Week 6

Week 6

Article: English learners graduating high school, but not going to college like peers

This week I found an article about ELL graduation rates that really caught my attention. Trying to develop literacy skills such as cultural context, expression, and figurative speech, are very difficult for English Language Learners, causing these students to usually stay in special programs for at least 3 years. Although these programs are helping students graduate, the students that stay in these programs are not going to college as frequently as their peers who leave the program before graduation. This study was conducted in Oregon, and one of the findings I found most surprising was that the percentage of current EL students set to graduate high school is only 67% as opposed to 82% of former EL students. Only 39% of current English Learners who graduate high school go to college in comparison to former EL students which is 49%.

Although this study took place in Oregon it is probably reflective of many states and I find the statistics to be quite alarming. Even though former EL students have a higher rate of graduating and going to college the percentages are still very low. I am fully aware that every state is different and programs for ELL students may vary, however, there are national standards that all states must follow and it is unacceptable that so many ELL students are falling behind. Perhaps with advancements in technology, and schools advocating for different ways to facilitate the English learning process through technology, we will hopefully see higher graduation rates in the future. Unfortunately, there are many other variables involved other than just learning the language as the reason for these students to go into college. A high percentage of EL students come from underprivileged areas as well or homes where only their native language is spoken. I realize there is no easy solution to this problem, but more focus should be drawn on this issue and I hope the wave of technology in education improves EL student’s chances for success. It also makes me wonder why more programs aren’t in place in colleges to help students that are still learning English. It seems like a lot of students with great potential are not being recognized merely because of a language barrier. With the tuition rates being as high as they are there needs to be more money allocated towards providing EL students with the services they need.

"English Learners Graduating from High School, but Not Going to College like Peers." Statesman Journal. Web. 14 July 2017.

Week 5

Article:

Conferences Focuses on Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age

The Vietnam-USA Society English Center’s annual TESOL conference will be held on July 21. One of the main topics of the conference will be the latest trends in language teaching in the digital age. Two thousand English language teaching experts are expected to be in attendance and will have the opportunity to hear presentations by experts from schools such as the City University of New York, Oxford University, Cambridge University, etc. about the latest teaching trends.

One of the interesting points the article makes is how English learners are much different in the digital age than in the past. Not only are they a generation of e-learners, which will require redesigning ELL curriculum and textbooks to meet their needs, they are also more connected. This “connectivism” may change the learning theory for the digital age to accommodate this trend. This will require exploring topics such as developing communication skills in the 21st-century classroom.

It is great to hear that education is moving in a direction that is recognizing the value of technology in education and steering away from traditional approaches to learning. Students now are much different than in the past and instead of continuing to put a square peg in a round hole, we need to see what works best for this next generation and adapt the curriculum to suit their needs. The idea of students staying connected and communicating in the 21^st century classroom will allow students to learn English much faster than in the past. Examples of this include social networking, Skype, Google Hangouts, Google docs, e-books, TED talks, blogs, etc. There are so many opportunities for teachers to design lessons that accommodate the modern learner. It is great to see this paradigm shift in education and I hope to see statistics of students learning English faster in the digital age than in the past.

Week 4

Article:

“The Multiple Benefits of Learning Two Languages”

This article really resonated with me personally. As a child growing up with immigrant parents, the mentality at the time of speaking a different language was that it was unnecessary. If you made it to the United States you spoke English and there was no need to know any other language because you weren’t going back. Now 30 years later, we live in a world that looks much different than it did back then. Being bilingual is not just convenient but an asset for most employers. There is a reason our country does not have a set language. When I was a kid growing up in the suburbs I spoke two languages and English was actually a second language for me. My parents saw that at a certain age I was resisting my home language due to students making fun of me in class, but mainly seeing I was struggling to keep up with school as well as the other students. They made a difficult decision to have me stick with only English and unfortunately to this day I can only speak English.

California is supporting families with a different home language than English. In November, voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition 58, which is an initiative that gives students in California the opportunity to learn English and another language. California residents recognize the tremendous impact speaking more than one language can have towards a student’s education and well-being.

In this article, a study conducted by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, has backed the voter’s decision. This study shows that children that speak English and their home language benefit from enhanced cognitive skills. These children often do well academically as well. I very much believe this to be true as I think mastering two languages or more requires high intelligence, as well as constant diligence and discipline. The same discipline required to keep grades up in school. With this, California has designed a road map which will embrace the language and cultures of their children.

The past thought by educators and doctors that a second language may slow a student down is being disproven. Scientific evidence is showing that human capacity can learn two languages as easy as one, especially before kindergarten. This is an extremely progressive statement and I hope that California is paving the way for other states to follow the same trend. If you are interested in the ways in which California is planning to move forward please click on the link to the article and scroll down towards the last few paragraphs, where there is detailed information about their initiative.

