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Entry 4: Course reflection

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This course has strengthened my overall understanding of some of the methods and practices that can be used to help students who are learning a second language. I am aware that learning content-based material along-side while trying to acquire a second language can be very challenging. However, I believe that I have a large repertoire of strategies to better facilitate their learning and make the transition from their L1 to their L2 more enjoyable and efficient. This class will positively impact my professional practice because I have more knowledge of how to help different populations of students. As a teacher, we must be prepared teach students that learn differently from one another, have learning disabilities, as well as students that have not had as very much exposure to the English language. This means that we must have multiple methods for addressing the academic challenges they are facing. In order to do this, teachers need to get to know all of their students so ...
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Entry 3: Teacher Interview

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For this assignment, I interviewed my sister, Ashley, who teaches 6 th grade science. She has been ESL certified for 5 years and works with ELL students regularly. Ashley provided several examples of the methods that she commonly uses when working with ELLs using hands on activities. She explained the process that her students go through when participating in lab experiments. When students can see events unfold through authentic activities, they are able to better describe what they see than if they are merely looking at pictures or hearing about it. As teachers, we should be encouraging students to express themselves and describe their observations using vocabulary that they know before we expect them to use advanced scientific vocabulary. Once they develop an understanding of the content or concept, use that knowledge to teach them new words build upon what students have observed. This practice is similar to what Wright highlighted when explaining the use of Content-Based Inst...
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Entry 2: ELL Interview

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For the video log, I interviewed 20-year-old Gabby who learned English as a second language. Gabby originally spoke Spanish at home with her parents until she started going to public school in the United States at age 5. She is a bilingual speaker who is currently proficient in both languages. Gabby's story is interesting to me as I have never learned a second language, and I could not relate to many of her experiences. One of the things that really stuck out to me was when she said, "you're never fully living life in English." She explained how when she reads books in English, she is always thinking about it in Spanish as well. Wright reminds us that as teachers we need to be aware that "the languages in an individual’s repertoire are not separate and compartmentalized, and students always draw on what they know and can do in one language to make new meanings in another" (Wright, 2015, pg. 40). This is important to understand because we should always b...
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Entry 1: Reflection

As mentioned in my video, my experience with learning a second language is limited, but I have established firm beliefs on how I would like to see second language being taught in my classroom. Based on my own experiences, it is clear to me that students learn best by practicing the language within its real-world setting, rather than by consolidating their learning into meaningless memorization activities. According to Wright (2015), English language learning students used to be pulled out of their classrooms to learn English separate from the remaining students. I believe that it is the job of the general education teacher to help identify the level of English proficiency that the child is at so that they can help the student learn within the classroom environment as much as possible. Removing the student from the classroom should not always be the answer for providing learning resources, as the child will benefit from interacting with their English-speaking peers. When I think abo...
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Entry 1: Self-Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Morgan Smith and I am studying teaching and learning at the University of Houston's main campus. I plan on graduating in the spring of 2019. I will be starting student teaching in the fall, and I am anxious to learn as much as I can about learning a second language before I am in the classroom full time. Click here to watch my introductory video!
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