My Journey

·         Coursework

The coursework required for an ESL degree is nothing to be taken lightly.  Learning about the theorists behind ESL instruction was especially tough for me mainly because I like to discover more about the strategies and methods to use in the classroom than the people who discovered them.  I understand that it is imperative to learn the history, but I prefer the “hands-on” knowledge.

·         Processes for obtaining licensure

The process for obtaining licensure is fairly straightforward.  I think if a person is well-informed of the paperwork and requirements involved, there is no issue.  This is even truer for someone who already holds a teaching certificate and is familiar with the process.

·         Experiences working with ESL students

Experiences working with ESL students have been the highlight for me on my journey.  I teach adult ELLs, so it was very rewarding for me to spend time in the K-5 setting.  I look forward to teaching in the K-12 setting in the future.

·         Application of your Wiki and related materials designed as part of specific classes

I was apprehensive about my Wiki and this blog when I first began my assignments as I am not the most technologically advanced person.  However, I have surprised myself and been very proud of the accomplishments I have made- especially with my Wiki.  I have used screen prints from it to take on job interviews and have mailed the link to all my friends and family.

·         What advice do you have for others who intend to pursue the add‐on and who hope to work with second language learners in the future?

I would tell future students who are striving for an ESL degree to make sure that they are committed to the program.  It can be quite grueling- especially if you take a May or summer class!  I would also tell them that there is no greater feeling than having a student thank you for teaching them English!

Literature Circles

·         What are your overall impressions of implementation?

Will edit after implementation.

·         How did students react to the literature?

Will edit after implementation.

·         How did students react to discussing the selected texts?

Will edit after implementation.

·         How appropriate is the Literature Circle Technique for second language learners?

Literature circles are very appropriate for second language learners.  It is widely held to be true that different forms of scaffolding are ideal in the second language acquisition process.  The literature circle technique allows for verbal, procedural, and instructional scaffolding.

·         What changes would you make if you were to repeat this?

Will edit after implementation.

·         What suggestions to you have for other ESL professionals considering implementing literature circles?

I think it is critical for ESL teachers to choose the literature carefully.  The selections should not be too easy or too difficult.  I would also make sure that the activities during all phases of the reading process incorporate strategies that are effective for ELLs.

Ethnographic Case Study and Narrative

What are your overall impressions of this observation?

I observed a seven-year-old student who is in the second grade (coded name- FV) and at an intermediate proficiency level.  I feel that this observation was highly valuable to me because I have not been around young students who are past the beginning proficiency level. 

What did you learn as a result of the fieldwork?

FV does not have a discernible accent.  She speaks remarkably well for any child of seven years old.  However, her L1 is Spanish, not English.  As a result of this fieldwork, I discovered that even though a student might not have an accent does not mean that she is past needing help from an ESL class.  Despite FV’s ability to pronounce words correctly, she often had a difficult time putting her thoughts into words when working with CALP. She clearly still needs assistance in an ESL setting.

What is the value in case study research and analysis in terms of classroom practice?

Case study research and analysis are valuable because they lead to discoveries that might otherwise be left undiscovered.  The discoveries that are found about one student can lead to improvements or changes that can benefit many students.

What is the value of the ethnographic narrative?

The ethnographic narrative can serve the purpose of dispelling myths or banishing generalizations that people hold true.  The ethnographic narrative that I wrote would lead a reader to realize the common generalizations that people make about ELLs are not valid.

How will this information assist future teachers (next year’s teachers) as well as yourself in meeting the needs of this particular second language learner?

The information gained from this case study research and ethnographic narrative will assist future teachers of this student in that they will realize that just because FV can speak English remarkably well, does not mean that she is understanding or effectively capable of using CALP.

Action Research

Thoughts about Action Research

I believe that action research is a highly beneficial tool for educators to utilize to improve learning.  The world of academia relies on the collaborative efforts of educators.  Action research lends itself to this collaborative effort in that classroom teachers can select problems or issues within their own classrooms for research, and their findings can improve practice in other classrooms.

Ideas Resulting from my Action Research

My action research was based on the following two questions:

1)      How does grouping a highly verbal ELL (L1) with a less verbal ELL (L2) of the same ability level impact student success in learning?

