Not just English

The interview with Cynthia Mata Aguilar, Dangling Fu and Carol Jago in Beers' book outlines the basis for successful ELL integration in the classroom. Of all the things I'm hesitant about regarding teaching (and that list progressively gets fuller everyday), it probably is working with ELL and ESL students. I am excited to have them in my classroom, but I am unsure of how to give them the education they need. I really wish I had access to this article before I went to Korea for the ESL camps. Their discussion on letting the students teach the teachers by listening and learning about cultural backgrounds makes me wish I had asked my students more questions on how they learn in schools, what is most difficult for them to understand, etc. As it was my first time teaching, I did not know what to expect and not knowing where to start teaching an ESL lesson terrified me. Now, several months later, the camps are coming full circle as I am learning to apply necessary strategies to encourage ELL learning. This chapter did a great job of proving feedback, multiple commentaries on ELL education, and options for teachers to consider reshaping in their own classroom.

The need for ELL education is rising in American schools, as is the need for teachers who are able to provide more than just a basic understanding of the English language.I've heard that education majors will soon have to take ESL classes in order to accommodate for the massive need. Beyond being a mere degree requirement, these classes are essential potential teachers need to know how to reach all of their students. One of our main jobs as teachers is to make students feel secure in the learning environment, which means something different for everyone. Specifically for ELL learners, security comes from not just acknowledging their unique status as English language learners, but evoking a cultural sensitivity so they do not feel like outsiders. No college class can prepare a teacher for everything in their own classrooms, but such classes are do make a difference in how potential teachers can approach their instruction of ELL students. I liked their connection to learning a second language as a "constant trial and error" in order to form a language habit. ELL learners are asked to read, write and verbalize English while taking cue from English spoken instruction; having them practice at every opportunity will help.

What we ask ELL students to do is incredible: learn English while at the same time comprehending the content, in English. In some cases, the content alone is difficult to understand, let alone in a second language. I liked the interviewees idea that a student's first language needs to be the scaffolding for their second language. By reading assignments in their primary language, students are better able to cope with then comprehending the English version. Students who speak English as their primary language find it difficult enough to understand Poe's The Raven--requiring ELL majors to first read the English version of that poem would be unfair. Analytical thought first in their primary language can aid their response to the work in English.