For this assignment, I had the privilege of interviewing Mrs. Brenda Garcia
who is in her eleventh year of teaching. She is the 4th grade, self-contained
bilingual teacher at Taylor Ray Elementary school who goes above and beyond in
everything she does. She strives to be the best teacher she can for her English
learners and helps students achieve their goals. As a result of this interview,
I learned so much about Brenda's linguistic background, Lamar CISD's Dual
Language Program, and what Brenda does to best support her English learners.
Growing up, Spanish was Garcia's dominant language. Like stated in the
interview, Brenda began learning how to read and write in English in first
grade for the first time. Through personal experience, she understands how much
an English Learner Teacher can impact the students. It was not until Garcia was
in fourth grade, that she had a teacher who really celebrated and took the time
help Garcia grow in her home language and English. Her fourth-grade teacher
made a difference and really celebrated Garcia's home language.
As mentioned in the interview, Garcia emphasizes the importance of
celebrating BOTH languages in the classroom: students home language and
English. Helping our English learners grow in their home language and in
English gives students and teachers endless opportunities for learning. Garcia
stated that when teaching, she previews or reviews vocabulary and content in
the student’s dominant home language, then teaches the rest of the content in
English. This allows students to make connections between the content in both
languages. In her class, Social Studies is taught only in Spanish, though for
activities students can pick their preference of language. Exposing students to
both languages like this benefits them so much. As stated in Wright,
"Students learn best in the language they understand best. Thus, providing
ELLs with content-area instruction in their home language while they are
learning English as a new language helps to ensure that they will learn complex
academic content and master grade-level content standards" (Wright, pg.
96). Like Garcia mentioned, seeing both languages, like in her classroom,
across all subjects is called cross linguistics. The English language should be
in addition to students' first and dominant language. Both languages should be
celebrated in the classroom. Though I know all students will not learn the
exact same way, the Dual Language Program in Garcia's classroom is benefitting
her students. In Wright it states, "There is no one-size fits-all program
appropriate for all students in all schools. But as research related to each
model shows, strong forms of bilingual education that aim for bilingualism and
biliteracy, academic achievement, and intercultural competence provide students
with the best opportunities to draw on all of their linguistic resources while
learning challenging academic content" (Wright, pg. 93).
Exposing children to both languages and emphasizing their importance is critical.
As Garcia said, when giving new English Language Learner teachers advice,
"celebrate both languages," being biliterate is a beautiful thing. A
child should never feel embarrassed by their home language.
Resources:
Wright, W. E. (2019). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy,and Practice. Caslon.
Some questions that were not in Wright came from my curiosity.
Hi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and watching the video. One thing I liked reading was about the way Mrs.Garcia celebrates both their home languages and English in the classroom. As stated in Wright, "Students learn best in the language they understand best. Thus, providing ELLs with content-area instruction in their home language while they are learning English as a new language helps to ensure that they will learn complex academic content and master grade-level content standards" (Wright, pg. 96). Children should feel like they matter and are seen, and Mrs. Garcia is doing a wonderful job at doing that for her students. I agree that a child should never feel embarrassed by their home language, and Mrs. Garcia is embracing their home language.
Hello Davereon,
DeleteThank you for your comment. Yes, I too love how Mrs. Garcia emphasizes the importance of celebrating both the students home language and English. This allows students to see both languages and cultures implemented into the classroom in a positive way, which makes learning that much more enjoyable and obtainable. As teachers, we need to make sure we are providing the best education for our students, while also establishing a welcoming environment students feel comfortable in to learn. Students should be able to see themselves in and be able to relate to lessons taught.
I agree that “children should feel like they matter.” Mrs. Garcia does a great job making students feel included daily. The positive interactions that happen in the classroom between the teacher-students and student-student is critical for learning. According to Wright, “Key to meaningful interactions in the classroom that lead to successful English language development are the conversations ELLs engage in with their fellow students and teachers” (pg. 180).
Wright, W. E. (2019). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy,and practice. Caslon.
Hi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that both of a student’s languages should be respected and celebrated in the classroom. At the educational level, there is far too much of a tendency these days to try to teach and perfect one language at the cost of diminishing or erasing another. Wright states that "many schools make the mistake of providing daily ESL instruction only for ELLLs at the beginning stages of English language development and stop once the students reach the intermediate level" (Wright, Pg 95). I truly believe that this is one of the major problems in pedagogy today with respect to bilingual education and bilingual development, and solving it is going to take a lot of awareness and commitment to change.
Wright, W. E. (2019). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and Practice. Caslon.
Hello Miley,
DeleteThank you for your comment. I agree with everything you stated. I like how you mentioned that “there is far too much of a tendency these days to try to teach and perfect one language at the cost of diminishing or erasing another.” This is so true. Educators should be providing these English learning students with a variety of instruction that allows them to see the importance of their home language and English. This should include high level and rich vocabulary instruction, discussions, differentiated lessons, reading strategies, a variety of books that interest students, and much more student-centered learning. Teachers also should promote and allow students talk in the classroom. Students can learn so much from one another. According to Wright, “One effective approach for encouraging more student talk is to use open-ended and higher-order questions and short probes that require students to elaborate” (pg. 164). Learning a new language should be a celebration of ADDING another language, not just replacing the home language.
Thanks again for your comment.
Wright, W. E. (2019). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and Practice. Caslon.