you were able to speak Spanish when you want to comfortably.
Hello Kohleen, I enjoyed watching your interview and reading your reflection. I think support is key to all students success, especially so for ELL students success. Support comes in many different forms. I am happy to hear that not only did you and Ana experience support at home, but with your teachers and your ELL programs. I aspire for all of my future ELL students to look back and be able to say that they felt full support from myself as their general education teacher
ReplyDelete