Guest Speaker:
After listening to our guest speaker talk about some of the types ELL students we may encounter in our placements, what are a couple of things you took away from her presentation? Please write 2-4 sentences about any new information that you may have learned. Feel free to mention any concerns or other questions that might have stemmed from our guest speakers presentation too.
My main take-away from our guest speaker was that there is a whole world outside our little state of Vermont. It was interesting to learn about the variety of places and situations our students are coming from. This aspect definitely makes me the most nervous about tutoring, but I'm excited to combat these challenges.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I was very nervous about tutoring because all the students come from a variety of different places. The biggest thing that has helped me is doing research on the places they are from so I can understand their situations better.
DeleteI agree with you. I was very nervous about tutoring because all the students come from a variety of different places. The biggest thing that has helped me is doing research on the places they are from so I can understand their situations better.
DeleteI definitely agree with Kelsey, while I knew there was a vast world out there, it was nice to have it start to be put in perspective for those of us who don't have as much experience with ELL students. In prior schooling I had a very minimal amount of experience with ELL students, so I was also surprised to hear that many of them are refugees, coming to the United States because they have to, rather than because their families want to. It makes me very excited to work with our students this semester and learn more about them as human beings and the country that they come from.
ReplyDeleteI am curious about where your each ELL student is from and what you have learned about the geo-political environment of the specific country.
ReplyDeleteOne of my students, Doma, is from Nepal. We were too busy with her grammar homework to talk about Nepal beyond knowing that she was in a refugee camp. My other student, Carole, is from Congo Kinsasha. Her main languages are French and Lingala. She speaks both with her parents. From Carole, I have learned the French phrases "bonjour" (hello) and "Bon journée (have a good day) as well as the Lingala "boni yo" (how are you). She was exited to share her languages. I have not yet had a change to talk about Congo Kinsasha with her because she has had a lot of homework. I am curious about a good approach to that conversation as I do not want to trigger any bad memories.
DeleteI think the most interesting thing I learned from our guest speaker is that Vermont is the only state that allows the continuation of a high school education after the age of 19. I wonder why Vermont allows it, and every other state doesn't. I am also curious about the challenges that an older ELL student and the rest of a "normal" aged class face.
ReplyDeleteI was also curious about how and where older ELL students are placed within the classroom. I wonder how having an adult in a high school class can impact the community and culture of the classroom, and ways that educators are able to ensure an environment of equity and comfort.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how education in the United States is thought so highly of outside the country when people in the country constantly complain about it. This gave me a new perspective! People from other countries are exited at the thought of coming to America and receiving an American education. However it is unfortunate that their dream of four years to success is inaccurate. I also found it interesting how Vermont is the only state that allows high school students over the age of 19, and how people make an effort to come to Vermont for this reason.
My biggest takeaway from our guest speaker was that ELL students face so many more pressures beyond academic stress. I previously understood that there are social barriers and hardships that many students face, but it never really registered with me that these ELL students are often times the primary advocate for their family (meaning that the students, not the parents, are the ones setting up appointments for their parents to succeed). I wonder if ELL students are provided counseling services in order to transition and cope with such a drastic change of environment and culture. I truly can't imagine what kind of experience that entails, but I hope that schools provide (or at least) direct student counseling services for refugee and ELL students.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest takeaway from the guest speaker was that ELL students face extreme challenges every single day. It was interesting when she brought up the idea of us trying to take a math test in a language that isn't our own. I am a Spanish major and even taking a math test in Spanish would be challenging, despite the fact that I feel confident speaking Spanish. Many of the ELL students don't feel confident in speaking English and are still required to take different subject tests. The language barrier is very mentally taxing on an individual.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest takeaway from the guest speaker was that ELL students face extreme challenges every single day. It was interesting when she brought up the idea of us trying to take a math test in a language that isn't our own. I am a Spanish major and even taking a math test in Spanish would be challenging, despite the fact that I feel confident speaking Spanish. Many of the ELL students don't feel confident in speaking English and are still required to take different subject tests. The language barrier is very mentally taxing on an individual.
ReplyDeleteI think what impacted me most from the guest speaker's presentation was not only the challenge that ELL students face, but how disadvantaged many of them are. The fact that in many schools there is little done to accommodate for these students which results in many students failing and receiving minimal formal education is appalling. As a hopeful future educator I hope that more is done in the future to evaluate and address problems within ELL programs.
ReplyDelete