2)      What happens when L2 is pulled out to receive individual ESL instruction?

My findings included the following:

v     ESL class groupings consisting of the same proficiency level, but differing levels of confidence and talkativeness, result in L2 being severely overshadowed by L1.

v     When a choral response was requested, L2 waited for L1 to answer before she provided one.

v     L2 rarely volunteered in class and looked at L1 for guidance when participating in total physical response activities even though she knew the answer. 

v     This situation caused the teacher to be unaware of the progress that L2 was making and perpetuated L2’s lack of confidence.

v     When L2 was pulled out to receive individualized instruction, she answered questions without prompting and offered additional information in the form of expanding answers.

v     The teacher was able to gauge her level of comprehension more effectively.

v     Left to this form of grouping, L2’s confidence would flourish.

As a result of my research I discovered that factors other than proficiency level and grade/age level should be taken into consideration when grouping ELLs.

Suggestions Based on my Findings

As a result of my action research, I would suggest to other ESL teachers that they take multiple factors into consideration when grouping students whenever possible.  In grades Kindergarten through 12^th, grouping often occurs based on grade level and possibly (but not always) proficiency level.  Students are grouped in this way due to scheduling difficulties.  (It is easier to send all the students of the same grade level to ESL class at the same time.)   Even though teachers and administrators may face scheduling dilemmas, the effort should be made to ensure the best learning environment for every student.  To make sure this happens, every attempt should be made to make sure the best grouping possible is achieved- with confidence and talkativeness levels taken into consideration.

Fieldwork Observation Entry 2

General Information- This observation took place on September 15, 2011 in a developmental kindergarten class with two students present.

Teaching Issues
The lesson topic for this class was "The Human Body."  The teacher began the lesson with an initial engaging activity of singing the song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," which the students really enjoyed and participated in after hearing the words once or twice.  The teacher utilized many different forms of instruction which engaged different learning styles.  See examples below:

Visual Learners-

• flashcards                       
• interactive game on the board via a projector connected to the Internet
• content-specific images shown on the board via a projector connected to the Internet
• activity involving drawing an outline of a body

Kinesthetic Learners-

• interactive game on the board via a projector connected to the Internet
• activity involving drawing an outline of a body

Linguistic Learners-

• entire lesson consisted of instruction geared for verbal/linguistic learners

The students participated in all of the activities, and the teacher later told me that she was pleased with how the lesson progressed even though it was rushed and the accomplishments of the students.

I saw two issues in regards to this lesson.  The first issue is related to time.  There simply was not enough time for the lesson to be carried out in a satisfactory way in the length of time the students are allowed in ESL class. While taking with the teacher after class, she expressed her concern with the amount of time students are in ESL class daily.  With pressure on the ESL teacher to not only teach BICS, but to teach CALP as well, more time must be devoted to ESL classes.

The other issue I saw is related to grouping.  The class period I observed is allotted for developmental kindergarten.  There are only two students who fall into this age/grade level.  The problem is that one of the students is much more vocal and less shy than the other.  Student A (the vocal student) is quick to yell out answers to verbal questions and to volunteer to perform certain tasks within the classroom.  While Student B may very well know the content and proves this when given the chance, she is often overshadowed by Student A.  The teacher and I discussed this issue after class, and she related to me that she is concerned about this and tries to employ tactics to ensure that Student B has the opportunity to participate in class is she desires.

Second Language Acquisition
I observed many different ways that second language acquisition was promoted within this lesson.  The teacher utilized learning strategies such as activating prior knowledge, personalizing the content, and using images among others.  The students were asked questions that required verbal answers as well as physical answers (pointing to body parts and going to the board during the interactive game).  The materials used during the lesson consisted of a white board which showed projected images from the Internet (not a SMARTBoard or Promethean Board) which was used for playing a game and reviewing body parts, flashcards,  music, and paper and markers used to create a body outline.

Ethnographic Perspectives
It is necessary to know the cultural backgrounds and linguistic capabilities of these students to know how to provide the best language instruction.  As stated above, it is also beneficial to know the different personalities so all students are equally represented in class.  The teacher took into account the students' cultural backgrounds by integrating some of the vocabulary words in their L1.  I found this to be a beneficial tactic in my adult ESL classes as well.

