A Reflection On Methods And Materials

English learners are currently the fastest developing student population in schools today. This makes it extremely important to provide these students with the programs and services they deserve. Providing a strong education for ELL students is what I personally believe to be an asset in America’s future. Today there are many challenges I believe teachers and students face when it comes to instruction and assessments.

The situation amongst ELLs and literacy instruction, including assessment practices, is confusing for many teachers; therefore there is still much exploration left in terms of the best practices for the instruction and assessment of ELLs (Ebe, 2010).

ELL continue to rise year after year. In EDUC 628, the class delved into the rise of ELL in America and how the best teaching methods to approach each learner with. Every ELL student is unique and has different learning process. Although the semester covered a wide variety of topics ranging from dialects to teaching methods, every module served its purpose in providing a framework for future ELL teachers. Learning about how to teach ELL was significant to me because when I first entered the school system in America, I was placed into ESL and I have gone through the process of many of these teaching methods. EDUC 628 main focus was preparing students whose goal in the future was to educate ELL. The articles and readings assigned in the class provided a funds of knowledge going into each new lesson. Coupled with the readings, hands on activities such as the mini lessons and designing lesson plans provided each student with experience that will reflect on their teaching abilities in the classroom. In my paper, I will be provided a step by step synthesis of what was learned and accomplished every week along with a brief summary of the readings. I will probe deeper into the modules and lessons that piqued my interest the most and that also challenge my mindset.

In conclusion, instruction lesson takes time and planning to meet the needs of English language learners. The effectiveness of the strategies used in the classroom can make a difference in meeting the challenge of teaching the ELLs.

of ELLs in New York State (Lesli, 2014). However, with the growing number of immigrants in suburban and rural areas, the population of ELLs is on the rise everywhere?. In 2008, 34.3 percent of 9th graders took four more years to graduate than others (Lesli, 2014). This was a significant gap and the weakest result among other groups. Thus the policy for ELL support and instruction was something that was much needed and once it was brought forward it was supported across the board. A major reason for the support was consultation and collaboration of major stakeholders, be it teachers, education experts, or advocacy groups. Susanne Marcus, the president of New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, or NYS TESOL, said that with the adoption of common core there was a fear among ESL and bilingual teachers that ELLs would be neglected in a major way. But the way ESL experts were involved in evolving and preparing the Blueprint made her feel that she and her colleagues contributed with their experience and expertise to have a statewide impact. She also felt that the effort was unique since apart from language proficiency and content, it also focused upon the social and emotional needs of students. Citation needed

Each year, schools across the nation are seeing an increase in the amount of English language learners they are receiving. Teachers of all grade levels are finding it harder and harder to teach these ELLs because of lack of or little to no proper training. So the article, Setting the Foundation for Working with English Language Learners in the Secondary Classroom aims to show you the ideas and strategies that current and future teachers can incorporate into their daily class lessons to make them more effective in meeting the academic needs of ELLs and in helping them learn the target language.

The SUNY is a diverse university which has around 43% of minority students, including Hispanic/Latino, Black or African American, Asian/ Pacific Islander, ESL, and international students. Those students often encounter difficulties in English listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and understanding the Western academic culture, especially for ESL and international students. Since I received the professional training in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) in the Master’s and Ph.D. programs at the Ohio State University and have English teaching experience to diverse learners in EFL and ESL settings for around 9 years, I would like to help those minority students at the SUNY Oneota understand the Western academic culture, overcome academic difficulties they encounter, and improve their overall English competence. Helping those minority students is my short-term career goal. My long-term career goal is to increase K-12 content and ESL teachers’ and

Growing up in an incredibly diverse area, I completely overestimate the availability of ESL (English as a second language) and ELL teachers. Because all ELL students do not have access to such help, educators can do well to make a personal effort to reach out to their ELL students. By making a personal effort to connect with ELL students, educators can better understand how to help them get the most out of their education. Giving them special attention will not only help them succeed but also make them feel more comfortable and welcome. Educators could go above and beyond by making special copies of homework assignments for students that feature both English and the students first language. This way they will no doubt understand what is being asked of them, but also learn new words at the same time! Another way educators could show a personal effort could be by making time to work with the students outside of classroom time, further explaining anything that was taught

