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Mastery of Learning: What Kind of Teacher I Want to Be

Here I am at the end; the end of the semester, yes, but also the end of a rewarding course. As I’m

reflecting on my former understandings and preliminary remarks from the beginning of the course, I have

begun to refute some of my initial apperceptions.

It’s conventional wisdom (further endorsed by the research of linguists and psychologists) that

students must feel secure and comfortable in the classroom to ensure their greatest chances of learning

effectively; but, there is more to this widespread belief than many would expect. Certainly, there are

numerous strategies to helping students “warm-up” to their peers, such as peer buddies, campus guides,

etc. However, an approach often overlooked by educators (and undoubtedly, me as well) seeking to

assist students with becoming accustomed to the school environment is establishing a sense of routine in

their classrooms. In Reading, Writing and Learning in ESL, authors Suzanne Peregoy and Owen Boyle

(2016) assert, “Predictability in routine creates a sense of security for all students, but it is especially

important for students who are new to the language and culture of the school” (p. 21). I discovered that

some students, particularly English learners, are not simply students who refused to assimilate into the

country and learn its language, but these students may carry complex backgrounds and/or distasteful and

marred memories of schooling. All students—not only emergent bilinguals—undergoing their adolescence

are vulnerable to the ramifications associated with social anxiety, with fear exaggerating one's perception

of both how closely others are paying attention and the potential harshness of their judgments. To help

students alleviate some or all of their anxiety, I will make my classroom and procedures as comfortable

and as seamless as possible. Additionally, some students may even be considered as students with

interrupted formal education (SIFE), possibly coming from circumstances such as civil conflict, social

unrest and/or political turmoil. I realized that for some students, the classroom is not just a setting

interpreted by many as a daily “forced gathering,” but the classroom is a potential catalyst where “SIFEs”

can finally re-experience routines and reintroduce stability to their life, restoring their return to normalcy.

I once ridiculed how educators were obsessed with the notion of ensuring their students felt

contented in their class, mistakenly believing that comfort was irrelevant to learning. Linguist Stephen

Krashen echoes the sentiment of mitigating any anxieties felt by students and language learners in his

language hypotheses, claiming one’s “affective filter,” which is a barrier of mistrust and anxiety, must be
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reduced before effective learning can occur. Citing a precept from psychology, Psychologist Abraham

Maslow claims one’s needs for safety and belonging precede their self-fulfillment needs, such as

education. Together with helping students adjust to their classmates, I now see the merit behind

establishing a sense of consistency and regularity in the classroom to alleviate any potential anxieties.

Helping students anticipate what’s ahead can eliminate surprises and allows students to mentally and/or

physically prepare themselves, thus making the classroom a friendly and comfortable environment—two

attributes that are indisputably inherent to learning.

In The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943) alleges, “one sees clearly only with the

heart.” This maxim is beneficial to all students, but it is particularly valuable toward an increasingly

prevalent demographic of English learners. Previously unbeknownst to me, long-term English learners, or

LTEL for short, are emergent bilinguals who have not achieved fluency in English despite having studied

in American schools for at least six years. I noticed that compared to the common attributes of students

with exceptional learning needs, LTELs emulate the similar characteristics of most students with barriers

to learning, such as subpar academic achievement, diminished communication abilities, and a discernible

disinterest in education. Given the resemblances, I intend on second-guessing my instincts and

considering all possible options before doing my students a disservice by inappropriately classifying

someone as “learning-disabled.” If teachers overlook their suspicions and avert investigating, inquiring or

assessing any presumed ELL student(s), teachers may be inadvertently neglecting a student’s

inadequate linguistic knowledge and be negligently misattributing a student’s language incompetency for

usual reticence or misbehavior—or worse, a mentally handicapped classification. Citing a legal precedent,

I learned to avoid emulating the actions that led to Diana v. State Board of Education (1970), where a

student was believed to have suffered from learning disabilities because of a language barrier.

Some of the strategies for assisting LTELs (including all English learners) with transitioning out of

the “learner” classification and becoming full-fledged bilingual students accentuate the significance of

culturally relevant pedagogy and the socioculturalists’ theories of learning as a social process, which I

found to be two resonating tenets of the course. A publication by Regional Educational Laboratories West

(2016) describes how some LTELs are seemingly “stuck” in a proficiency level or are unable to maintain a

higher proficiency level long enough to be reassessed, and how some LTELs suffer from being
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discouraged and risk dropping out of school (p. 2). These impediments documented by REL West yield

an implication: although some LTELs possess the capacity for comprehending more complex language,

they may not be reinforced well enough or long enough to graduate to a higher proficiency level.

Additionally, some students may not feel motivated well enough to continue perceiving the value of

pursuing an education.

Considering these complications, I realized how imperative it is that teachers diversify the content

of their curriculum and their instructional methods whenever possible to acknowledge the various cultures

of their students. After all, a fundamental component of motivation is relevance to one’s experiences. As

Peregoy and Boyle mention, “Students may experience various degrees of comfort or discomfort with

[the] various formats [of instruction] based on both cultural and individual differences” (p. 18). Research

on students’ learning preferences shows students enjoy identifying with elements in the classroom that

are relevant to their family and culture. There are numerous methods for providing students with

opportunities for relatability in my future classroom. Among these avenues include assessing the

substance of visual imagery in the classroom, such as photos and posters illustrating different cultures

and backgrounds, or varying the instructional methods utilized throughout the course. However, it is

important to note that some students may not enjoy how their culture is traditionally depicted in academia.

