The Continuum Of Teacher Expertise

The all too familiar situation of English language learners (ELLs) struggling in a classroom that is not meeting their needs is the theme of this short film. ELL’s present unique challenges for teachers given how the California educational system calls for only one year of English language development (EDL). After this time, English language development goals rest on the shoulders of the general education teacher with the additional requirement of infusing SADIE strategies into their daily lessons.

Many of their learning needs are similar to those of other children and young people learning in our schools. However, these learners also have distinct and different needs from other learners by virtue of the fact that they are learning in and through another language, and that they come from cultural backgrounds and communities with different understandings and expectations of education, language and learning”. (NALDIC, 1999).

The article, Many Languages, One Teacher: Supporting Language and Literacy Development for Preschool Dual Language Learners, explains to educators how to support the language development in young children who are learning English, how to incorporate Personalized Oral Language Learning (POLL) into the classroom, and how to be intentional about supporting the needs of the English language learners. The four individuals who wrote this article consult programs on dual language learners and have their masters or doctorates in education (Magruder, et al., 2013).

I started taking an english class at Los angeles City College (LACC) in February of 2016.

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.

Much of the public is misinformed about the existence of nonstandard language varieties, regarding them as “improper” forms of English. AEMP aims to change these views, often held by teachers, by validating nonstandard language varieties, thereby placing pressure upon these teachers to change their attitudes toward the languages, those who speak the languages, and the culture of these speakers. Second-language theorist AEMP classrooms are designed to facilitate interactive communication among students and teachers through cooperative groups using the home language of these children. Put simply, “teachers should talk less (LeMoine, 1999, p. 67). And when teachers must communicate with students for instruction, it is imperative that they allow the children to express themselves in the way that is most comfortable to

The two students in the study were shown to be given limited exposure to content knowledge. Although they were in mainstream classrooms with native English speakers, these ELL students were missing out on a lot of classroom instruction due to being taken away from the classroom for intervention. The author found that both students would be pulled away during the middle of one lesson and returned in the middle of another. She also discussed the ELL teacher’s viewpoint that the student should be really exposed to content area in social studies for the first grade, not fifth as she needs to “…put the language with that she is doing” (Somé-Guiébré.)

English Language Learners are children whose primary language is not English. This paper will include important topics such as: strategies for classroom teachers, How to adjust classroom instruction, and facilitating language learning. This will help guide new and existing teachers in the ELL process. I will discuss do and don’t with Ell’s and also different classroom strategies. It is not always easy to remember to be mindful of all students when planning instruction but this paper will help with all aspects of ELL learners and things that we must do when it comes to teaching these learners.

What does the evidence indicate about the depth of the teacher 's knowledge of the content?

At the heart of my teaching is the fundamental belief that every individual possesses a unique quality, and when encouraged, can contribute and enhance the learning environment of any classroom. As a teacher, it is my reasonability to foster learning while helping to empower my students to reach their fullest potential in developing their English ability. In each opportunity to interact with students both inside and outside of the classroom, I aim to motivate and involve each student to become a life-long learner of English. In addition to strengthening students’ academic development, I also aim for students to develop a greater enthusiasm for global communication and a deeper understanding of cultural awareness throughout the course of their study.

The objectives of the lessons include reinforcing learned vocabulary, in order to produce greater comprehension. Other objectives include fundamentals of writing and the way words are structured on a page, drawing simple conclusions based on the vocabulary and content, and beginning to determine the meaning of words as they are used in the content. In order for teachers to truly help students develop English language proficiency, the integration of content areas is essential (Echevarria, & Graves, 2014). The listening and thinking objectives will allow

Learning a second language necessarily involves comparison with the learners’ first language, but the latter is generally perceived as causing ‘interference’ in the learning of the target language. So, students are taught to imitate, practice drills, and create speaking habits without addressing the larger complexities of language learning. In the language classroom, learners do not only learn about a culture but they try to understand themselves in relation to that culture. This process entails the transformational engagement of the learner in the act of learning. Students bring with them their own conceptions, misconceptions, experiences, feelings and understanding to the classroom, and as they interact with another culture, their views will continue to change and shape their learning as well as their identity. The diverse cultural understandings and experiences of the students are highly influential and therefore need to be taken into account.

While completing this project I have grown tremendously through not only the support and guidance from my Professor, Dr. Bush, but also my peers. It was so empowering to gain that awareness and understanding of the theories and practices that underlie our pedagogy. It is through that understanding do we gain a sense of what is most important for our students and for our own professional growth. Furthermore, my thinking was pushed when I was asked to participate and join other school colleagues at two conferences that complimented my learning in this project—that is Understand by Design with Jay McTighe and a WestEd, Quality Teaching for English Learners summer institute.

What is meant by the term “contextualize,” and what is the significance of this for English Language Learners?

During the First week of Language and Literacy for educators, I have begun to learn the meaning of language, what is language and how it developed. To me, language is the words that we speak and the way in which we communicate with one another. However, I have come to learn that language is much more than this, it is the primary method that allows us to do things together. To do things collaboratively there needs to be a two way communication to ensure that all parties involved are understood, allowing the planning and decision making to occur successfully which intern allow the activity to follow through adequately.