Blog 3
For this entry, I interviewed a teacher that works on the
first grade team with my cooperating teacher and I. This is the interview.
Reflection
After interviewing Mrs. Aitken, I
learned some more about the field of English Language Acquisition and its many
nuances. In Mrs. Aitken’s case because she was primarily a kindergarten teacher
in the past and is a first-grade teacher currently, she could naturally teach a
child English because it’s naturally how you would teach these grade levels. At
the grade levels she had taught it’s natural to teach using many visuals,
modeling, and having them work with their peers.
I also really like the point she
brought up about the immersion and pull-out method. I am in favor of students
being fully immersed, but I do agree with what she said about being pull-out
only for a short amount of time. There is a lot of research that differs from this
thought, but I know she knows from first-hand experience that having a child be
pull-out to work one-on-one can be beneficial in some ways.
As for assessing students, Brown
and Lee states, “One of the characteristics of an effective teacher is the
ability to observe students as they perform. Teachers are constantly engaged in
a process of taking students’ performance and intuitively assessing it and
using those evaluations to offer feedback.” (p. 529) and Mrs. Aitken was spot
on with what she stated. It is true that assessment always constantly happens,
and assessment isn’t just their product, but a good teacher will always be
constantly assessing their students for understanding.
Overall, I really enjoyed my interview
with Mrs. Aitken. I did think there was an actual ESL specialist at the school,
but I found out there wasn’t and many teachers at this school are ESL certified.
In Mrs. Aitken’s case she had only worked with kindergartners and
first-graders and shared her perspective of working with English language
learners at these age levels, but it make me wonder how it would be to work
with older children.
Hi Chenda,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching your interview. I think it is so interesting to see that the ESL program was taken and how the teachers were pushed to be ESL certified, that must have been so difficult! I see that the teacher mentioned cooperative learning in students to work together with ELL students so they will build on their vocabulary and speaking skills (p.55.) I think it can be such a challenge for teachers and students when they are not able to communicate as easily as they want. I think it is such a great way that the teacher was able to patiently communicated easily in pre-k, however in kindergarten it was a little different. It was interesting to learn the teacher you interviewed felt that it would be more difficult for her personally to teach ELL students in a third grade classroom in immersion(p.58). I can understand why she would feel that way because at that age the students are much older and have already developed a language and having to bring in a new language and start from scratch can be a challenge. Also, when you asked about what was the most effective strategy would be the pull out strategy. I think that it is nice to see that it is true that a lot of factors play into the necessary amount of attention that students need and as the teacher mentioned it is important for ELL students to have more concrete learning for at least 10-15 minutes. I really enjoyed learning about what your teacher had to say in the interview great job!
Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman
Hi Sharmeen! I too, really enjoyed my interview with Mrs. Aitkens. Some points that she shared with me stuck out to me so much, such as her feeling as if she would have more challenges teaching older children. When she said that to me I realized, just like you said, that older children have already developed a language and now a new language has to be brought in. The thought of that really stuck with me and made me wonder how you would go about teaching a new language.
DeleteHi there Chenda,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your video and how in depth of an interview you did, it seems authentic. The question that really caught my attention was when you asked Mrs. Aitken about the most effective method for teaching ELL students. She responded by saying that she thought the full immersion method for teaching ELL was the most beneficial to students because they get that extra interaction and discourse with other students. She also stated that she doesn’t fully agree with the pull-out method, but thinks that students should have pull out maybe 15 minutes a day. Her comments stood out to me because I agree with her. I think ELL students should be fully immersed in the classroom so that they can listen and speak the language better. A brief pull out would help a lot too, so that students get a little one on one interactions with ESL teachers. I really enjoyed your interview, your questioning was great!
Hi Shawn! I really enjoyed my interview with Mrs. Aitken. I too, found it really interesting that she believed the full immersion method for teaching ELLs being the most beneficial. Yet, at the same time she also liked for students to be pulled out for a short period of time to get that one on one interaction with teachers. It really stuck out to me too because I also agree with that idea.
DeleteMrs. Aitken sounds like a great teacher. Assessment is so important. At my previous college, Baylor University, and at UH I have learned the phrase “Assessment drives instruction.” So many teachers base their instruction on other things other than assessment. However, it is crucial to know your end goal on the assessment before you begin planning a lesson. Assessment should happen all the time. This is referred to as formative assessment. My mentor teacher has me taking antidotal notes in my small group right now. I have learned that it is so helpful to keep these notes so that you can assess how a student performs, like your teacher suggested.
ReplyDeleteHi Kaela! Assessment it very vital to all that we do as teachers. Not only with students that are learning a new language but it other subjects and simply throughout the day as well! Like you said, assessment does drive our instruction because our instruction should be based on what we are assessing which is what we want our students to learn. The fact that your mentor teacher has you taking anecdotal notes is really great because it can really help you in assessing your students.
DeleteHi Chenda!
ReplyDeleteI like how your interviewee brought up the pull out method and how if students are being pulled out they should only be pulled out for a short amount of time. I agree with her on how it should only be a short amount of time and I also believe that the pull out method only should be used if the student barely speaks the English language and is struggling passing their class. If the language barrier is the main reason why the student is struggling then I believe the pull out method would be beneficial for the student. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Julie! I agree with your idea of the pull-out method and how it should only really be used for enrichment or an intervention. Just like Mrs. Aitken stated, I really think having students be fully immersed is beneficial but at the same time having student be pulled out for a few minutes out of the day to have that one on one time can really be beneficial as well. This can be sort of an enrichment as they have that one on one time with another teacher.
DeleteChenda,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your interview and especially learning about Mrs. Aitken's approach to teaching English Language Learners, she's definitely a breath of fresh air compared to the other views on English Language Learners in that community. I actually live right down the street from Scanlan Oaks Elementary and being an English Language Learner myself, growing up, that school along with other schools within that community did not have any English Language Learner programs available for me. In order to gain the instruction that I needed as a Second Language Learner I had to attend a school that was further away from where I lived. It's one thing to have excellent teachers like Mrs. Aitken's who have a clear passion and thorough knowledge of their field, and then it's another when you consider the administrators and the system that is giving the teachers the necessary sources to succeed. Unfortunately for Scanlan Oaks Elementary, along with several other schools around the country several people in positions of power within some school districts are not knowledgable of some of the needs that are specific to students like English Language Learners, for this reason we see a situation like the one Mrs. Aitken's explained, where teachers are certified but not trained in teaching ELLs.
Hi, Chenda, I enjoyed your interview video. I like what your cooperating teacher talked about it is important for Kindergarten students and 1st-grade students to learn with lots of pictures and checklist. Even Mrs. Aitken is not an ESL certified teacher, I think she did modify her lesson plan for ELLs.
ReplyDelete