Reflection 3: Response to a question about English teaching

A Plan for introducing a new ESL student to your class

Questions by Shelley Cole

"Hi, I am getting my teaching certificate and ESL is part of my certification. I have a few questions that I was wondering if someone could help me with?I'm trying to learn as much as I can about ESL and how I can be a better teacher to ESL students.
These are my questions: 1. What would you do to help the student overcome first-day apprehension? 2. How would you introduce the student to the class? 3. How would you convey classroom rules and expectations to the new student? 4. How would you communicate these expectations to the student's parents? 5. What type of documentation would you keep to track the student's progress?"

These are my answers to Shelley's questions.

Hi Shelley!!

I have been doing an internship in a High School these last days. One of the classes that I attend is a “Newcomers Class” where there are students from many different parts of the world, most of them come from Burma and Russia, but there is also a couple of Cuban students (A and B). “A” is a girl. She is 14 years old, and has been attending school since 3 months ago. She had a previous formal education in her country, but her English was nothing strong. “A” has been working hard, and it is possible to appreciate success in the way she answers. Student “B” is a 15-years old boy. He began his classes the same day I began attending to the School. That day he was extremelly quiet. He just said “hello” and looked very scared of responding questions, even when those questions were in his first language (Spanish). Student “B” arrived to the USA just 15 days before he entered to school. Everything is new for him, specially the language.

From what I could see in the classroom that day. The teacher didn't introduced student “B” just in the moment he arrived. She began her lesson, and let “B” interact with “A”. Student “B” began to talk a little bit more. In the second period, the teacher introduced him to the rest of the class. The teacher told them they had a new classmate who didn't speak English at all, and who really needed their help. Then, the teacher asked the whole class to intruduce themselves. This fact made the class, and the experience of introducing himself easier and more comfortable for student “B”. He could overcame his first-day apprehension, and at the same time the teacher could establish a good environment for “student B”'s future emotional and academic developments. I think this explanation reflects what you wanted to know in questions 1, 2 , and 3.

In relation to question 4: “How would you communicate these expectations to the student's parents?” I would say that this is a trigger question. It is extremelly important to involve parents in their children's academic development as they are one of the main participants and supporters of their children. Giving students tasks in which the assistence of parents is required is the best way to begin involving parents in their children education; thus, at the same time we will be communicating them the expectations we have in relation to their children.

I personally think that the best kind of documentation that we can keep to track the student's progress is a kind of formative evaluation, in which you don't put pressure on your student by marks or grades. I think that the best way we can accomplish this is by writing about the student's improvement, and supporting him as he is enhancing his learning. Of course, getting to know him, his learning style, his way of thinking, what he likes and what he doesn't, would be a wonderful way to take him to success.

I responded to this question because it involved many of the topics we studied in our Bilingualism and Bilteracy course. The teacher mentioned expectations, parents, rules, among other well-known concepts for us. Words that sound in our heads, and that are very important in the teaching-learning process. Apart from that, all those questions have a direct connection with what I have been observing during this period of internship. So, these questions seemed to be very meaningful for the teacher as well as for me. My answers to the teacher reveal that my beliefs about language teaching have changed since I got here. I have learnt a lot. I think that I am a better teacher now because I have strong arguments which support what I am able to say about teaching techniques or strategies.