Chapter 1,2 & 3 Reflection
Comments(3) My first impression after doing the readings was that I am so glad we are required to learn about how to better teach English language learners. Many of the concerns and ideas brought up are things I haven’t thought about before, but are very important to consider as a future educator. Something that stuck out for me to reflect on in chapter 1 was the idea that we all come from varied backgrounds with many influences on our development of academic language. I know I sometimes I take for granted all the privileges I have had in my life which had allowed me to develop strong English language skills. Some other points in the textbook also called on me to reflect on these same influences for how they might affect my relationships with students in how I grade them, teach them and so on. Starting to be aware of these influence more closely should surely lead to less bias in my teaching. Chapter 2 offered some problems in the way that we teach academic language to students and how difficult it can be to develop academic language skills in students. Chapter 3 offers some solutions to these problems. The sample dialogue was helpful in understanding how to model some of the example solutions. My group is presenting on these chapters on Wednesday so I hope we will be able to delve deeper into these ideas then.
I completely agree with the idea in this post that we need to understand how to teach English language learners in our classrooms, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to learn about this important role of a teacher. Chapter 1 especially caused me to reflect on our growing responsibility of teaching English language learners in our schools. In a place like Canada, where immigration continues to be a key source of population growth, it is clear that our classrooms will continue to be comprised of students from many diverse backgrounds who will not have learned English as their first language. It is so important that we understand these students and the challenges they are faced with when learning the same concepts as other students who were raised in English-speaking homes and societies. Being a “mainstream student” myself, I speak only English, and reading the first chapters of the Zwiers book has helped me to reflect upon the task I will have of teaching English language learners, especially in light of the fact that I will not have shared the experiences of language challenges with them. As solely an English speaker, I will need to make a conscious effort to ensure that English language learners in my classroom are provided with the proper tools to help them succeed. The communication strategies discussed in chapter 1 are a good example of such tools. I was also impacted by the idea that we as teachers may not even be aware that our students are facing language challenges, for example if they do not have an accent, which I believe highlights the importance of knowing our students and understanding where they have come from.
I fully agree with the idea in this post that we need to understand how to teach English language learners in our classrooms, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to learn about this important role of a teacher. Chapter 1 especially caused me to reflect on our growing responsibility of teaching English language learners in our schools. In a place like Canada, where immigration continues to be a key source of population growth, it is clear that our classrooms will continue to be comprised of students from many diverse backgrounds who will not have learned English as their first language. It is so important that we understand these students and the challenges they are faced with when learning the same concepts as other students who were raised in English-speaking homes and societies. Being a “mainstream student” myself, I speak only English, and reading the first chapters of the Zwiers book has helped me to reflect upon the task I will have of teaching English language learners, especially in light of the fact that I will not have shared the experiences of language challenges with them. As solely an English speaker, I will need to make a conscious effort to ensure that English language learners in my classroom are provided with the proper tools to help them succeed. The communication strategies discussed in chapter 1 are a good example of such tools. I was also impacted by the idea that we as teachers may not even be aware that our students are facing language challenges, for example if they do not have an accent, which I believe highlights the importance of knowing our students and understanding where they have come from.
As our classrooms become more diverse each year, it is critical that teachers sympathize with ESL and ELL students, and learn how to understand and teach those students. Unlike the two writers above, who had the privileges of being mainstream students, I was an ESL student. My parents being immigrants and ESL learners themselves, I had no support at home to build on my English language skills. My only support was school- I counted on was my teachers to teach me the social and academic English. I was very fortunate to have amazing teachers who sympathized with my hardship and tried their best to understand and teach me. However, my friend, who was also an immigrant, did not receive much support from her teachers, and never got not graduate. I cannot emphasize enough how critical it is for teachers to realize the hardships ESL and ELL students are having with no or very little support from home. I strongly urge all the teachers to get to know their students and understand their challenges.