Observation 1

Fieldnotes from September 29, 2011

Developmental Kindergarten ESL class- Students are 5 years-old and placed in this class based on test scores.

Purpose of Lesson: Introducing Fall

Sequence of Events

1. Teacher welcomes students to class.  "Today we are going to learn about fall!"  "Ms. S told me that you are working on fall projects in her class."
2. Teacher: "Let's go to the reading rug so I can read you a story."
3. Teacher reads aloud from "Fall Harvest"- shows pictures while reading. Story relates why leaves change colors.
4. Teacher introduces fall vocabulary while reading: fall, apple, tree, raking, pumpkin, etc. - also mentions colors like orange, red, brown, green, and yellow.
5. Teacher: "Look at the pumpkin!"  "What color is it?"
6. ELL-S is usually the first to respond to questions, and ELL-E quickly follows with same response.
7. When book is over, teacher: "Let's go to the yoga chairs and look at the board.  I will show you some more pictures of fall!"
8. Students work together to quickly put the yoga chairs in the center of the classroom so they can observe the board clearly.
9. Teacher shows various pictures relating to fall: colorful leaves, pumpkins, apples, people raking leaves, etc. Teacher: "What do you see in the picture?"  "Do you remember why leaves change colors?" "What color is that pumpkin?"  "What are those people doing?"
10. Students observe the pictures and answer questions with one-word answers and some prompting.  ELL-E needs more prompting than ELL-S.
11. Teacher reads aloud an online book on the board entitled "Autumn Leaves."  Tells the students that "Autumn means the same thing as Fall."  Teacher asks the students different questions while reading the book and makes sure to review fall vocabulary introduced in read-aloud book earlier in the lesson.
12. Teacher: "Let's go to the work table so we can color a picture of a pumpkin patch."  "Isn't Ms. S taking you on a field trip to the pumpkin patch?"  Students: "Yes."
13. One student gathers crayons and brings them to the table.  One student moves the yoga chairs back to the table- they seem to know different tasks needed to be accomplished without being asked.
14. Teacher plays alphabet songs on the CD player while students color.  Teacher: "I can't wait to see your masterpieces!"  "I will hang them up on the wall!"  
15. While students color, the teacher reviews fall vocabulary.
16. Teacher allows for completion of coloring sheet and "It's time to go back to Ms. S's class!" "I will walk you down."

 Elaboration

Read-Aloud on the Reading Rug consisted of the teacher reading aloud from "Fall Harvest," a beginning reading book about fall including the reasons why leaves change colors.  The teacher introduced fall vocabulary including fall, pumpkin, leave, apple, raking, and tree as well as colors associated with fall; yellow, orange, green, brown, and red.  She brought up past lessons pertaining to seasons as well as what was being taught in the general education classroom.  While the teacher red the book, she pointed out different illustrations and described each carefully and slowly with words that the ELLs could understand.  The teacher asked various questions after reading certain sentences in the story to check for understanding.  She concluded the read-aloud with various questions including "Do you like to eat pumpkins?" and "What else can you do with a pumpkin?"

Analysis

As a development kindergarten ESL class, the relevance of the topic was obvious.  Kindergarten is the time when children learn about the seasons according to state standards, and it was being taught in the general education classroom.  By the end of the lesson, the ELLs were able to say and comprehend the fall vocabulary that was introduced as well as understand the process of leaves changing colors.


Ethnographic Perspective

An observer coming into this ESL classroom during this lesson would encounter a highly organized, brightly decorated classroom with a teacher incorporating a variety of methods and strategies to teach the topic of fall.  The students are made to feel welcome and accepted by the encouraging words and actions the teacher utilizes throughout her lesson such as "high-fives" and "Great job!"  The teacher also patted the students on the shoulder and would ruffle their hair which the students seemed to like.

Hello Again!

Welcome!  Since I last posted, I have begun a new job!  I am still in graduate school, but I am also currently teaching four different levels of adult ELLs, and I enjoy it very much!  I'm returning to GlobalESL Chat in order to chronicle fieldwork for SPSE 6712 class assignments.  My fieldwork will take place in an elementary school setting.  Check back often as I progress with my fieldwork requirements!