Week3

State Board of Education announces move away from PARCC testing

Link: https://durangoherald.com/articles/165565-state-board-of-education-announces-move-away-from-parcc-testing

This was a busy week for news related to ELL. Although I felt there were many interesting topics this week, two stood out to me the most. The first one is an article related to Colorado dropping out of PARCC testing. For those that do not know, PARCC testing is an extremely tedious and time-consuming state assessment that is completely online. Many states in the U.S. started with it but many have dropped out since it was put into effect. New Jersey is one of the schools that use PARCC as a form of state testing so I see first hand the stress it puts on the students. Not only does it take a week and a half to complete, the results don’t come in until the following November. Last year it was 2 rounds of a week and a half. Luckily, this year was only one round but it is still very time-consuming. Our students are extremely proficient in math but because the program is not user-friendly, the technology aspect of it does not accurately represent their content knowledge. It is also very much driven by profit as Pearson is the book company that is contracted for this exam.

Colorado is making an interesting move towards creating their own state tests which will be similar to the questions on PARCC but tweaked to be better accommodated to more students. Colorado also altered a bill which allows ELL students to take assessments in the language they are proficient in up to the 3rd grade to instead have to take it in English if they are partially proficient. This change seems a little harsh to me but I do believe Colorado is moving in the right direction by not using the PARCC testing anymore. With a new governor in New Jersey this year I hope we will be able to take a similar step in the right direction.

Tools for Communication: Exchanging Ideas with Whiteboard Tables

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/inspired_instruction/2017/06/tools_for_communication_exchan.html

On a separate note, the video on this link discusses how a teacher turned workstation tables in his classroom into whiteboard tables and discussed the ways in which they can be used for ELL. I thought this was such a creative approach to teaching. I have whiteboards for each of my lab tables. Each whiteboard just about fills up a lab table. I use them for various activities or test review but I never knew that there were tables with an entire surface as a whiteboard. When his ELL students work in groups together he shows the students how to depict their ideas through drawing on the whiteboard since they do not always know the correct way to pronounce a word. The teacher also takes words and has the students draw what the word means or spell out new words on the table. He says that the tables are very expensive but he took existing tables that were there, sanded them down, and painted them with whiteboard paint, which I also did not know exists. Unfortunately, my room does not have tables that would allow this to be feasible but for elementary schools or resource rooms, I feel like this could be a really great tool. I plan on passing the video along to our librarian who may be able to get one in our library. Although this teaching technique is not technology related, I felt it was a creative way to make the most of what you are given, especially since some schools have very minimal technology.

Week 2

Report Reveals Eye Opening Data on English Learners in Philadelphia Schools
Link: http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/education/104651-new-report-reveals-eye-opening-data-on-english-learners-in-philadelphia-schools

The purpose of this article is to reveal the trends in how quickly immigrant students learn English in Philadelphia schools. The study was concentrated on students who started school in kindergarten and tracked them through the third grade. Within 4 years 60% of students became proficient in English. This was mainly in the field of speaking and reading English, however, most could not write English proficiently. Researchers also found socioeconomic status and exposure affected the rate at which students learned English.

In recent years, the immigrant population has significantly increased in Philadelphia. Most ELL students entering the public school system are kindergarteners. Teachers are then responsible for having them hit the benchmark by third grade. By 4th grade, students should be using reading as a tool for learning not learning how to read still.

This study was a wake-up call to Philadelphia schools that there is no easy way to teach a student how to learn English. Just because a student is strong in one regard, such as reading skills, doesn't mean they will be proficient in oral and writing skills. With such a gap in students being able to write in English, this may be an area of focus for major improvement in Philadelphia schools as well as other schools in the US. Studies like this may be useful to be done in all urban schools to see if there is too much emphasis on one area of learning English and not another. However, I also look at a study like this and feel there are way too many variables to pinpoint one easy solution. It made sense to bring up socioeconomic status as that most likely plays a major role as to why certain cultures learn English faster than others. Overall, the article mentions that learning English does not come in a neat package and does require time and specific instruction, which I think most everyone can agree with.

Week 1 - June 2, 2017

Despite challenges, songs add value to the high school ESL classroom. 

Article: http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/despite-challenges-songs-add-value-to-the-high-school-esl-classroom/education

This article looks into ways in which a high school teacher uses songs to improve grammar and vocabulary amongst her ESL students. For grammar, she will do an online search for songs with lyrics of the words she wants to reinforce. Watching the YouTube video of the song with the lyrics below allows her students to recognize the proper usage and placement of particular words. The author went on to talk about how although it is a lot of time to spend on one word and can't be used for all new vocabulary, it is a good option for words the students really struggle with. A good website recommendation is busyteacher.org which has many song worksheets. Including the story behind a song will make it more interesting for the students.

This idea is an extremely creative way to engage ESL students in learning new vocabulary. As soon as I read this I thought about the many times my students asked if they could sing or listen to a popular science song related to the topic we are learning and I always say no because it is distracting and we need to move on. This has opened my mind to the power that songs can have on helping students remember certain content they learn. For ESL it can be very valuable for teaching new vocabulary. As the author said it can be challenging to get students excited about it, but if students really like a song or artist they will be more motivated to stick with it. This can be helpful in deciding what types of songs to choose for this type of activity to work.