Border Community

When an educator walks into her classroom for the first time, she needs to be prepared to encounter students that come from a variety of backgrounds. The children will be in different stages of language development, and the educator must accommodate for each of these students. Magruder, Hayslip, Espinosa, and Matera (2013) state, “The US Census Bureau projects that by the 2030s, children whose home language is other than English will increase from roughly 22 percent to 40 percent of the school-age population” (p. 9). This increase in second language learners will cause the educator to accommodate for those needs. Second language learners “need teachers who welcome them and recognize their unique abilities, what they know, and what they need to learn” (Magruder, Hayslip, Espinosa, and Matera, 2013, p. 10).

For a period of time I was an ESOL (English as a second language) classroom teacher. This meant part my class was native English speakers and the rest was native Spanish speakers. All of my little first graders had an entire year of culture appreciation and learning to be patient with one another. They learned about holidays which they both celebrated and holidays they did not have in common. When certain Spanish speaking students would get tired of finding the correct English words they would speak in Spanish.

The language development of the students in my class come from Spanish speaking homes, I only have seven proficient English speakers, some of my students are reading below grade level. Most of the students are able to communicate, while

Sociocultural influences on ELL students are very strong; some families feel that their social life is a major part of their culture. The use of bilingualism is someone that is fluent in two different languages. An ELL students home language can be quite different than English. The students’ family may have no desire to speak English. This cause many learning delays because of the lack of practice. The parental and community resources for English acquisition in my area are scarce, but they did locate an amazing website for ELL families. The school district around me can improve their home and school relationship by getting the families more involved in their child’s education.

According to Gleason and Ratner (2013), “In the United States, the proportion of children who are raised learning more than one language is estimated to be about 20 percent, with Spanish becoming the most common second language (Gleason & Ratner, 2013, p. 75). My interview this week was with a teacher, Mrs. T, who teaches young English learners. Mrs. T teaches children who are in the first grade. Because the school has a growing Hispanic population, the native language of the children she teaches is Spanish. The interview took place in her classroom during the last hour of the school day. I observed as she worked with one of her students in particular who seems to

Many students who are English language learners come from a background were in their household they speak another language rather than English. This is why it is very hard for them to adapt when they are entering a school. According to the 1968 Bilingual Education Act, this act mentioned how English Language Learners faced problems and how they came up with educational programs to help students who were Spanish speaking students (Stewner-Manzanares, 1988, P.1). The Bilingual Education Act was put in place and with this act they wanted the federal government to deliver programs that would help students who were Spanish speakers (Stewner-Manzanares, 1988,

The first student that I conducted the lesson with was a girl I named Shiloh. Shiloh was an eight-year girl that was in the second grade, but would be entering in the third grade in the coming Fall. Her mother explained that she was an ESOL level two student. She was born in America, but both parents are Hispanic. The father is Cuban and the mother is from Venezuela. At home Shiloh’s family mainly communicates in Spanish. Shiloh’s mother explained that she wanted her daughter to speak Spanish at home because she does not want her to not learn Spanish or forget “where she comes from.” As I learned in TSOL I many parents do this this because they do not want their child

For many Americans, the issue along the southern border brings up emotional responses. Personal preferences take over and instead of debating the issue, name calling and over generalization perseus. Liberals say that the right is racist and anti-immigration in all instances while Conservatives say the left wishes for masses of undocumented immigrants to flood into America and use up all of the tax payer’s money. Neither of these accusations hold any truth. Many Conservatives wish for a way for people to enter legally and a better screening process for the type of people they want in the country. On the other hand, many liberals hold this same stance. The only difference in these plans is how to enact them. Should the United States round up

I think that with the proper understanding of your student’s cultures and diversity could really help with their classroom behavior. I believe our situation we discussed was not handled correctly. Especially if this escalated into a lawsuit. It is our job as teachers to handle our issues in the classroom. She could have talked with the ELL student and found the root of the problem herself. My future implications in the classroom are to find out the entire story, but I believe we should take from these situations that understanding and background knowledge could go a long way for you as an educator. If I run into an issue like this, I now know that different cultures pronounce words differently, and in the English alphabet all letters do not sound all the same with other cultures. Not only is it our jobs as teachers to accommodate our ELL students with a proper education. It is written by law in the Florida Consent Decree that all students have rights to the best education we can give

Diverse cultures within the United States are rapidly developing and growing and the educational sector is the number one target to ensure that English –learners are receiving adequate education. Within the educational sector there are administrators and teachers who are involved in students lives on a daily basis to ensure that education is equal. In order to achieve the vital objective of equality, socio-cultural influences on ELL students, bilingualism and home language use, parental and community resources, and partnerships between families and schools all have to be considered to provide an opportunity for equal education.

My first observation took place in a third grade classroom of twenty-two students. All students were of Mexican descent and labeled as intermediate/advanced English language learners. The classroom environment itself was very warm and welcoming. There was a bulletin board that displayed pictures of students and their families along with autobiographies. There was another bulletin board dedicated to celebrating Mexican culture and people. The teacher was a Caucasian women in her mid twenties with three years of teaching experience.

When trying to communicate diversity issues with parents about certain needs in your class for their child may be difficult. Especially, when trying to communicate among parents of ELL (English language learners) and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students. Some of the difficulties you may run into are language barriers, misunderstanding of dialect, offensive gestures, and even frustration. As teachers when need to keep a cool head on our shoulders and approach this situation with a positive attitude, a plan, and a great expectation of the outcome.

During the 1990s the immigrant population expanded quickly and by a large amount. According to Eggen and Kauchak (2007) “experts estimate that by the year 2020 two thirds of the school population will be African American, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American. This means there will be great cultural diversity in our society and in our schools.” Educators will need to be educated on how to teach in a diverse classroom. Teachers will need to have an understanding for English-language learning children and the way they learn. All educators must be able to teach ELL students while encouraging them to continue to use their native language while learning to speak English. Teachers must also remember to try to keep all families

From experience, working in different districts where there has been an increase of Latino students in the classrooms as well as my own experience in my education I can see where Latino students can be overrepresented as well as underrepresented. I want to focus on what I experienced, which also reminded me as I read the chapter on cultural and linguistic diversity by Nicole Patton Terry and Miles Anthony Irving. From my experience, and experience of students I worked with, when parents fill out registration forms for school in elementary and are asked what language they speak at home. Parents who pick other languages other than English, their students are automatically placed in ESL or ELL program at their school. Some schools handle this differently. There are school who will pull the students often from the classroom, which was my case growing up. At

As a culturally responsive teacher, one must “accept all students as they are” (Glickman et al., 2014, p. 374) and take the responsibility to help students learn. Howard recommends, as noted in Glickman et al., (2014) building relationships that convey genuine feelings for student’s success. A caring teacher accepts all students just as they are and, encourages them to learn and to be fruitful. A culturally sensitive teacher that incorporates all students’ backgrounds and linguistic diversity propagates a multicultural classroom (Glickman et al., 2014, p.374). In such a classroom, bilingual students feel included and perceive that the community will benefit from their input; therefore, they participate actively in daily activities.