Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Discourse in the Classrooms of English Learners

This chapter’s focus is on the educational patterns of discourse and the importance of cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP).  CALP can only be acquired after many years of “successful schooling” in academic language, instructor feedback and continued support in its use (Diaz-Rico, p 301).    One way to promote CALP is through the Recitation Pattern (IRF).  This “teacher talk” is used throughout the day to draw information and language in the target language.  Students are Invited to participate in a conversation about any given topic.  The students is given time to give a Response to the question.  The teacher then Evaluates or to be more accurate, gives feedback to the student.  This method has its benefits and drawbacks.  This chapter does a good job in documenting both on Tables 11.1-11.4 (pp 305-306).  I am prone to the Cooperative Learning pattern.  This method of discourse allows students to work with others who may speak the same language or have similar abilities.  Peers share information in a natural, organic manner then report back to the class.  This requires teachers to share instructional responsibility with students, to trust that they are fully capable of being their own monitors.  Instructions Conversation is a method used my many of the teachers I know.  It allows students to use higher level thinking by allowing for more than one answer.  The teacher asks open-ended questions and gives the student time to think about the question then respond.  The teacher gives feedback in a non-threatening way so that the student does not feel discounted or rejected. Therefore, he/she   is more likely to participate in other language activities.

This website gives some valid reasons why open-ended questions are important to use. www.pareonline.net/getvn

chapter 10

Chapter 10: Culturally Based Language Teaching

This chapter is all about examining the belief systems, values, roles, behaviors and rules of the students in our classrooms.  I loved the passage on page 272 about culture not just being about specific holidays, dances, or foods, although those things are also important, they do not define one’s culture (Diaz-Rico).  The patterns, language, social customs, rituals and geography of the student’s family have more to do with the way a child sees his/her world.  Educators would do well to take note of these cultural beliefs and include them in the curriculum.  As stated before, when a student feels validated, respected and understood the learning environment becomes less threatening.  Educators are challenged to communicate with parents and community members to form positive relationships.  They are encouraged to integrate or embed the learners cultural into the target language so that English is more accessible to the students.  This author also warns educators not to be culturally marginal to “embrace biculturality as a positive outgrowth of ‘dynamic in-betweennes’ so those who learn English can feel themselves enriched by an expanded sense of personal and cultural alternatives enabling them to maintain roots in the native culture while sprouting wings in English” (Diaz-Rico, p 285); the ultimate goal.

This is the website for the magazine, Diverse.  There are links to many articles which discuss topics relevant to today’s culturally diverse population in education, http://www.diverseeducation.com

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Learning Processes and the Imaginary 

This chapter was all about using imagination to spark creativity, language development, problem solving, social interaction, and higher level thinking.  It spoke of the importance of the inner self, the mind, and to some extent, the soul of a child.  The goal of such activities is to reveal how students internalize and interpret literature, music, art.  Suggestopedia, a term I had never heard of before this book, suggests that music can help stimulate brain development and that the use of imaginary play, helps to improve language development in English language learners (Diaz-Rico, pp 204-205). The chapter offers theories which advocate the use of guided imagery to develop students’ thoughts and feelings about personal experiences; it gives permission to explore the untapped recesses of the mind in a non-threatening way.  I have used guided imagery only sparingly, but would love to explore its use during our relaxation time.  I have however, used many of the techniques and strategies discussed in this chapter.  We use puppetry, music, poems, role playing, re-enactment of literature, storytelling in my classroom daily.  I find it interesting that the educational community is finally beginning to validate and understand that children learn through a variety of mediums.   I find it discouraging when former students approach me and ask if they can come back in my classroom just to paint, or play in the home center.  The joy of learning is no longer in their eyes and it breaks my heart.

www.armyacademy.ro/biblioteca/anuare/2003/SUGGESTOPEDIA.pdf

www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=ED119063

Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Literacy Instruction for English Language Development

This chapter outlines the process of acquiring language; it allowed me to see language acquisition through the eyes of the English Language Learner.  As with the other chapters read, this also emphasized the need for meaningful and diverse curriculum which will lead to the student’s desire to become involved in their own learning.  I was especially inspired when the author stated, “During the entire process of teaching reading, educators who also function as sensitive ethnographers and “child watcher” take note of what reading “lights a fire” in the learners and take care to balance students” receptive and productive skills within a learning environment that respects culture, human interests, and imagination” (Diaz-Rico, p 168).  This struck me because I have heard conversations from upper grade teachers who do nothing but complain about their EL students.  They just do not understand why they do not take an interest in the literature, and they refuse to accommodate these students, they would rather hold them in contempt and send them to detention.   I am an educator of young students and as such, all of my studies have been in the area of cognitive, social/emotional, motor, sensory, and beginning language development.  This chapter is an eye-opener for me.  During my career, child development programs have changed drastically, there is a strong push to teach curriculum once reserved for kindergarten students.  I now see the complex process a child must move through to be a successful communicator, reader, writer of the target language.  As a result of this particular chapter, I took time to re-organize my small groups and plan on stepping back, “slowing the pace slightly” (Diaz-Rico, p 183) to portion the information into smaller chunks so that the students get the most out of each lesson.  

