ELLs+Reflection

English Language Learners: The Essential Guide Reflection
Before reading English Language Learners: The Essential Guide by David Freeman and Yvonne Freeman, I didn’t realize how many different levels and types of English Language Learners (ELLs) there could be in a classroom. The book has opened my eyes to see that every student comes from a different background which greatly influences their academic achievement level. We, as teachers, need to be able to recognize the needs of these types of learners and adapt our classrooms to find effective strategies to reach each and every student in the entire class.

The first struggle that teachers face is the fact that most “state-mandated programs were [are] developed to meet the needs of native English speakers,” (Freeman & Freeman 14). While teachers already work to structure a classroom to engage all different types of native English speaking students, teachers with ELLs mainstreamed in their classrooms face a more difficult struggle; making their classroom accessibly bilingual. Also, a regular school day for English speaking students moves quickly with high expectations of learning. ELLs have to keep up with these expectations from a teacher who, more likely than not, doesn’t speak or teach their native language. Throughout the day, “many ELLs get lost in the transition from one content area to the next,” (Freeman & Freeman 65). Once they begin to grasp the content of one subject, the period changes and the mindset switches to something completely different. So, it becomes incredibly difficult for them to keep engaged because they become frustrated easily. In Chapter 3, Freeman and Freeman discuss different ways to organize curriculum. The method I discussed above is the typical way of “organizing” a school day. This “Cha-Cha-Cha Curriculum” got its name because “students might begin the day by reading a story about arctic exploration, and then—cha-cha-cha—they switch to cell structures in science,” (Freeman & Freeman 65). A better approach to organize a curriculum is to organize the unit around Big Questions. Through this method, most subjects can be integrated around one central theme. Students are invited to explore a question that typically does not have a simple answer. Effective teachers can formulate questions that span through Social Studies, Science, Literature and Mathematics. The Gummy Bear Curriculum is tied together with one central theme, but the theme is often too simple and doesn’t effectively connect the subjects. “Superficial unity” (Freeman & Freeman 66) is avoided in Big Question curriculum because the questions encourage a wide range of learning possibilities.

Fountas and Pinnell, in their book Guiding Readers and Writers, discuss how teachers can use one text to serve as the reference for several different lessons. “A mini-lesson on some aspect of text—using language to create images, effective titles—might serve both for reading and writing,” (Fountas & Pinnell 10). This coincides with having an overarching theme or Big Question because students that have one common idea or text that helps develop several different understandings. When ELLs have an idea of what is happening across the different subjects, they are more likely to keep engaged and develop better comprehension of what is going on because they can make connections.

Comprehension is greatly influenced by connections to text, to self, to prior experience, etc. Fountas and Pinnell emphasize through their entire book how connections help students create better understanding. “Literary experiences figure strongly in a reader’s ability to make connections between texts as they start to recognize similar language, ways of organizing, types of characters, or settings,” (Fountas & Pinnell 316). Although Fountas and Pinnell base their research mainly on native English speaking students, Freeman and Freeman agree by saying that proficient readers who are “both native English speakers and ELLs… construct meaning from text by using their background knowledge,” (Freeman & Freeman 124). So, although students may speak different languages and have different cultural backgrounds, it is crucial for all types of students to find some way for them to connect to the content that they are learning about.

One way to connect students to their learning is to access the reality they live in. Ms. Tolland (an example teacher from Freeman and Freeman’s ELL: The Essential Guide) approaches agricultural and industrial development in her 8th grade class by exposing students to news articles concerning conflicts between agriculture and industry in their local area. By connecting this topic to the students’ surroundings, they were able to relate to the situation. In addition, they were more motivated to find research on the topic.

Daniel (another example teacher from the text) had to employ different strategies to connect his students to the ocean unit he was beginning. Since they did not live in an area near the ocean, he used a globe to initially help them connect to the ocean. They began exploring and discussing the vast amount of ocean on the earth and the importance of them. Although the students didn’t live near the ocean, they were able to investigate and discover that they are still affected by it. I found the ways that Daniel reinforced vocabulary and bilingual education in his classroom to be effective. He read a book about oceans in English, and then allowed ELLs to read a book in their language then summarize each page for the class. In some ways this could be positive, and in other ways it could be incredibly negative. If Daniel didn’t have ELLs who were both confident in reading their language and speaking in English, this could frustrate or embarrass these students. However, if these qualities were strong in the students, then it could come with terrific benefits. Summarizing the pages of the book and comparing the Spanish and English books helps the class’s comprehension strategies. Vocabulary is reinforced as they discuss the books in English and Spanish. In addition, all of these activities created a bridge for ELLs to learn both vocabulary and content.

All languages are very different from one another. In modern English practices, teachers use Word Study to help students “actively learn the rules and principles of phonics and spelling,” (Fountas & Pinnell). However, Word Study introduces and explores too many rules to learn in the beginning of ELLs’ English language studies. Freeman and Freeman suggest a strategy to expose students to vocabulary and writing conventions that I really enjoyed. “When teachers read aloud using big books, poems, and chants with large text that students can see, ELLs start to develop subconscious knowledge of the patterns of English spellings, and, at the same time, they begin to understand the meanings of English words,” (Freeman & Freeman 127). We use big books for beginning readers, so I believe that we could adapt that method for higher grades. Reading to students only helps them, and maybe reading a book with large text that the entire class can see would benefit both ELLs and native English speakers.

Throughout reading this book I discovered that there are both differences and similarities in the way that you teach ELLs and native English speakers. I plan to encourage a multilingual environment in my classroom by comparing books in all languages that are based on the same content. Inviting parents into the classroom to read can connect students and help them to embrace diversity. Although Big Question curriculum may not always be possible, I agree with the method and would love to adapt it in my students’ environment. There are different ways to connect students to their learning, but I plan to guide students in making connections to texts, to themselves and to their surroundings. In addition, I have already begun thinking about how to adapt large text read alouds/poems into higher grade level classrooms in order to expose all students to English writing and reading conventions.

I enjoyed reading this book and discussing it in groups. I wish we had more time because these discussion circles seemed far less passionate than our Literature Circles. Although I appreciated others’ input about what they found useful from the book, I have always had passion for English Language Learners and gained a lot of my own insight and perspectives just through reading this. I enjoyed this book and look forward to using several of Freeman and Freeman’s strategies whether I have English Language Learners or not.