Journal #3

By Shihong Xu

Last week, I interviewed an ELL teacher, Ms. Bricio, at Dexter High School and
discussed with her what issues both the teachers and ELL students are faced with and
what we can do to solve these problems.

The Interview with the ELL teacher Ms. Olivia

What I have noticed here in Dexter as problems, mainly come from the fact that we have
small numbers of ELL students in or classrooms.  When students are presented with
conventional curriculum with no modifications, they tend to flounder, become
overwhelmed, and mentally tune out or withdraw from active classroom participation. It
is very difficult for general education teachers to assist many of these students because
they are not trained in ESL instruction. Students may fail to understand what the teacher
is talking about, and may become frustrated when they have an idea but cannot
adequately express their thoughts in English.

Solving of this problem is to help support main stream teachers with making concrete
changes in their instruction, one of which could be to include language objectives as well
as content objectives. Also, to provide ongoing professional development for teachers
and to have an ESL support staff in all the can accommodate ELL students’ needs in
regular classes.

My own experience in DCS as an ESL teacher

According to my own experience in DCS, I find that the factors of motivations and goals
could also affect the ELLs’ learning expericences and what they can achieve. For
example, I am teaching two Chinese ELL students: one is Jason, an exchange student of
ninth grade. The other is Kevin, an eighth grader, a resident of Dexter who has just got
the green card. When I taught them at the beginning, they were nearly at the same level.
However, they obviously have the different attitudes and goals. Jason wants to get into
American universities and he shows keen interest in American cultures and school life.
He is quite driven and motivated and he improved a lot in English language skills,
especially his oral English. At the end of the first semester, most of his grades have
improved from E and D to B and A. 

In contrast, Kevin shows very negative attitudes towards American cultures and the
school, and he doesn’t have any clear goals. What he thinks all the time is how to go back
to China.  When I teach him, he shows very reluctant attitudes towards learning English. I
talk with his classroom teachers and they have the same problems with him. We all agree
that he is not trying. Therefore, how to motivate students’ interest in ELL class and help
them to set clear and constrtuctive goals is also important for ELL teachers to consider.

The Suggested Strategies to solve the Issues after Discussion

1. At the beginning of the semester, give your students an opportunity to respond to

a survey – questions that help you get to know more about them.
2. Set a suppor a supportive, caring and inclusive learning environment where
students feel safe and let your students know that you accept them for who they
are, and that you absolutely believe in their ability to achieve the goals that you
expect for them.
3. Build a trustful relationship with your students. Learning a language is a complex
skill that requires a high degree of motivation. This motivation comes partly from
a relationship of trust and confidence between learners and teachers.
4. Use graphic novels combined words with pictures, which provide valuable
context clues about the meaning of words.
5. Use some strategies for helping students develop their vocabularies and enhance
the communications like preparing some bilingual dictionaries in the classroom.