VBlog 3
I apologize for the sounds in the background but we conducted the interview in the library during recess so there were a couple of students assisting the librarian. Carlos Rosario is from Puerto Rico where he graduated college from mostly using Spanish. He is a 5th-grade math teacher who works in HISD. This interview was very helpful for me to learn about the relationships that ELL students develop while working with a teacher they can communicate with.
Mr. Rosario brought up a point about trying to reach out to a student’s cultural background when working with a student who is an ELL. This is a connection with the Sociocultural Perspective when it comes to second language acquisition (Wright, 2015, p. 55,56). This refers to the understanding of an ELL’s background to assist in the language learning process. I thought this was a good point for Mr. Rosario to make as since he has a background growing up in a different culture that is present in most of the area, then he can consider this when he is working with his students. This can be an important part of a teacher to just connect with the students, so they want to learn rather than reject what is being taught in the classrooms.
Another point that Mr. Rosario made was when he brought up the difficulties he had when he tried to understand slang that was being used around him. This is something that can really complicate the communication process with an ELL. There are often where native speakers will slur together words or phrases and everyone is expected to know what is being said. When using oral language, it is rather difficult to keep up and can be one of the most difficult parts about being a language learner for any language (Wright, 2015, p. 151). It is important to recognize what is being said as teachers and speak clearly which can be rather difficult since there are so many things happening in a classroom all at once. Focusing on the oral language in the classroom should be a concern for teachers in this environment.
Andrew, I found your discussion over the importance of relationships with students - especially with English Language Learners. Much like Patricia, you also mention the importance of the sociocultural perspective (Wright, 2015). Due to a student's background influencing their learning so heavily, I definitely agree with your viewpoint on acknowledging and building relationships with ELL's and their culture. Teachers having to learn the use of slang and cultural references from their students may seem challenging; however, I find this works as a great method for strengthening the bonds we form with our students. When a student can share their experiences with their teachers, they feel more comfortable in class. what would you do to help students feel comfortable? Change the classroom environment or adjust your teaching style?
ReplyDeleteI believe there are several things that can be used in the classroom. I think the most important thing to recognize is that the adjustment of coming from one culture to another takes time for a student. I have seen this adjustment phase first hand in my classroom and it is not easy for the students. But after this stage it is important to build a relationship with the students and allow them to feel as thought they are a part of the classroom community. This can be a very difficult time for the students and showing them that they are an important part of the classroom. I think sharing their culture can help a lot as well and show that culture in the classroom I have not found that changing the teaching style helps especially when it is just changing it for one or two students. This can push them out of the class community, but treating them just like any other student can make a difference but you also have to get to know them.
DeleteI like your thoughts on ensuring that students have ample time to orient themselves into the classroom culture once introduced to the new environment. I also appreciate your discussion of creating a community within the classroom, one that cultivates strong relationships and respect between peers and teachers. Personally, I find that classroom roles and small group discussions help to create an environment where the student feels respected and included. I also like inter-class competition rather than inner-class competition, due to the fact that if students feel their classmates can threaten their chances for success, the environment may become hostile. However, I disagree with your thoughts on changing one's style. I have seen that, after reflecting on how I address students, and the type of feedback and lessons I produce, my style benefited from an overhaul of ideas and methodology. Once I engaged in a more differentiated style, with an emphasis on respect and community, my students seem more interested in learning the material.
DeleteHi Andrew, I think Mr. Rosario is an excellent ELL teacher. what stood out to me the most was that he made sure to establish a connection between his students. Establishing a connection can be one of the most important things we do as teachers. (Wright, 2015) This is usually a refinement of mines. I always get so caught up with what I am teaching or I am watching the clock and see we have little time, so I don't establish a connection with my students.
ReplyDeleteLearning a new language can be very hard. Especially when you are learning the rules and how to apply them correctly. When you hear native speakers use slang it makes it difficult to understand.
Mr. Rosario seems like a great teacher to learn from. He is doing an excellent job as a teacher and I hope he continues to teach ELLs.
Wright, Wayne (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, Second Edition
Mr. Rosario has a really effective classroom and I have been able to see how he teaches in his classroom to make these connections with the students that are ELL or ESL. I have been able to see how he treats these students and have made adjustments to how I teach based on things I have learned from him. One of these minor things that he does is the simple interactions that occur with the students to have them see their culture in the classroom. He often jokes about thinks that they do at home whether its the stores that the students shop at or the TV shows they watch he is very effective at bringing their culture into the classroom.
DeleteHi Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your interview with Mr. Osorio. You can feel the genuineness in his teachings to the ELL students. He already has a connection with them being that he went through a similar experience in trying to acquire the English himself growing up. He is able to relate and already has an insight on how he can make connections that will allow his students assimilate new content. One strategy he mentioned was using words that are easier. This reminded me of sheltered English instruction. As mentioned in the book, this is grade-level instruction that is given in a manner that is comprehensible to ELLs while still developing their English proficiency (Wright, 2015, pg. 92). As he mentioned, some words used in the 4th grade level are difficult, even for general classroom, using easier words to make that connection first is effective.
Wright, W. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
I agree, I think that word choice is incredibly important in the classroom and simply picking the wrong words can change the approach the students take to solve a problem. This is important to consider when teaching the class. Making sure that students are understanding what is happening around them can make the difference in whether or not they are effectively learn the material. This is something that I have learned first hand in my classroom. Just this week we used a district provided resource which asked students to solve problems involving a ream of paper. Many students in 5th grade might not already understand what this word means but even less of the ELLs knew what it meant. This confused them for the entire word problem and they were not able to sove is. This is just one example of many that I have seen in my classroom where the students are not able to work on a problem simply because of the language used in the problem.
DeleteBeing able to relate to your students is important and for me, sometimes just letting them know that I struggled in school can motivate them. When it comes to learning the vocabulary, my mentor teacher and I also use a lot of scaffolding techniques. We will begin with very simple math problems and usually end with story problems. While we go at a fast pace we make sure that all of our students keep up with the process. I also agree that not knowing one or two words in a sentence can ruin the child's entire process for understanding what they are reading. I have had a lot of students give up because of this and it's really important as a teacher to know when that occurs and to help the students as fast as you can.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is important to make sure that the students are able to follow along in the sentence and that is also true for assessments. It is observed that the assessment language is often requiring students to know twice as many unique words than many assignments that are given in the classroom (Wright, 2015, pg. 126). This can be a problem for the students because they might know the material, but because the language on the test is more challenging than they are used to they are not able to score well on the assessments. This is a topic that teachers should look at closely when they are assessing these students. This is also a difficult topic because the teachers are not able to change the state tests but they can change their classroom. This means that the teachers might need to include more materials that encourage language growth as the students learn.
DeleteHi Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI think that is awesome how this teacher you chose to interview can relate to his students. He went through schooling using mainly Spanish, so he knows how difficult it is to learn another language. When you questioned linguistics and he mentioned vocabulary, I thought of what was mentioned in the text. According to the text, "An understanding of semantics can also inform the teaching of cognates- words that are similar in English and a student's home language because they come from the same root" (Wright, 2015, Pg. 34). This can be very helpful for ELL's students.
Wright, Wayne (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, Second Edition.
This can be very helpful for ELL's*
ReplyDelete