Sunday, January 21, 2018
Entry 1: Self-Introduction
Hello! My name is Melissa Gomez, I am a Senior at the University of Houston. My major is Teaching and Learning, specializing in 4-8 ELA. I have always loved working with children, and I am so excited to develop a career that allows them to grow as individuals! Check out my video here.
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Hello Melissa! Thank you for sharing about yourself! I think it is amazing that you want to teach English at the eighth grade level. I think your experience with learning a second language has prepared you to have ELLs in your class. I think it is great that you are able to understand how learning a new language must fee like. As future teachers we must be open to mistakes and we need to learn about our students as well. According to Wright (2015), as teachers begin to understand their students’ cultural backgrounds, they must be careful to avoid stereotypes and generalizations (p.17). We must also be conscious of how we address our students in order for them to feel comfortable and welcome. Great job!
ReplyDeleteGenesis, you make a great point! It is so important for teachers to be genuine and trusting with their students, as this helps to build strong student-teacher relationship. Also, it is also important to refrain from making generalizations and stereotypes, as this may hinder any relationship already formed. I hope that my experiences in my Spanish high school course will help me better prepare to work with ELLs in the classroom.
DeleteThank you for watching!
Hi Melissa!
ReplyDeleteI loved watching your video and getting to learn more about you. I can agree with you about how you learned about Spanish. We would watch the occasional video, but did most of our work from a workbook. I wish that my teacher would have us encouraged us to speak it more and use it more so that it could have become a better asset for me. I had to find the drive within myself to make myself use it and make myself want to become a better Spanish speaker. I hope that when we have ELLs in our classroom, that they do not feel nervous about speaking in English like we were when we were told to speak in Spanish. I like that you want to include games and skits, I think that's awesome! Especially since Wright says that many ELL students come from low SES backgrounds (Wright, p. 13) and there is research that shows engaging and hands on learning is more beneficial for both ELL and low SES students. I think you have great ideas and I love that you talked about how you felt and how you hope your students will feel.
Madeline Downs
Madeline, I couldn't agree more! I wish my Spanish teacher would've pushed my classmates and I to practice more orally. I feel that this, as well as hands-on activities, is the best way to practice a new and completely different language. Like you said, I hope my future ELL students feel confident in the classroom environment I create, because who really learns when they are uncomfortable and scared? This is so important to me, and I want to make sure I create that comfortable environment.
DeleteThank you for watching!
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your blog with everyone. It was nice getting to know you throughout your video. You and I share similarities with growing up and only speaking English at home, despite having parents who are fluent in Spanish. It can be difficult holding conversations in Spanish and I understand how it could be to try and respond back in Spanish and not in English. I also agree wholeheartedly with your statement to have a warm, caring classroom in which ELL students are not afraid to make mistakes. There are many strategies that can benefit these students. One of them can be through providing social activities for the students. According to Wright (2015), “learning is a social activity, and knowledge is constructed through interaction and collaboration with others” (p. 57). Children can learn best from their peers and leave them feeling more comfortable talking one on one with a buddy then in front of the whole class. This ensures that they are a part of the conversation and lets them participate without making them feel uncomfortable in the classroom.
Jessica, its great to hear we have a few things in common! Language barriers are definitely a challenge. When working with ELLs I believe it is so important to create that warm and caring environment to create a strong student-teacher relationship. This relationship will contribute to breaking that barrier. These are ideas I would like to implement in my future classroom in order to create the best learning experience for ELLs.
DeleteThank you for watching!
Hello Melissa, Listening to your video did bring up a few points regarding learning a second language. One of the points you stated is that learning a new language shouldn’t start and stop in the classroom but continue at home as well. All teachers including special education, subject-area teachers, administrators and specialists hold the responsibility to come together and help these students (Wright, 2015, p. 2). Typically, students either receive their assistance in class a few hours a week or they are pulled out of the classroom (Wright, 2015, p. 2) but students also need assistance once they get home. Technology in my opinion can assist in this area. Providing students with CD’s and websites that will continue their learning at home via audio and visual should be utilize as well.
ReplyDeleteWright, W.E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English language learners: research, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Nicole Hill
Nicole, I strongly believe it is important for students to practice their new language outside of school. Applying newly learned materials in a different environment/context is very helpful, so why not apply them in the real world? I couldn't agree more with your idea of implementing technology into their extended practice. I think it will make learning appear more appealing to kids. Great idea!
DeleteThank you for watching!