Entry 3: Interview with an ELL Teacher
Hello everyone! Welcome back to my blog!
For my final video entry, I
interviewed Ms. Nguyen; a first-grade teacher at Shadow Oaks Elementary School
in Spring Branch ISD, and my mentor teacher. Ms. Nguyen has been a teacher for
14 years and has been working with English Language Learning students for 13
years. We are currently working in an English as a Second Language classroom. All
our students speak English in the classroom, but some learned a different
language before they began speaking English. Many speak Spanish at home or with extended family.
In the interview, I asked Ms.
Nguyen what methods of teaching she uses in her instruction with ELL students.
She responded saying she uses a lot of “hands-on materials.” Things they can
see and manipulate; such as word walls, pictures, and counters. She feels these
help her ELL students when they are learning in her classroom.
Ms.
Nguyen also talked about how she personalizes her instruction based on her
students’ needs. The way to personalize instruction based on a student’s needs
is to get to know them and their background. In order for teachers to “provide
effective instruction for” their students, they “must be able to answer…basic questions
about the ELLs in their classroom” (Wright, 2015, p.16). Questions such as
where they are from, what language they speak at home, and what is their
ethnicity and cultural group. The research that needs to be done to answer
these questions will be extremely beneficial for the ELL students. Becoming
more aware of your student’s background will help you know better ways to teach
and instruct your ELL students, but it will also help you “to avoid stereotypes
and generalizations” (Wright, 2015, p.17). We want our students to feel
accepted in the classroom, and the best way to do this is for the teacher to
embrace and welcome their culture.
In
chapter 3, Wright talks about the “’personal approach’ to teaching” (Wright,
2015, p.64). I believe Ms. Nguyen’s ideology aligns well with the set of core
principles listed on page 64. The two that Ms. Nguyen mentioned in the
interview were “[providing] maximum opportunities for student participation” by
using hands-on materials, and “develop learner’s confidence” by helping them
learn in a way that is best for them (Wright, 2015, p.64).
Wright,
Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory,
Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015.Print. Second Edition
Hi Lauren! I enjoyed watching your interview and thank you for sharing. I really do appreciate how your teacher takes the time to get to know her students and then bases her instruction off of that. Wright states that educators who work with ELLs must be aware of the linguistic diversity in their schools and surrounding communities (Wright, 2015, p. 16). When she asks questions such as what country are the students or their families from, or what languages are spoken in their home, it is literally word for word the questions Wright says that teachers need to ask their students in order to get a better understanding of them. These are questions I will definitely ask my future students so that I could get to know them more and do the same thing by personalizing my lesson to best help them and give them the best learning experience.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Hi Zoe, thanks for watching my video. I agree, Ms. Nguyen does a great job at asking her student’s questions in order to better understand their background. On pg. 24, Wright states that “teachers must get to know their students by obtaining information about their sociocultural background.” In doing so, “teachers [will] make the best possible decisions for providing effective instruction for their ELLS” (Wright, 2015, p.24). I think Ms. Nguyen is very successful at using the information she gathers from her students to personalize their instruction.
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Hi Lauren, I enjoyed your interview with Ms. Nguyen and thought she had some great experience and approaches to share, especially with you two teaching in an ESL classroom. My favorite part of the interview was when she spoke about personalizing instruction because this is an area I have always felt strongly about with my teaching philosophy, wether your class contains ELLs or not. I really like that statement of how the way to personalize instruction based on a student's needs is to simply get to know them and I immediately thought of the need for differentiated instruction in all classrooms. Wright points out that "all students differ in terms of prior knowledge, academic proficiency, learning styles, and sociocultural background. Thus one-size-fits-all instruction is problematic, especially for the diverse group of students under the ELL label" (2015, p. 264). I think Wright explained it very well and Ms. Nguyen reinforced these ideals very clearly in the interview. It is evident her classroom caters to the needs of the individual learner which is a such an important quality of a successful ELL classroom.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Hi Megan, thanks for watching my video. I agree with you; all classrooms should personalize instruction to their students. I also really like how Ms. Nguyen places such importance on personalizing her instruction. The quote you pulled from Wright is great, how one-size-fits-all instruction is not the best way to run a classroom. In our classroom, we are constantly differentiating our instruction by changing our wording or doing different activities in order for all of our students to be successful. According to Wright, differentiating instruction is the mark of an effective teacher and is a harder but better way to run a classroom (Wright, 2015, p.265).
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Hey Lauren, I loved watching your video! I saw that your mentor teacher took the time to get to know her students, by asking general questions. Which I think is very important at that age for students. According to Wright (2015) “Thus, the more the teacher knows about a students’ experiences, the more he or she can assume about the expertise that student is likely to have.” (Pg.17) Since your teacher took that approach she knew that hands on activities would work best for her classroom. Using visuals was also something she uses and for the age group I think she is doing a fantastic job. That is what those young students need and I’m glad your teacher dug deeper into what’s best for her students.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Hi Shelly, thanks for watching my video. I agree that it is important to ask your students questions, so you can “provide effective instruction for them” (Wright, 2015, p.16). Questions such as where they are from, what language they can read or write, what cultural group they belong to, their parents level of education, etc. All of these questions help you better understand the background of your student so you can personalize your instruction. A student must feel accepted and understood before they can learn anything, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I think Ms. Nguyen does a great job at doing this because she first seeks to understand her students then adjusts her instruction to best fit them.
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Hi Lauren! I found your interview so interesting! I love that Ms. Nguyen noted that she uses personalized approaches to teaching English as a second language to her students. Being able to understand that all students learn in different ways impacts the way that they learn greatly, so it’s amazing that she has put so much effort into her students getting the most out of their education as possible. Wright pointed out in Chapter 3 about the importance of personalized instruction and taking a personal approach (2015, p.64). Students only learn when they are interested and engaged in what they are doing, so it is important to maintain that engagement and Ms. Nguyen clearly does that.
ReplyDeleteHi Noor, thanks for watching my video. I agree that personalized instruction is very important to have in the classroom. A student must feel accepted and understood before they can learn anything, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The student’s basic needs must be met in the classroom before learning, personalizing instruction can do just that. Asking questions to better understand your students’ backgrounds will help you “provide effective instruction,” learn cultural influences on your students’ lives, and help you “avoid stereotypes and generalizations” (Wright, 2015, p.16-17).
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition