TEACHING ESL - REFLECTIONS

Teacher Interview

1. How many years have you been teaching?
I have been teaching for 32 years. My first two years I taught in Minnesota, then we moved to California.

2. How many years have you been teaching second language learners?
30 years.

3. What are some of the challenges of working with second language learners?
Parents are one of the biggest challenges because many show no attempt to learn English. Teachers work so hard to help children learn English, but it's difficult because they do not get support at home. Learning English is a collaborative effort between teachers, parents, and students, but without the parents, there is no triad, and the child's English is compromised.

Another challenge is trying to teach comprehension skills. It's easy to teach a child to read and decode, but comprehension rate is influenced by English language experience. There is one student in my class right now that is from the Middle East, and his English in terms of reading, writing, and speaking is very good. He is in the first grade, and he can read at a fifth grade level, but he cannot tell you about what he reads, because all he can do is decode. He has very little comprehension of what he reads. An additional challenge I consistently face is a dearth of materials. Many schools do not have effective materials for teaching second language learners.

4. What materials are the most helpful for second language learners?
I like ELL programs like "Amazing English" and "Into English". They both incorporate the use of realia and hands-on activities. I think these materials are not only effective with ELL's, but are also useful for all students, especially those in the primary grades.

5. What are your thoughts and views about learning English?
My personal view, and I know people who are strongly against this, is that total immersion is the best method for learning English. I don't think that children should lose their native language, but I do think that in school children need to speak English. I say that this is the most effective method because I've seen it work for so many students. I also think that having language buddies, meaning that you pair a student up with another student who speaks their language, is an effective method. In addition, having parent volunteers helps because students can get more one-on-one attention. Pull-out programs also help meet students' individual needs.

6. What are the most helpful teaching strategies when working with ELL students?
TPR (Total Physical Response), giving comprehensible input, modeling, gesturing, realia, and hands-on activities are probably the most effective ways of teaching all students, not just ELL students, although these strategies are highly effective with second language learners. In my first grade class, these are approaches that I use constantly, irrespective of whether there are any second language learners in the class. These strategies are so effective in any primary grade classroom. In my classroom, I also use a lot of procedures because this gives students a sense of stability in how our class runs. For ELL students, familiar procedures and routines give them a sense of control, and provides a comfort zone for them.

7. What types of things do you do to get to know your English language learners?
I try to have a lot of parent-teacher communication. I meet with the parents and explain to them what types of things their children need at home in order to learn English better. I encourage those parents who speak English to read to their children in English. Also, older siblings who speak English can help their younger siblings with reading and vocabulary. In addition, I try to get to know a little bit about the students' native language because it can help me analyze how they are breaking down the English language.

8. What linguistic groups have you worked with the most in your career, and what trends have you noticed among these groups?
In my first grade classroom this year, I have a children from a variety of linguistic backgrounds. The majority of the kids in my class are second language learners. I have students from Mexico, Japan, Korea, France, the Middle East, and the Philippines. I have always had many students in my classes who are native Spanish speakers. I think that with many Hispanic families, the parents are reluctant to learn English. This makes it very difficult for their children because the English that they learn in school is not reinforced at home.