Julia Zendell

ELL questions

1. What techniques/methods/strategies do you see being used with the ELL

student(s)? Are they effective? Why or why not? (Either specifically for the ELL
student(s) or in whole class/small group instruction)

There are a lot of visual cues to match words when teaching vocabulary words. For example, if
the word is dog there will be a picture of a dog so they can make the connection. Another
method I see being used to the ELL students is to not shut down their native language.
Therefore they can make a connection between both languages. The classroom should have
books that are bilingual which allows them to connect to the classroom through books. They can
share with their classmates. The teacher also wants to make sure that the letters and handouts
are available for parents in their native language. All of these methods my observing teacher
uses are very effective and every ELL teacher should do the same.

2. Do you notice any student behaviors that you would consider “out of the ordinary”?
Please describe in detail. (This applies to both the ELL student(s) and other classroom
students)

Yes while observing I noticed student behaviors that I would consider “out of the ordinary.”
Some students would not take the teacher seriously. For example, the teacher would say words
and ask the students to repeat and some just would not. They would just sit there with a smirk
on their face. Once the teacher called them out on not repeating the words or letter they then
would. It’s not that the students struggle with repeating the word or letter they just did not want
too.

3. What type of interactions do you see between the ELL student(s), other classroom
students, and the teacher(s)? Please describe in detail.

The ELL students who have little English seem to be more shy than the students who are not
ELL. They are especially shy towards teachers. They are hesitant to ask for help. ELL students
also tend to keep to themselves. Although they tend to keep to themselves there is a lot of
following and mimicking their peers. They follow and mimic their peers to try and fit in. ELL
students seem to be much more comfortable around other ELL students.
4. Identify resources/materials that are being used with the ELL student(s). Please
describe in detail how the ELL student is using them. Do they appear to be effective?
Explain.

There are many resources/materials used with ELL students. The teacher talks a lot about
visual aids. The teacher uses flash cards. When they were going over letters of the alphabet,
one side of flash card had the letter and the other side had pictures of items that started with
that letter. For example, if the letter was B there would be a picture of a boy, a ball and a
banana. Before flipping to the side with the pictures the teacher would say the letter and the
letter sound. She then had the students repeat. The teacher also had an interactive game that
the children played with on the smart board. The game would have the narrator say the letter
and the letter sound. The students had to then write out the letter in the box. This had the
students engaged and they had a lot of fun with it.

5. Does the classroom environment seem to be comfortable for the ELL student(s)?
Please describe the environment and explain how you made your decision.

I would say the classroom environment for the ELL student is somewhat comfortable. I don’t
think it is as comfortable as other students think it is. The ELL students don’t seek the teacher
as much as non-ELL students because they are not crazy comfortable. They are also hesitant in
asking their peers for help.

6. What’s the “comfort” level of the ELL student(s) in regards to the English language?
What observations help you arrive at your decision? At what stage would you place the
ELL student? How did you decide on that level?

I think the ELL students I observed are at the intermediate fluency stage. They are somewhat
comfortable. I made this decision because they are hesitant to ask questions and share ideas
sometimes. When speaking they have fluent conversations, but still make more grammatical
errors than the non-ELL students their age. However, with positive encouragement and
reassurance they are willing to share and communicate their ideas

7. Ask the cooperating teacher (or ESL teacher) what type of

accommodations/modifications they have to make for the ELL student(s). Please
describe the types of accommodations/modifications that were discussed. Do they
appear on the checklist? Why/why not do you think they are present/not present on the
checklist?
My teacher uses many accommodations for each student. She wants each student to learn the
best that they can and for them to be comfortable and confident. She expresses the importance
about visuals. Visuals are extremely important so she mention lots of visual aids. She also talks
about how important group work is. This allows the students to interact with other students
which is critical. She also works closely with ELL teacher to best meet all of the student’s needs.
They are present on the checklist because they are all effective ways to accommodate and
modify for ELL students.