As a certified English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, the English Language Learner (ELL) population is very near and dear to my heart. According to Barr, Eslami, & Joshi (2012), the ELL population is the fastest growing demographic in the U.S with most incoming students arriving from Asia/Pacific Islands and Hispanic regions. Both of these populations are expected to continue to increase in the future. Over two-thirds of this population over the age of 5 speak a second language at home. According to the 2013-2014 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) there were 67 ELL enrolled on our campus, which is 3.6 percent of the total population of 1,851 students. Although this year our ELL population is lower than usual in future years are numbers are expected to grow exponential due to the rapid growth currently happening in our community. According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), ELL students continue to have low achievement levels when compared to their native speaking peers. Data shows that as students get older, their success rates are lower and lower with over half not reaching mastery at the high school levels. Our campus is not different. The TAPR report shows that only 57% of our ELL population scored satisfactory on the end of year STAAR exam, which is almost 10% lower than the state average of 76% passing and 35% lower than the campus average of 92% passing. Due to these deficits, it is imperative to develop and plan of action that will help to bridge

Research based “Best Practices” is used to describe “what works” in a specific learning situation. When

Throughout the program, my placement was set at the Abraham Friedman Occupational Center. The students were predominantly Spanish-speaking adults who lived in downtown Los Angeles. The program was ESL Intermediate High B that integrated language skills. Since October last year, I devoted seventy hours to observation and taught four lessons totaling five hours. The guiding teacher Mr. Buckley was an inspiring educator who created a variety of classroom activities.

Strategies for Teaching ESL Student - ESL Students in the Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2016, from https://www.eslpartyland.com/teaching-esl-student

An ELL student presents a challenge because they may require extra attention and instruction for basic tasks, therefore taking up important instruction time. Gottfried addresses this as well in his findings. In the study, he finds that teacher training is one of the most important things. However, years of experience have little to no impact on a teacher’s ability to teach ELL students; what did have an impact was extra formal training in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. The more specialized training in ESL a teacher had, the better achievement and socioemotional skills both ELL and non-ELL students possessed, and this is good news for teachers. There are unlimited resources available out there for teachers to partake in to help bolster their understanding and success in teaching new things and students with different requirements. Gottfried also points out that when policy-makers, teachers, and administrators focus on how to improve classrooms without necessarily focusing primarily on academic achievement, then ELL and non-ELL students alike may have increased skills in many areas, including socioemotional. Therefore, any teacher overwhelmed with the task of teaching any student that requires special needs or attention can find resources and training to help them

The challenges an English language learner (ELL/ESL) struggles with, such as “how one flips from one language to another ultimately determines an English language learner’s success,” existed before the Common Core (Vilson). Other educators, like Lori Musso, have been working on implementing the Common Core for ELL students. Musso is with the San Mateo County Office of Education and has explained that the standards for ELL, and the standards for the general curriculum, have been merged into the same standards as their peers (Avendano). The executive director at Stanford University’s Understanding Language initiative, Martha Castellón, works to improve the education of ELL under the new Common Core. “We know what needs to be done in terms of educating ELLs, to give them the language skills they need to be successful under the [Common Core],” says Castellón, but she realizes that there’s a shortage in resources for the ELL instructors

R1 expressed concern over the lack of research with the specific ELL students that he/she works with and the difficulty of educational gaps with those learners. R1 did not further explain what educational gaps are challenging, if the challenges are language specific or possibly due to other learning difficulties. R2 partially echoed R1’s difficulty of an educational gap by explaining his/her concern with a lack of students’ English language knowledge when entering class. R3 reported the challenges were communicating with parents that have no English language skills. R3 did not state any challenges with educating ELL students. R3 further explained that the difficulty is when a translator is not available to assist, which may mean there is a lack of support in the respondent’s school and/or school district for ELL services. Lastly, R4 stated that there are no challenges in educating ELL students as long as they are taught with lots of visual aids. R4 did not further explain if visual aids are the only tool necessary for success or any other reasoning for why no challenges