This website has a variety of high quality children's books and music in Spanish and English,  www.delsolbooks.com 

Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Oracy Instruction That Builds on the First Language

This chapter explores the topic of oracy skills.  Communication includes listening, speaking, writing and reading.  To begin, students practice the skill of listening.  Educators must find creative ways to provide activities students will engage in.  Listening centers, books on CD, tape recorders, music, are just a few ideas discussed.  Speaking skills are also an important skill EL students must master.  Teachers can provide students with pre-speaking strategies so that they feel comfortable speaking in a language other than their home language.  “English learners need environments that help them to meet the social, emotional, cognitive, and linguistic demands of their lives in and out of school.  Students need an emotional setting, a climate of trust and respect, in which they need not fear ridicule from their peers or corrections from the teacher” (Diaz-Rico, pp 154-155). 

This is a web site with ideas for listening centers for young children.   atozteacherstuff.com/Lesson_Plans

Chapter 4

Chapter 5: Learner Strategies and Learner-Focused Teaching

This chapter focused on strategies used by educators to help support the EL students in the classroom.   The most effective types of strategies mentioned are those in which students take some ownership in the leaning process.  The job of the teacher then becomes one of facilitator.  The goal is to provide the tools students need to be as autonomous, self-managed, and confident in their own academic abilities (self-efficacy) as possible (Diaz-Rico, pp 106-108).  When students understand the learning process through indirect and direct instruction strategies, they are more likely to take responsibility of their own learning.  I believe this to be the ultimate goal of educators.  Children learn and retain concepts when they find a connection with them.  One of the Indirect strategies I found to be helpful was taking a look at Learning Style Preferences. This concept goes farther that Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences.  It takes into account the strengths of individuals and encourages the use of those preferences when creating lessons for those students.  Direct strategies which build on prior knowledge to determine the “zone of proximal development” (Diaz-Rico, p 117) are strategies we use with our young students.  We scaffold the lessons so that children are supported in their learning until they are able to generalize the skill .  Empowering students with the knowledge that they are fully capable of their own learning teaches more than academics, it teaches life skills.

This web site allows you to fill out a questionnaire about your preferences.  It then tallies and give you a graph with your personal leaning style. www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

chapter 4

Chapter 4: Performance-Based Learning

I like the quote at the beginning of the chapter, “The world we created today has problems which cannot be solved by thinking the way we thought when we created them (Diaz-Rico, p 69).  This chapter acknowledges various forms of assessment which are just as valid as standardized “reliable” tests.  The traditional views of the behaviorists do not work for all children.  The fact that many adult students struggle with conventional tests shows once again, we all learn and express our skills differently.  The cognitive, constructionist, and socialcultural hypothesis that instruction and assessment must be diverse and meaningful to students and that information must be presented at each child’s level of development is discussed.   Portfolios, teacher/student generated rubrics and goal setting are all legitimate ways to assess student progress and achievement.                                   Performance-based learning activities provide the teacher with information about the overall proficiency level of a student in a specific area of curriculum.  The instructor designs the activity so that there is a link between the objectives, activities, and assessment.  Task chains are the small units of instruction provided during the activity.  These mini lessons are important for the EL student.  I know my students require small chunks of information at a time.  When too much is given they tune out.  The challenge for educators is how to motivate and inspire our students without discouraging or frustrating them. This must be done to stem the high drop out rate for our English Language Learners.  

