More Thought's On Our Approach To English Language Learners

                I have already posted a few blog posts about ELL's but I feel as if its a topic that isn't talked about often enough. For a class reading we were assigned 2 articles, Preparing English Language Learners for Academic Success, and Teaching English Language Learners: What does Research Tell Us?. (I will post links to both articles below. I encourage you to give them a read.) As I read these articles, it was coming apparent that I myself didn't have a lot of knowledge about how the programs for ELL students are being cultivated and what they actually need to be successful. I imagine that majority of these students don't attend top private schools, so I was really entrigued to see how schools are helping ELL's be successful. While these articles give a general overview, I would like to do more research on my own into what  resources schools actually have.
        
           According to a study there are over 3.4 million ELL students, in our schools right now, and ELL students represent 6% of all school aged children. 79% of these students come from Spanish households and 2/3rds of ELLs come from low income families. When reading the article about Preparing ELLS for Academic Success, I was a little shocked to find out that there is no common benchmark for English Language proficiency. I guess I was so taken aback because ELL students make up a huge part of the student body of America. The government has always been very gungho about common core standards, so I was confused when they didn't really have a plan for ELLs.
  
         The types programs that are available to our students is probably the most crucial to their success. While there are many different methods that our used. The articles seem to suggest that bi-lingual programs work the best, and is most helpful for students trying to learn a new language. On average it takes students about 3-5 years to be proficient in oral English and 5-7 to be proficient in Academic English. The law however only gives up to 4 years, to get a student up "full proficiency." To me this seems a little ridiculous, how do we expect students to learn a new language proficiently in the matter of three years? I doubt that any average American Student could learn a new language "proficiently" that quickly either. I guess it just doesn't seem quite fair to put such a time constraint on something that is clearly very important. A 2015 study in Washington found that on average it takes Spanish Speaking Learners a little over 4 years to be completely proficient in the English Language.
 
     I don't know how to fix the problems, or how to make things more cohesive for our ELL students but I can see that we are making the right strides. As of 2015 , More than 45 States in the US, use 1 out of 2 of the English-Language proficiency test, in order to gauge student's success. Researchers believe that by using these assessments they will be able to gather some clearer data in regards to what is working and what is and how we can better help our students.







          Articles:

       Preparing English Language Learners for Academic Success,
         
http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Instruction/What-research-says-about-English-language-learners-At-a-glance/Preparing-English-language-learners-for-academic-success.html


   Teaching English Language Learners: What does Research Tell Us?

  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/05/11/teaching-english-language-learners-what-does-the-research.html

            

WIDA

Today, I learned a new word, WIDA. WIDA is a word that after 19 years of life I had not heard or ever really knew much about. WIDA stands for the World-class Instructional Design and Assessment. So in short, a system of assessments/standards followed in various states that ensure the success of English Language Learners (ELL) in schools around the country. After the past two days, I have been shown that ELL and Teaching English as Second Language (TESOL) is a huge topic that not only has been reasearched greatly, but in many areas it is not as comprehensive has it should be. We are living in an expansive country that is changing rapidly. We are a mixing pot full of immigrants, and different cultures and languages. As a future Educator it is up to me to be aware of the changing population of students and how I as a teacher can help them learn the best. It will be very probable that in my classrooms throughout the years I will have an ELL learner among my students.
      Being an ELL teacher is a field that I have been interested in but very hesitant to pursue. My Step-Mom who has her masters in Pyschology is now a middle school history teacher, but before that she worked at an elementary school in Colorado Springs that had a very high Latino population, and more than half of the students who attended there only spoke Spanish, and most of the teachers there were bilingual. My Step-mom who was a secretary at the time and she recalled to me that even she had to brush up on her Spanish. She told me about a little boy, who's father was in Jail, and he was having problems in school. She told me how most of the kids here, had at least one family member in prison and a lot them were struggling. This particular little boy, ended up forming a relationship with my dad who was a Police officer in Colorado Springs at the time, and my dad became a positive role   model, for young boy who didn't have one.
       Ever since my Step-mom shared her experiences with me, I had an interest in helping ELL students. And in fact for a long time, I looked into learing ASL and being a teacher for the deaf. Something that is very close to my heart, as my 2 year old cousin is deaf, my mom lost her hearing, and it is very likely that I too will lose my hearing by the time I'm 40. My wandering mind didn't hold these ideas for very long, but that does not mean, I won't try again. I still have hopes of learning Spanish and ASL and even moving out west, Colorado ideally, and making a difference. I know that i was put on this earth to make a change and to help others. Whether that be students in a white upper class community or students in the city, I want to inspire at least one student, to strive for more. It breaks my heart when I see people with potential who are so smart and so gifted, but they just were put in the wrong circumstances or they just don't see the point in trying. I want to make it my mission, to not only be a good teacher and role model but to also inspire every young adult and child to strive for more and follow their dreams no matter how hard it may be.

            

         

Thoughts on a Single Story

 

 Danger of a Single Story by Ngozi Chimamanda :

https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story
     

                In Chimamanda Ngozi’s Ted Talk, she talks about her struggle as a writer and an African author, and the different perceptions that people have based on the story they s see. I think as a college student, one thing that I can take from Ngozi’s speech is that we tend to have only one perception of someone or something, and to look beyond that perception and realize that there are more stories than just the one we see. Often when we watch the news we only get one story.  Ngozi described how her first American college roommate’s perception of her was based on the things she had seen about Africa, Africa as a poor, third world country. Which was not how Ngozi grew up at all. By knowing the whole story, and ALL the stories we are able to have a better understanding of not only ourselves but others.
           As a teacher, I think this means to look at our students as individuals, and understand that the way they might act in the classroom is not the only definition of who they are. As a teacher it is our responsibility to not only teach but open up our eyes to the struggles that our students are facing not only inside of the classroom but outside of the classroom too. There’s always something more to it than just what we see, and being aware and open to everyone's stories is a way of helping our students, but also benefitting ourselves. Not to look down on them and pity if they are struggling, but instead we should say, “How can I help you?”and accept some of the humility. Chimamanda reflected on the fact that she only saw the young boy who worked for her family as poor and she could not see his abilities. Let me be a teacher who sees ability in my students and not the things that are holding them back.