The Abraham Friedman Occupational Center

By providing different learning experiences in the curriculum teachers will be able to meet the needs of each student’s learning style. For ELL students, New Caney Elementary offers Bilingual programs dedicated to teach both languages, Spanish and English, that will essentially allow ELL students to learn the language. Programs like these were created to help students to thrive academically no matter their circumstance. To assess students at all times, one as a future educator must ensure that we are assessing the students in each lesson plan. The teacher must ensure that each student is grasping the content presented to them by monitoring their gained knowledge. In order implement the units from the curriculum, I will strive to provide various learning experiences to each student. I will provide visual activities for my visual learners, have hands on activities for my hands-on learning students, and provide discussions for the ones that learn through hearing and repeating things out loud. Each learning experience is crucial to the student’s academic success. By providing different types of learning experiences I will be able to make the lessons more effective and

I chose this program because I believe that knowing Spanish will enable me to become a better person, a better global citizen, and a better teacher. In the past, I had the privilege of working, in my community, with ESL students whose families were unfamiliar with the American school system and recently with the daughter of one of my friends from Mexico. My friend, even after 20 years in the U.S., barely speaks English and because of that she can only work as a housekeeper. Her daughter is sixteen years of age, she never finished secondary school in Mexico and she does not speak English. Her mom decided to find her a job in the housekeeping industry and to not send her to school

Boyd, E.M., Fales, A.W. (1983) 'Reflective Learning: Key to Learning From Experience.' Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 23; 2:99-117.

Mackie (2013) also explains that The Gibbs' reflective cycle (1988) encourages a clear description of the situation, analysis of feelings, evaluation of the experience and an analysis to make sense of the experience. This helped me when reflecting on my own professional practice as it allowed me to look at each individual feeling on how I felt in the situation and took look at how I can improve on my practice for next time I am in the same or similar situation. I agree with using this model for looking at how to improve teaching techniques as It allowed me to look at what I did wrong as well as what went well, and I would keep the same. This was a good reflective method for me as the teacher who was observing me during my placement allowed me to repeat the same work activity each week to allow me to improve and adapt different teaching methods that work best for the children. For example, using picture exchange communication as well as talking to a child to help them eye contact and communication skills. I also had a one to one talk about my teaching practices and she gave me some ideas and different techniques and approaches for where I could improve on my teaching practices and what I did well. Paige Smith and Craft said, “This should promote an awareness of the multiplicity

I found it interesting that of the three ELL teachers interviewed, only one had a personal ELL experience. This teacher teaches at my middle school. She moved here from Poland when she was nine years old. She didn’t know any English besides basic words like colors

It is important to understand that the instruction of ELs is not only a matter at the school setting, but at the same time, it is an ongoing process that develops outside the school building. It is not only an inside the school venture, but most importantly, an outside the school. All educators must see themselves as equal stakeholders who must strive to positively influence the education of ELs in the classroom as well as outside of school (Fenner, 2014, p. 28). The PLCs may be a venue to organize partnerships between school and the community at large in order to provide better educational opportunities for ELs, such as enrichment activities that will enhance their language

For the past six years, I have had the privilege of sharing my first language, Spanish, and Spanish culture as a teacher at a small private elementary school in a small rural town where diversity is almost non-existent. It has been a pleasure to open up a window to the outside world in the classrooms of this school where the students and I get to explore Spanish culture and language without having to leave town. My experience sharing my culture as well as my bilingual skills, however, extends beyond the elementary school classroom. Prior to teaching Spanish at the elementary school level, I worked as a Spanish-English translator and interpreter at various companies, and I also taught Spanish to adults.

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.

This quarter I am continuing my observations with Heather Cyrus from Barbour Dual-Language Immersion Academy. She is a unique second grade teacher for Spanish and English speaking students. In my prior fieldwork assignments, I have not met another teacher who has been so ahead of her peers in evolving the classroom for successful, 21st century education.

In this internship activity, I first researched Chapter 89 the Adaptations for Special Populations, Subchapter BB. I reviewed the policies as required in the Texas Education Code, Chapter 29, Subchapter B that ensures equal educational opportunities for every student in the state who has a home language other than English and who is identified as an English language learner. It is important to know the requirements and competencies for this program. I also became aware of the exceptions and waivers a district must submit a waiver for if it is unable to provide and bilingual education or English as a second language program. Once understanding the criteria and program design, I attended and observed an Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) meeting where each student’s level of proficiency as discussed and educational goals were put in place for each student to master English language skills across all content areas.

“Successful program models for promoting the academic achievement of language minority students are those that enable these students to develop academic skills while learning English. The best program organization is one that is tailored to meet the linguistic, academic, and emotional needs of students; provides language minority students with the instruction necessary to allow them to progress through school at a rate commensurate with their native-English-speaking peers; and makes the best use of district and community resources.” (Colorin Colorado, 2014)

This practice allows teachers the opportunity to gauge how much practice ELL students actually receive with speaking English in “real life”. Teachers who have participated in Shadowing programs have noted an oral deficiency in ELLs’, but have also noted that ELLs sit silently through their classes, not interacting with other students or with their teachers. Soto, an associate professor of education at Whittier College in California indicates that English-language learners spend less than 2 percent of the school day improving their academic oral language, even though it’s a critical foundation of literacy (Soto, 2014). As indicated, based on the results of this pilot program, participating teachers will plan together, how to provide more opportunities for “academic talk”, to include ELL students, during classroom activities. School administrators will also tailor, teacher development training programs to instruct teachers on how to be more inclusive of all of their students during classroom discussions and to be sensitive as to whether ELL students would benefit most by practicing the language relating to particular content areas or whether the focus should be placed more on conversational English skills (Heitin, Liana 2011). Additionally, teachers will be instructed to ensure that needed practice occurs in settings which will best facilitate ELL learner’s individual needs (e.g., some ELLs may learn better in small group discussions and others may

In Esperanza’s case study we were able to see a snip of what is like to be an ELL student in a School. Also, we were able to see some challenges that seasonal “farm workers children” students have to face when they are in school. Seasonal students are transfer from school to school as their parents move to different parts of the United States for work reasons. In the majority of the cases this students transfer school 2-3 times in one school year and they lack English language proficiency. The main reason for this is because many parents do not speak English themselves and the only language children hear at home is their native language. In Esperanza’s case we can see that she has been moving from schools for at least four times and she is only in first grade, she also cannot speak English because she hasn’t been expose to the language outside school. Lastly you can see that her parents are really busy at work that her sister has to take charge of many things at home including enrolling her in school.

This is the reflection phase, where learners try to decipher and correlate the discoveries they have in the preceding phases. Learners will now cultivate their reflective prowess through face-to-face engagement via pair share, groups or whole class applying different methods like discussions, reviews, analysis, evaluation and synthesis of the key learning during the previous phases.

I observe Mr. D’s Adult ESL class at EC San Diegofacility. Heteaches fifteen intermediate level of ESL learners and the nationalities of learners vary.His class focuses on reading and writing, but deals with four skills of English language, especially vocabulary, grammar, speaking, and writing skills. Learners take six weeks intensive English Language course to improve their English proficiency. This language school’s fundamental goal is to help learners prepare in a global community. The reason I choose Mr. D’s intensive course for my observation report is that I would like to verify the effectiveness of short-term intensive language courses and delve into the language teaching approach and methods of this facility. Learners