While I was reading through part two of our "3903 Big Assignment" I found one of the websites that it leads you to very helpful. The website titled "Working With English Language Learners: Strategies For Elementary and Middle School Teachers", was extremely helpful I found. It is difficult during my field experience right now because I am not faced with the challenge of having ELL students in my classroom. My students are in seventh and eigth grade and all speak English very well. Most of them also speak Spanish as well.
I found this website very helpful because the information given is so true. One of the things that really caught my attention was that these students are coming from diverse backgrounds but they have the same needs as every other student. I also found it easy to relate with the questions they ask on this site, like "Who are they?" and "What do I do?" I noticed that some people had been commenting on the fact that they might not have been exactly sure who the ELL students were in their class until the teacher had pointed them out. I also would be feeling the same way because I do not speak Spanish very well and I would not know what to do. This information is scary because so many of us will be dealing with ELL students and I want to be prepared and know exactly what to do, and most importantly how to help them! It is so important because we need to make them feel comfortable in the classroom and not make them feel like the only place they can feel comfortable is in an ESL classroom. I can't even imagine going to a school and not knowing anyone, then not even knowing the language! How do you even feel comfortable if you cannot even communicate?
This website really provides some excellent points and strategies. It makes you think and want to help in any way possible. Most importantly it made me want to be prepared for the challenge of making these ELL students' transition into the school system as comfortable as can be.
Site: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/pigs/pig19.htm
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I liked this site also. It really gives you a summary of all the techniques a teacher should be familiar with. I like how it also indicates that "silence is sometimes needed" and "errors can indicate progress." It reminds us of the importance of patience and understanding. Perhaps a student needs to "tune out" for a few minutes in order to take a break from everything they are trying to incorporate all at once. Instead of a teacher getting frustrated, being patient and letting the student take a break would be a much better tactic so the student can "recharge" and take a break from thier efforts as suggested.
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