Ilona “Loni” Chasar #2

Teaching English Language Learners

It is beneficial to have certified teachers to teach English Language Learners, since the

student population of English Language Learners has been increasing, in some areas by one-

hundred to two-hundred percent! Seventy-three percent of schools need bilingual teachers, and

most of the teachers serve as English as a Second Language teachers. English as a Second

Language (ESL) is offered up to the age of 21 years-old for students, but students are expected to

transition into English within two – three years, but they have a difficult task of learning the

English Language in addition to learning new course material in the classroom (Freeman and

Freeman, 20, 2007). To make English Language Learners (ELL) successful in the classroom

teachers need to provide ample opportunities for ELL to learn English, incorporate their culture

into the classroom, organize the curriculum into unit themes with smooth transitions, but most

importantly teachers need to know their students to ensure that they are successful in the

classroom.

As a teacher I plan to organize curriculum around themes, so the material is easier to

comprehend (Freeman and Freeman, 60, 2007). When the material is linked, students

understand the concept more. If there is no link or connections in the unit, students do not revisit

ideas and that is how many English Language Learners get lost in transitioning (Freeman and

Freeman, 65, 2007). I want the students in my classroom to easily understand the concept that is

being taught, and I want them to be able to apply the information they have learned to real world

examples easily. If one subject area could link to another subject area, that would be beneficial

for the students, so they could have easy transitions and a better understanding of the material. I

know I planned a unit for my Special Education class, and I created a unit on Natural Disasters
that would cover multiple subject areas in a few days. All students in the class would benefit

from a curriculum organized into themes, so by organizing my curriculum around themes, it

would be beneficial to all of the students in my classroom in addition to the English Language

Leaners.

The best way for students to learn new words, ideas, and concepts, is by teaching the new

material through content (Freeman and Freeman, 35, 2007). I plan on presenting the new ideas,

words, and concepts in the thematic units, so the students can learn words in the English

language through what I am teaching. Despite the language barrier, English Language Learners

are expected to perform on grade level, despite the fact they are just learning English. As their

teacher, I have to make sure that I am creating my lesson plans to the best of my ability to make

the learning process easier for them. Teachers that have been teaching ELL students have been

teaching the English language through the content of the material in the class, and they have

found it has been successful (Freeman and Freeman, 51, 2007). Fountas and Pinnell found that

teaching vocabulary words through memorization is not as effective as teaching the material

through context, and I know personally that I do not remember many of the words I had to

memorize on a weekly basis. Content knowledge and academic language are keys to academic

success of all students, especially English language Learners, and as a teacher that is my role in

the classroom. I have to make sure that the needs of my students in the classroom are all being

met despite the language barrier when I am planning my lessons and implementing the lessons in

the classroom.

I plan on using bilingual education in my classroom because it is the best model for

educating English Language Learners. While they are in my classroom, I will allow them to use

their first language during the activities and then translate what they have written into English.
On page 96 of English Language Learners: The Essential Guide there is a helpful list for

supporting students’ primary languages. The list includes using resources that may be able to

help with the language barrier, such as paraprofessionals or peers. I plan on allowing the ELL

students to work with any peers that may speak the same language in the classroom, so they may

feel more comfortable and at ease with working in English. Having a student work with a peer is

also allowing them to make friends, and I want them to feel comfortable in my classroom at all

times. I want the students that are English Language Learners to also have responsibilities in the

class. I still expect them to keep a journal with prompts, reading activities, and writing activities

just like their peers. The modification for the journal would be that the ELL students are allowed

to write in their journal in their native language. By allowing students to write in their native

language, they will not be frustrated with trying to find the correct English word that they are

trying to use to express their point. As the teacher, I can assess if the ELL student is grasping the

main concept that I want them to master, so they can successfully use the concept when they are

completing their work in English.

Students that are English Language Learners still need to have their culture in the

classroom according to Freeman and Freeman on page 15, and I completely agree. At no point

should any student be stripped of their identity. I plan on implementing my students’ cultures

into the classroom. Diversity is something that should be valued, and it is great for students to be

exposed to different cultures, because it makes them more globally aware of life outside of the

United States. I would like them to educate their classmates on their cultures’ traditions, food,

and anything they feel is important to them. The library in my classroom will include books for

the students to read out of that are culturally relevant, and I will have books in their native
language. I want the students in my classroom to feel comfortable with the material they are

working with and for them to be anxious to learn.

Since bilingual education will be used in my classroom, I want to make sure there are

resources for students to use in both English and their native language. If students are reading

texts in their first language, they will learn how to decipher the important points in the texts and

grasp the main concepts that I am trying to teach. The ELL students in my classroom should be

encouraged to read different genres so they enjoy reading, and then I can transition the students

into reading English books. All of the material that the students are reading as English Language

Learners should be texts that are age appropriate, because as a teacher you have to be sure that

your students are connecting what they are reading to their world.

Although I will not be with my students outside of the classroom, I plan on strongly

encouraging them to get involved outside of the classroom. If a student gets involved with an

extracurricular activity he or she is going to be exposed to more English in their environment.

Another great way to be exposed to language is to hear the language being spoken in a real life

setting. Getting an ELL student involved in something outside of the classroom is also important

so he or she has some interaction with their peers. They may also be exposed to a new hobby

that they will enjoy, and it will make them become more comfortable with speaking English. In

my last field placement there was one student in my classroom who I believe benefitted from

peer interaction since he was an English Language Learner.

The first grader in my last field placement was from China, so he did not speak any

English. He was in a general education class, but he was pulled out to work with an English as a

Second Language teacher. Although I did not observe what he did with her, I did observe how
his actions changed over the course of the months I was there. My cooperating teacher always

had him participating in the morning routines, which had him socially interacting with his peers,

and he spent his time communicating to the best of his ability with his peers. Since he was

interacting with them on the playground, during lunch, and during the after school program; I

noticed his English was improving. There was no use of bilingual education in the general

education classroom, but he was a very intelligent student that excelled in mathematics, since

that was the subject that only required numbers.

Teaching English Language Learners is going to be a challenge in any classroom, but I

am sure that I am going to encounter this during my teaching career. I feel more comfortable

teaching an ELL student after reading English Language Learners: The Essential Guide because

the text exposed me to some concepts and ideas that I would have never thought of. I have

always been conscious that I need to know my students to ensure that I am presenting the

material in multiple ways. This ensures all students in the classroom are learning the new

concepts. I personally would not have thought letting students learn material in their native

language would be beneficial to them! Teaching the material in organized themes with smooth

transitions is going to benefit all the students in the class, so they can generalize the concepts and

apply them to real world settings. Learning a new language can be mentally exhausting, and I

am sure it is even harder to learn new concepts in an unfamiliar language. As a teacher that will

be educating English Language Learners, I want to be as supportive as possible to make sure that

their English skills improve, in addition to the knowledge they are supposed to obtain after

leaving my classroom.