English Language Learners

Chapter 14 of the Graves text discusses English language learners and the difficulties they face in learning to read. The chapter goes into challenges ELL face in the classroom such as the differing degrees of overlap in their native language and English, don't have internalized knowledge from growing up in a literate culture, knowledge they have from their own culture may need to be altered, and the fact that their verbal skills may not be up to par with what the student actually knows. This comes as a challenge to teachers because with an increasing number of English language learner's in their classes, they struggle to give each student the individualized attention they need. The teacher has trouble in evaluating the student’s understanding of concepts because sometimes even though the student has gained mastery of the skill, they can not verbalize their knowledge. This can have a negative effect on the student’s learning because if the teacher believes they are not grasping a concept, they will adapt their future work with the student in order to work on it, rather than addressing the real issue which is the students inability to verbalize their thoughts in English. 

One of Kamil and Bernhardt’s techniques for working with English Language Learners in the classroom is giving the student the choice to respond with whatever language they are more comfortable with when conducting assessments. One idea that I liked using this method is having the student do the response in whatever language they feel most comfortable with, then translating into English. I think this is a great idea because it gives the students the freedom to respond in a way in which they know there ideas will come across clearly, and then gives them the opportunity to practice their English language skills. I think using this approach would make for much more effective assessment. 

Another approach that was introduced in this chapter was by Maragret Thayer, using the “buddy system.” In this method, a native English speaking student is paired with an English language learner and work as a team to complete assignments, discuss readings, and work on homework. Thayer states that often times using this method, the native English speaker acts as a tutor for the English language learner but one of the most effective practices is switching roles and having the English language learner act as the teacher. I love this idea because not only does it give students of different backgrounds an opportunity to get to know one another better, but it also is time efficient giving students “individualized” instruction without taking up all of the teachers time. 

An idea that has been debated in this and other classes is whether or not ELL need to drop their old language and learn English in school, or if we as educators must adapt and include their culture in our lesson planning. The question I would pose would be, what is an appropriate balance in the classroom of maintaining a culture’s identity and assimilating to the English language?