For this blog post, I interviewed Mrs. Carolina
Brown. She is a bilingual teacher who grew up in the town of Seguin, Texas.
Mrs. Brown learned to speak her second language of Spanish as a young child,
but always felt that she was more proficient in her first language of English
since it was the dominant language that was spoken at home. During our
interview, I asked questions in regard to the methods she would use to help her
students in the adaptation process, her views about bilingualism, and the
advantages she feels students with bilingual backgrounds could attain. In the
school district she used to work for, Mrs. Brown was fortunate enough to be
able to pull kids from non core classes like specials and P.E, this allowed her
to work with kids one on one to help them reach a high proficiently level in
the English language. Wright states that "linguistic environments,
particularly in naturalistic settings . . . but also in today's communicative
classrooms, comes to learners in the midst of oral interaction with one or more
interlocutors, rather than as exposure to monologic spoken or written discourse
(Wright, 2015). This explains that the most important influence in regards to
language learning will take place in the classroom and teachers like Mrs. Brown
will account for being the mediators that allow this kind of learning to take
place. Wright also states, “knowing the students’ home language or
languages allows the teacher to provide primary language support that can
accelerate the student’s acquisition of English and comprehension of academic
instruction” (Wright, p.17). This defends the point of students being able to
become fully proficient in a language when given the right resources, guidance,
and environment in which they are able to excel in. The following interview
will depict Mrs. Brown's experiences with bilingual teachings: >>CLICK HERE<<
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteIt is so great to hear how there are teachers out there who are willing to learn a second language and provide more support to her students. In comparison to you teacher, the teacher I interviewed is not bilingual but she is ESL certified. I feel like she is able to to also support students because Wright states, “knowing the student's home language or languages allows the teacher to provide primary language support that can accelerate the student’s acquisition of English and comprehension of academic instruction” (Wright, p.17). Ms.Johnson, has never had a ELL student yet but she also mentioned how she would provide modifyied work expectations first to easily transition her students in to full English.
Hi Yadira, thank you for your comment! Yes Mrs. Brown was great to interview she is very knowledgable in the area of ELL students since the school she worked had a high percentage of Spanish speaking students. As a teacher, she made sure that they would " . . . learn complex academic content and master grade-level content standards.” (Wright, 2015). She did this, while at the same time catered to their needs by working with them during specials.
DeleteHi Jennifer! I really enjoyed watching your VBlog. I like how you guys emphasized the importance of making students feel comfortable in the classroom. I also wish I was able to speak another language. However, when I was young, I never spoke Korean because I did not feel comfortable speaking it, so I never learned how to speak it even though my parents spoke it. I also really liked how you guys mentioned the importance of students working together and helping each other. According to the text, it is important for ELL students to “engage in meaningful interactions with other speakers of the target language,” so having a good classroom environment is important (Wright, 2015, p. 65). I hope when I am a teacher, I will be able to create a positive classroom environment that students feel comfortable in.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Sarah, thank you for your comment! I appreciate that you mentioned the importance of making students feel comfortable in the classroom, I think this is a key factor to students academic performance. Wright states, “students can develop proficiency in one language without losing the other”(Wright, 2015). They need to feel like they are accepted and part of a positive classroom environment where they can be themselves where their language will be accepted too.
DeleteHi Jennifer! I enjoyed watching your 3rd VBLOG interview with Mrs. Carolina Brown. The questions that you had posed for the bilingual teacher were well-structured and organized. Therefore, the interview was easy to understand and follow through. In addition, I liked the teaching strategy that Mrs. Brown mentioned in the very beginning of the interview video where she would display pictures to her ELL students to aid in their proficiency of the English language by recognizing familiar words through visuals. In comparison, the ELL teacher I had interviewed with uses this strategy as well. I strongly believe that this a beneficial way to help them learn the English language at a quicker pace. In addition, Mrs. Brown emphasizes the importance of making students feeling comfortable and able to interact with one another in the classroom. This is an important key point to take into consideration as an educator. My ELL teacher, Mrs. Wilson, believes that establishing a safe and welcoming classroom environment will make students feel more comfortable and be able to be successful in acquiring the proficiency of the English language. An educator is encouraged to bond with the ELL student to know and understand their home language and culture, which is essential in the matter. To add on, Mrs. Brown does make a good point on the advantages of knowing a second language. She addresses the advantages as follows: a better chance for jobs, strong cognitive skills in learning, thinking and/or processing at a faster pace, as well as helping with your intelligence. In chapter 1 of Wright textbook, he mentions the benefits of knowing a second language. Wright states that, “Encouraging 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. The United States needs bilingual citizens who can fulfill myriad jobs in the government, service, business, and education sectors that require bilingual skills to interact with immigrants who have not yet learned English,…”(Wright, 2015, p. 23). This is accurate statement based on Mrs. Brown. Great Job on the interview! I liked reading and watching all of your VBLOGS for this course. Best of luck to you Ms. Rodas!
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Shenna, thank you so much for your nice comment! You are so kind and I truly appreciate the feedback I receive from you. I completely agree that we do need bilingual citizens in the diverse world we now live in. According to Wright, “students learn to read and write in both languages, either simultaneously or first in one language and later on the other”(Wright, 2015). This is extremely important to take into consideration when thinking about how our ELL students will develop in our future classrooms.
DeleteHi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty cool that your teacher assists students when she can. I've seen that where I student teach as well. The students' first language is proficient, however, the students have not mastered the language of English. I can even see the difference between the students that are native English speakers and non native English speakers. The support needed often has a great difference and the only time there can be one on one or small group support is during intervention and specials time. As Wright states, once a student is proficient in their own first language, then they can transition to English. Also, it becomes easier to support student when there are resources available for parents to use at home with their children. This way they are able to get support at home and at school, which may have a higher effect then only getting that support in school.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Jennifer! I really enjoyed your video. It is great that she speaks Spanish so that she can help many of her students who are Spanish speakers. I can tell that she wants her students to keep their native language, which is great because "the United States needs bilingual citizens who can fulfill myriad jobs in the government, service, business, and education sectors that require bilingual skills to interact with immigrants who have not yet learned English,…”(Wright, 2015, p. 23) I also really liked how she uses visuals in the classroom to help the students learn new material. Visuals can really help the students match the word to a picture in their mind when they are learning.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.