As a potential future English teacher, I realized this component of the philosophy surrounding culturally

responsive teaching is uncomplicated to address and incorporate in the classroom. It turns out, there are

numerous approaches to teaching a standard; using literature written by elderly Caucasian authors is not

the only way to satisfy a literature standard. For example, teaching Shakespearean works in English

classes may have lost the appeal it once carried, especially in schools with student demographics that are

predominantly non-Caucasian. (Not to mention, the themes communicated in Shakespearean classics are

equally or more effectively conveyed in simpler and more relevant texts written by contemporary, more

diverse writers.) Referring again to literature, I can also maintain a collection of books written by an

assortment of diverse writers, or I can assign texts written by writers from various ethnic groups to

introduce students to individuals reflecting the facets of the “cultural mosaic” coexisting within society.

Perhaps, the approach that provides the most inclusive benefits to all students, regardless of ELL

classification, stems from the socioculturalists’/interactionists’ theories on language acquisition. An

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integral component of acquiring a second language is speaking the language when communicating with

others, and all students profit from conversing with their peers by subconsciously learning through

engaging in social interactions with others. Rather than tell students to sit down and shut up, maybe I

should encourage students to stand up and speak out. As Peregoy and Boyle explain, “…producing

output requires [students] to process the language more deeply than they do for comprehension” (pp. 68-

69). As a native English speaker, I lived my life overlooking the intricacies of language acquisition, such

as the subtle nuances associated with each domain of language and communication. Upon further

scrutiny, I learned that compared to the passive act of listening, speaking requires a greater depth of

linguistic knowledge because one must first comprehend what is being discussed or asked of them,

formulate a response, apply their lexiconic knowledge to select words relevant to their response, arrange

their thoughts in a reasonable syntax and an intelligible manner, and ensure their response adheres to

the standard conventions of English—within a reasonable timeframe. Undoubtedly, this series of tasks is

easier to theorize than to execute for language learners. Alluding to the metaphor “practice makes

perfection,” I learned that teachers should provide English learners (or all students, for that matter) with

multiple opportunities to experiment with the new language by promoting conversations among students.

Engaging in frequent conversations may also help language learners subconsciously increase

their implicit and explicit knowledge of the language, under the interactionist theory of emergent bilinguals

unknowingly refining their speech because of miscommunication or misinterpretation by the recipient.

This theory was initially challenging to grasp, but I recalled how one profits from experience. After several

instances of unintelligibly conveying themselves, it’s natural to assume that language learners will

gravitate toward speaking in manners that have previously proven to be successful, thus unknowingly

refining their linguistic tendencies by inadvertently conditioning themselves through recurring failures.

Additionally, emphasizing conversations also grants language learners more exposure to the linguistic

element of pragmatics: a concept involving conversational implicature that is more effectively learned

through dialogue than from direct instruction. It turns out, “preaching” language instruction is futile;

allowing students to experiment with the language increases their chances of acquiring and exhibiting

proficiency. (Not to mention, lecturing is insufficient and ineffective; actions and practice “speak” volumes)
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I discovered that some strategies for emergent bilinguals may equally benefit native speakers.

Throughout my scholarly journey as a teacher candidate, I’ve realized it’s widely believed that vocabulary

correlates with academic achievement. Although I initially took this sentiment with a grain of salt, I’m

slowly conceding to the truth in this ideology. Quoting Peregoy and Boyle, using several methods for

exposing students to new words in a variety of contexts provides an “important base for word learning”;

furthermore, Peregoy and Boyle allege that the language learning strategies used with native speakers

can also be beneficial to emergent bilinguals (p. 252). Strategies such as providing real-world applications

of vocabulary usage and encouraging students to incorporate new vocabulary into their speech benefit

native speakers and language learners alike, allowing all students to capitalize on the benefits associated

with social interactions and its effects on strengthening one’s linguistic and/or lexiconic knowledge.

Preparing students with the language competency needed in working environments, learning to

communicate one’s ideas persuasively and effectively is a quality valued in all occupations, and all

students benefit from the advantages associated with utilizing and practicing new vocabulary when

speaking and communicating with others. Understanding the pertinence of these strategies, I plan on

prioritizing universally applicable instructional methods over differentiated instruction in my future

classroom, ensuring my instruction advances the proficiency of all students rather than a select few.

Ultimately, the bigger question is, how will this class advance my occupational objectives? The

truth is, it may not. My future profession may vastly unrelated to the subjects of bilingual education or

language acquisition. But, one thing is for sure: this course has equipped me with the knowledge for

expressing myself as a more educated, enfranchised and enlightened individual who is now more

cognizant of a considerable demographic in our ever-expanding country; if you ask me, that’s an

opportunity worth cherishing.

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References

Diana v. California State Board of Education, No. C-70, RFT, (N.D. Cal., 1970).

Peregoy, S. F., & Boyle, O. (2016). Reading, writing, & learning in ESL: A resource book for K-12

teachers. Pearson.

REL West. (2016, November). Long-term English learner students: Spotlight on an overlooked

population. WestEd. https://www.wested.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/LTEL-factsheet.pdf

Saint-Exupéry, A., & Howard, R. (2000). The little prince. Harcourt.