Observation of ELL

Observing my ELL in the classroom today was easily one of the valuable experiences I’ve had since joining the Akins block.  It goes without saying the teacher had a very good rapport with all the students.  He is a Spanish speaker himself, affording the English language learners the ability to use Spanish if they get hung up on difficult words.  Given that each student was giving a speech, this strategy was effective in allowing the kids to express themselves fully.  The subject matter was extremely personal; therefore getting the students to communicate in the most comfortable manner possible took precedence. 

Hearing these stories from all the ELL’s and their classmates was a rewarding venture.  I’ve lived in an environment the past five years where 99% of my peers haven’t experienced anything close to the hardships which these students have endured.  Immersing oneself into a foriegn country at a young age was among the tamest of the speeches.  One girl finished her speech, a discussion which included being kicked out the house by her Mother and being beat as a child, with a message so profound it had no business being spoken by a fourteen year old.  Her ten minute speech ended with a genuine standing class ovation only a speaker with presence could generate.

Other stories included estranged parents and deep internal family conflicts.  It makes one truly appreciate the gap that exists between the average teacher and many of these students.  Empathy is an important characteristic to have in addition to consistency.  The master teacher understood that, and did his best to make these students feel comfortable when many other adults in their lives haven’t been up to the task.        

 

 

Geography with ELL

Today’s session was by far the best we’ve had up to this point. Maybe it was the subject matter, or it could be we’re just learning to communicate with each other better, but the most likely reason for my ELL’s success is probably a combination of both. The lesson started with a simple question, “what area of the world is this?” (Middle East). He wasn’t able to name any of the countries or landmarks before the lesson started, and given the worksheet handed to us by the Geography teacher was admittedly hard, I was a little nervous at first.

We started with a simple goal, memorize six countries which are important to understanding the region. The five I chose were Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. We learned these five really fast, roughly 3 or 4 minutes, and I started to get optimistic. But the next landmarks were undoubtedly going to be a lot tougher. On the agenda were seas such as the Red, Arabian, Mediterrean and Caspian; Mountians such as the Tauras, Elburz, and Zargos; and Gulfs such as Aden, Oman, and Persian. Thats a pretty heavy plate for a student who hasn’t yet learned how to discern the Middle East on a world map.

But like the countries, he was able memorize all those landmarks and more fairly easily. We constantly reviewed previously learned landmarks and countries, so that those wouldn’t go forgotten. The best part of the session was that my student was overtly trying to memorize these terms, and did so at such a pace that rough understanding of the world map could easily be attained within a couple of weeks. The session ended when handed him a blank map and said, “fill in everything we’ve learned”. He was able to label approximently 20 terms on the map with minimal spelling errors after only an hour and no word bank. Thats pretty good in my book.

I think the main lesson I’ve taken from this assignment is how much reading and writing skills are holding him back more than would be expected. He learned those terms fast enough for me to conclude that had he recieved more one on one attention, finding the Middle East on a map should be easy for him at this point. There was a gap between what he could recite back and what he could write, which was the first time I truly grasped how his writing was more problematic than he lets on.

Second meeting with ELL

The second meeting went more or less the same as the first.  I tried to build rapport by discussing some of the issues that were mentioned last meeting, but he was still rather shy.  Questions such as, “How’s math class going?” and “Have you played with the soccer team yet?” were areas alluded to from our first meeting.  After an intial get to re-know each other period we got to work.  I was excited to teach instead of trying to have a conversation with someone not interested in talking.  

During the script, he appeared as if he was putting forth a decent effort in attempting to answer the questions, which as a teacher seems to be all you can really ask.   We read passages from Breaking through, and analyzed the material further by answering the questions provided.  He’s able to speak and sound out English words well.  I’m not so sure how well he is able to understand the words he is able to pronounce so effortlessly.  He could answer some of the questions correctly very fast, but others took longer than expected.  Words such as “grinned” and “motioned” gave him trouble, and it is understandable how the passage would be difficult to grasp without knowing these words.  I am very bad at gauging the reading level of a student who is well below where they should be.  Just talking he’s a smart kid who understands how to speak English, and there’s a good chance I assume he should be a better reader than is reasonable.

I tried to repeatedly check for understanding of the vocabulary, and we went over words such as “grinned” that he didn’t know.  Also, I asked him to speak in Spanish or tell me what his initial thoughts were on questions that were giving him difficulty.  But he was prone to giving the exact right answer or none at all.  On the other hand, he did immediately know the word “curandero”, noting it was some sort of person who cures.   You could tell he enjoys reading the Spanish words, so if I was trying to appeal to his interests a book rooted in Spanish would be the way to go.

Since he doesn’t like to point out words or concepts he doesn’t know; vocabulary strategies before, during, and after the lesson seem warranted.  Minimizing jargon and using correct grammer are also important.        

Me and my ELL: First meeting

Our first meeting was an interesting experience for both of us.  While my student speaks English very well; our intrests and background vary significantly.  He is from Mexico, enjoys playing soccer, and listens to what he described as “Mexican” music.  He is a shy person, so we never really got to deep into any specific subject, but there were some he found more interesting than others.  Particularly, soccer is a big part of his life right now.  From playing afterschool pick up, to watching the pros on T.V.; the sport occupys a large portion of his free time.

It was clear from the conversation that he is probably an ELL more so because of his writing abilities than speaking.  Since the regular classroom doesn’t allow him practice writing in Spanish, the language he more fully understands, his basic skills seemed underdeveloped for a student his age.  His family speaks Spanish at home, so it is likely his parents aren’t able to help out much with English language homework.  Vocabulary building should definately occupy a substantial portion of his learning time, although at his current stage the definitional approach would probably yield the most benefits.  After hearing about the conversations others had with their ELL’s, it became clear we didn’t get into the detail others did; which probably has more to do with my own conversational abilities than the ELL.  Nevertheless hopefully we can make further in roads about his interests and goals next meeting.

During the next meeting, I would like to focus more on the specific vocabulary he uses to express his ideas.  Our first conversation consisted on short answers with a simple vocabulary; which I don’t if it’s because I didn’t give him the proper environment for expounding upon his ideas, or if he really just doesn’t have an adequate grasp of english grammer yet.  The next meeting will hopefully shed some light into these areas.