I spoke with a high school ESL teacher about her philosophies about teaching literacy. She first mentioned the importance of building on the academic skills that students have in their first language when teaching literacy in English. She said that she would translate key vocabulary or connect with the students’ first language and culture as much as possible. This rings true to my experiences both learning other languages and teaching ESL students.
In Brooklyn, I taught an English class for adults who had recently arrived in the United States. Most of my students spoke either Spanish or Polish as their first language. Since I had studied Spanish in high school, I knew that the vowels E and I would be confusing for the Spanish students so I could provide plenty of practice with those vowel sounds. Unfortunately, I did not have a background in Polish, but I noticed that the Polish students were able to make some of the connections themselves because, in general, they had stronger literacy skills in their first language. They seemed to benefit from explaining the connections to me, which also helped me better understand their learning process.
The teacher with whom I spoke also mentioned the importance of cooperative learning in teaching literacy to students at different levels. She explained how students with different skills in English who speak the same first language could work well together. A student who has strong oral skills but weaker reading skills could have success working with a student who has weaker oral English skills and a stronger background in their shared first language. Although I have never tried this approach, it made sense to me because it draws on the students’ first language.
In general, this teacher spoke about the value of diversified instruction. This seems particularly important in ESL literacy because there are more variables that significantly affect the students’ ability to read, such as their knowledge of English and their literacy ability in their first language.
Differentiating instruction is important in all classrooms. As I mentioned in or first class....what is good for ELL's is good for all students. I agree with the teacher you interviewed that cooperative learning is very important. Allowing students to work together gives them opportunities to use their acquired language and "talk"!
ReplyDeleteDonna
Hi Donna and Kerri,
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how beneficial it is to make time or student talk! Once procedures are in place, and students truly understand what is expected of them, their oral language skyrockets with that practice. The hard part is remembering to plan for meaningful talk to occur. Once you are in the habit, it just doesn't seem right if that component of your teaching is not included! Jennifer