This web site is a great resource.  It not only offers tip about how to develop student digital portfolios, it also has many links to other educational sites from early childhood to college. and much more. http://educscape.com/tap/topic82.htm

Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Views of Teaching and Learning

This chapter contained a multitude of information about various theories and methods used to teach all children. Our goal as educators is to find the best approach for the students in the class. The Humanistic approach to education; the belief that each student needs to be treated with dignity and respect should be at the core of every educator.  A child needs to feel he or she belongs and is important to the teacher and the class as a community.  Chompsky’s Generative Grammar theory stated children master language through a natural process of assimilation and a human instinct (Diaz-Rico, p41) rung true for me.  Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences is one which many educators use to plan activities.  For example using Total Body Response (TBR) is a great bodily-kinesthetic activity.  The use of picture icons with all new vocabulary for visual learners and an audiolingual activity set to song for those who respond and learn better with music helps to include all children. Once an activity is presented in one of the modes discussed students may be asked open-ended questions which helps to solidify the lesson presented.  One of the best quotes I read was from the Brain-Compatible Learning theory, “Students remember not what they are told but what they experience.  Active processing, through such activities as questioning and genuine reflection, allows learners to internalize learning in a way that is personally meaningful” (Diaz-Rico, p46).   This is after all the goal, to have students make those synoptic connections so that learning becomes a life long journey rather than a short lived chore.

www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Critical Roles for Teachers

Freire’s “pedagogy of hope” promotes a learner-centered literacy approach for second language learners which provides students with a concrete way to access language familiar to them.  Accepting their culture, environment and language acknowledges the important role they play in the student’s life while helping to build on their prior knowledge.  

While there were many valid theories, I believe Critical Pedagogy is one of the most powerful methods which provide students with the tools they need so that they can begin to take responsibility for their lives.  Students are asked to look critically at the problems they face in their own daily experiences. They are then asked to analyze various materials; literature, art, and others’ social conflicts.  Over time, the teacher probes and asks hard questions so that the students begin to see themselves in the scenarios; they make connections needed to make change in their own lives.  Because the curriculum is meaningful to the learner, the students are then motivated to explore various solution to the problems that plague them (pp 22-24). [i]  I believe this to be an important method.  Many of the students in the low socio-economic community I teach at express feelings of hopelessness.  The older students claim victimization therefore, they are not to blame for the choices they make.  Having them become their own problem solvers shows them they have the power to succeed.

In reading the other theorists in this chapter, I was reminded of a movie I saw long ago on PBS, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez. [ii]  The movie took place in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s.  It was about brothers who were questioned about the acquisition of a horse.  The translator for the sheriff asked if Gregorio had acquired a caballo (stallion).  He answered no, he had not acquired a caballo, he acquired a yegua (mare). The translator did not know the translation for the word yegua and Gregorio was accused of lying therefore he must have stolen the horse.  Perhaps Foucault is correct, “Language is not neutral; language is inseparable from the workings of power” (Foucault, M. 1984).[iii]

 Diaz-Rico, Lynne T. Stategies for Teaching English Language Learners.  2^nd Edition. C Pearson Education Inc.: Boston 2008. 

www.youtube.com/watch.  YouTube-The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez. Retrieved November 18, 2010.

Foucault, M. (1984). The Order of Discorse.  In Diaz-Rico, Lynne T. Stategies for Teaching English Language Learners.  2^nd Edition.CPearson Education Inc.: Boston 2008.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Who Are English Language Learners

This chapter’s contents re-emphasized the importance of student support in their native language.  Teachers face many challenges associated with the development and implementation of ELD.  There are many factors involved when working with English language learners.   I am and have been a teacher to Spanish speaking students a great part of my career.  Most of my students are from Mexico, but I have had students from many regions of Latin America.   I have also faced many of the challenges listed in this chapter.  I have witnessed policies and trends in education come and go over the last 30 years, but none as controversial as the debate over how to best educate students of other languages.  Since my students are so young, 3-5 years, learning English is much easier for them.  What struck me most about this chapter was the section on “Languages at Risk” (p.17-20).  I am a third generation American of Mexican ancestry.  Because my parents were punished for speaking Spanish at school, my father was spanked with a wooden paddle; they did not want us to suffer the same fate.  I heard Spanish spoken at my house and my grandparents but family members only spoke to my sisters and I in English.  If it were not for the population of students and families in my classes and school, I would have lost my connection with my parent’s native language.  Many of the parents I work with have also stated this same concern.  They have expressed their fear that their children no longer wish to speak to them in Spanish; they respond in English.  Many times the parents do not understand what their children and this is upsetting to them.  All that I can do and have done is reassure parents that we want to teach the language they will need to succeed in school, but strongly encourage the cultivation and retention of their native language and culture. 

 The Center for Applied Linguistics offers 8 principles for second language acquisition.  Go to                                                     www. cal.org/resources/digest/ncrcdso4.html.

Diaz-Rico, Lynne T. Stategies for Teaching English Language Learners.  2^nd Edition.CPearson Education Inc.:                                 Boston 2008. 

CAL: Digest (1995, October).  Fostering second language development in young children.  Retrieved November 15, 2010 from www.cal.org.

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