Present and future teachers, you most surely have heard much about our ELL students, including ways we can accommodate their learning in our classrooms. Things like word walls and vocab lists for highly relevant terms are constantly reiterated. Basically, we are aware of the struggles of the ELL student. But are we? Can we truly relate to the idea of language as an obstacle to learning? I had an experience that opened my eyes to the fact that I did not fully grasp the difficulties some of my students would experience.
It was a lecture on "teaching in a pluralistic society," and I made myself comfortable, fully expecting to hear an hour-or-so's worth of statistics and demographics. As soon as my lecturer entered the room, however, he began speaking in...well, something decidedly NOT English, that much is certain. (He would later reveal he was speaking Creole.) Supplies were passed around, instructions barked, and seemingly-nonsense scribbled on the board. My audience mates and I looked around at one another, clearly bewildered. I was ready to give up on the task he assigned before I even started, because I could not understand what he wanted of me. As a former student of French, I think I was slightly better off than others, yet these meager bits of language were not enough to sustain me through a lesson.
Afterwards, when he felt his point had been sufficiently made, he told us his intentions: to lend a little perspective on how our ELL students experience our lessons. Yes, he had a list of "essential" vocab with the English translation on the board, but I still struggled. Bits and pieces of a language are not enough for these kids to keep up with their already-English-proficient peers. These students need their own classroom where they really delve into properly learning a new language. Unfortunately, the likelihood that our schools will receive that kind of funding doesn't look too high. I've thought instead about creative and supplemental ways I can help my kids learn English, since I am devoid of the time in class to service their needs fully and completely. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on ways to implement technology to help my ELL students outside the classroom, and even inside it as well. What are your thoughts on the "best" ways to service our ELL students? I'm excited to hear your thoughts on the matter!
