Blog Entry # 1: Self-introduction video
Hello everyone!
My name is Eddy Martinez. I am a Senoir here are the Univeristy of Houston. I am majoring in Teaching and Learning and I will be receiving my certification in EC-6 generalist. When I enter the classroom, I aim to be the kind of teacher that I would like my daughters to have.
Here is my Blog 1 video:
As a person that grew up speaking Spanish and then
being placed in English only classes, I can say that I am an English Language
Learner. According to Wright, I would fall into the category of a Native U.S.-born
ELL’s (p.10). I found this to be interesting since I never really thought of myself
as an English language learner I am. Reading the text has made me think about
my own early education. I was paced in English only classes and my parents
thought it was better to try to speak only English at home to help me learn. I remember
talking with my grandmother in Spanish and my mom or dad would tell me to speak
in English. They had told me that my grandmother wanted me to speak only English
to help her learn English as well. Unfortunately, I ended up losing most of my Spanish
knowledge and had it replaced with English which has become my dominant language.
This, I have learned is called subtractive bilingualism. According to Wright’s,
subtractive bilingualism is when a new language replaces a student’s home
language (p. 21). As I am older than most students in this class, I have
learned through my years of working that knowing more than one language is
essential.
I find it to be our
duty as teachers to ensure that any of our students who are English language
learners receive the support necessary to succeed. In order to do this, Wright suggest that teachers and schools should view students home language and culture
as a resource to help students learn English (p. 3). Another idea that I agree
with is getting to learn all you can about your student, their family, and
their community. Wright offers a list of what the teacher should know about each
student. Wright’s list covers language and literacy at home, ELP level,
educational history from home country and the U.S., time in the U.S., reason
for immigrating, number of siblings, and parents educational and employment history,
as well as the parents English proficiency (p. 23). I believe that taking the
time to find out as much of the previous information mentioned would greatly
benefit both the teacher and student when it comes to instruction. From this
course, I hope that I can learn, through the material from this course, several
methods and strategies to help English language learners become successful.
References:
Wright,
Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory,
Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Eddy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your inspiring story! According to Wright, you are a Native U.S. – born ELL who are U.S. born citizens (2015, pg. 10). This is the case since you were born and raised in Houston, TX, and you learned Spanish in your early years then English as you went to school in your early Elementary years. When you mentioned that you were moved to an English speaking classroom, it looks like a redesignation where “the student no longer requires specialized language and content instruction” (Wright, 2015, pg. 3). This is where you were exposed to completely English in the classroom which was quite a transition for you because you were struggling with reading. It is great that you are achieving your dream to become a teacher!
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Katherine,
DeleteThank you for visiting my blog, commenting, and saying that my story was inspiring. I have not thought of my story as something that would help others see another perspective. Yes, when I was redesignated into English only classrooms I suffered a lot in my reading. I feel that the teachers did not help me in making a smooth transition. Wright (2015) suggests, that if a teacher knows about the students’ home language, the teacher can provide primary language support through different means and materials (p. 17). This was not the case for me, and this made me feel like I was not smart enough.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Eddy,
DeleteI am sorry that you had to go through that, and I wish that your teacher made you feel that you are smart enough. I agree with you that the teacher should be aware of the student’s language, provide support, and materials to help students’ learning. According to Wright, “Filmore and Snow (2000) identify five functions.. for teachers to perform each of these functions, they must have an thorough understanding of language. Teacher as a communicator… Teacher as educator… Teacher as evaluator… Teacher as an educated human being… Teacher as agent of socialization” (2015, pg. 28-29). There are many important roles that teachers had to become to complete to support ELLs from planning lesson plans to teaching the class to providing one-on-one support.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Katherine, thank you! You are completely right about this. Teacher should understand more about language in order to help their students. Wright (2015) says to give students proper language and content instructions, teacher should examine the different aspects of communication (p. 28). In learning about the different aspects, the teacher could be able to learn what it is their students are truly struggling in the English language. I feel that if teacher learned this portion first, then they could know what role to take with different students in order to help them grow academically.
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Eddy,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting when I read about classmates that went through as an ELL student. To hear how your own experience was and how it impacted you. I agree with you that it is our job as the educator to ensure our students that are ELL to receive the support that is needed. As an educator we are taught that is our responsibility to do this, no where does it say we select which students we want to give the academic support to. Wright states (2015), “Educators who work with ELLs must be aware of the linguistic diversity in their schools and surrounding communities” (6). We need to make sure we know are student not only in our classroom but outside of classroom as well. As educators we must do our best to give all students the tools they need to have a successful academic year while in our care.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory,
Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Adrene,
DeleteThank you for visiting my blog and commenting. Yes, it is our job to support the English language learners we will have in our classrooms. Another way that we could ensure that we are doing the most for the student’s education is by making sure to avoid mislabeling a student. Wright (2015) suggests, that teacher take a careful look at how the school described and evaluates language learners and to be aware of the implications that are caused by mislabeling (p. 6). We should all take care in placing any type of label on a student.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory,
Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Eddy! I love that you are an English Language Learner, this creates a great opportunity for you because it means that you are able to connect with the students. It is, as an educator, our responsibility to ensure that all of the English Language Learners have equal opportunity and are given any additional support needed. It is said that Texas has about 15% of their student population classified as an ELL (2010, page 7) meaning that the population of English Language Learners is growing and we need to ensure their success, as well as every other students.
ReplyDeleteHello Nayab,
DeleteThank you for visiting my blog and commenting. To be honest, I did not think about me being able to connect with students through my own ELL background, thank you. All this semester, I was more worried about how to teach the students than I was in making this connection. I think it would be a great idea for me to show students that I am an ELL student next semester. After all, Wright (2015) says, “most ELLs are U.S.-born citizens” (p. 18). This will allow me to be able to connect with the students on a more personal level.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Eddy,
ReplyDeleteYour blog reminded me of something I read in the text when you mentioned your parents only wanted you to speak English at home. The text mentioned "assimilation is the ideology behind the great melting pot, a metaphor for the notion that immigrants to the United States willingly abandon their language and culture to become Americans" (Wright, 2015, p. 19). Sadly, I don't think America encourages bilingualism enough. In other countries it is common for people to speak 2-6 languages, but here many people only speak 1. I hope that this starts to change and that schools start making a bigger importance on learning multiple languages so that people from other countries do not feel pressured to only focus on English to be successful. It is important for us to learn more languages because "in over half the states, the ELL growth rate from 1999 to 2010 was over 50%" (Wright, 2015, p.8). With this rapid growth it would be helpful to have more bilingual speakers.
Hello Tori! Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. I can see what you mean about my parents wanting me to assimilate into the English language. My parents grew up in a time where they got into trouble for speaking Spanish. Even though they spoke English, they were still being question about how American they are. Wright (2015) said, regardless of how “Americanized” people become, there “American-ness” will still be questioned (p. 19). This is true, and even though English did become my primary language, I was still asked, “Do you speak English?” on a regular basis.
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
I am so sorry you and your parents had to go through that. No one should be questioned about who they are and where they come from. "The growth rate of the ELL population far surpasses that of the total student population" (Wright. 2015, p. 24). Americans need to start being more accepting and welcoming of other languages because of this growth. America should be proud of it's diversity and all of the different cultures and backgrounds that come here instead of questioning them, making them feel unaccepted. Being bilingual increases your opportunities and makes you able to help new immigrants who have not learned English yet adjust to the new country they have become a part of.
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.