DECLARING FREEDOM
With a growing culturally and linguistically diverse pool of students, teachers grapple with incorporating language development strategies in their subject area classes while simultaneously integrating the CCSS into their teaching practices.
Thus, Brian A. Collins and María Cioè-Peña pose their central question for Chapter 6, “how do we support emergent bilinguals and ensure their success within a rigorous standards-driven curriculum?”
The short answer is:
In the text, we learn that Mr. Vazquez (see pages 120-123) uses various approaches to educate his bilingual students by using translanguaging. He does the following:Translanguaging can be used as an instructional strategy to bolster comprehension of these complex materials through multimodal activities. Encouraging emergent bilinguals to translan-guage in their discussions and group work as they ref lect, share, speak, read, and write promotes their engagement (Flores & García, 2013). Translanguaging allows students to actively participate in lessons and simultaneously use more complex language practices to comprehend, evaluate, synthesize, discuss, and engage with complex content, as well as to develop reading and writing skills in multiple languages (Celic & Seltzer, 2012)
- English and Spanish versions of the Declaration of Independence
- A video about the American Revolution in Spanish and English
- Handouts with English and Spanish directions and questions
- English sentence frames with parallel Spanish translation
As a teacher, what are some similar ways/strategies you would implement a bilingual lesson plan? And why?
According to the reading, what recommendations bolster language development for bilingual students?
The Grammar of History: Enhancing Content-Based Instruction Through a Functional Focus on Language
In the case study, we learn that 25% of all California public school children designated ELL (English Language Learners). This portion of student's are not immigrants, but children "who live in communities where they have little exposure to academic English outside of school. Many of these students are fluent in the spoken English needed for everyday interaction but have considerable difficulty working with the language of content-areatextbooks".
Although history text-books are essential for teaching social studies, many of those eight grade students noted the texts are "difficult to keep track.... There are only facts"; "facts, you don't understand the details"; "only facts, facts, facts ... you get lost among too many facts"; "The authors need to put themselves in our position .... They don't
explain everything."
To learn history, students need to be actively engaged in hands-on activities, while simultaneously using "both everyday language and academic language, if they are to gain control of the discourse through which history is told".
Teachers are accountable for helping students develop "the linguistic repertoire that will make reading and writing this subject matter possible".
What CBI activities or materials are suggested within the text that social studies teachers' should incorporate in their teaching?
How can students learn "students need to learn the differences between everyday language and academic language"?
What are some approaches noted in the text? How can we simply academic information without reducing it "to insignificant facts or content that does not encompass the complexity of grade-level subject matter"?
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| In other words, how do we make history easier for ELLs? |
The lessons that I would implement would not water down the content that needs to be taught but would use less complicated language that would use vocabulary words that we’ve already been using. I would also be reiterating the definitions of words that we would be using so that students can make the association between this word that can be recalled by using this word in a different context. I would implement this plan because I want everyone engaged in the lesson, and I want students to develop every language that they know. Otherwise, if they aren’t integrating and practicing every language in class, then there is a possibility that they won’t elsewhere, so they’ll lose the ability to understand the language that they are neglecting.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the readings, the integration of different languages increase language development for multilingual students. This can include using texts in different languages or writing a word that encases the theme of the lessor (for example, slavery) in different languages and talking about the implications based on different languages.
Teachers should demonstrate examples of academic language in comparison to everyday language and give tools to students so that they can understand the meaning of unfamiliar words. Within these lessons, teachers should explain that they will encounter academic language as they continue with their education or in their work. By doing this, students have an advantage because they have an idea of they will encounter and what will be expected of them. Plus, by providing them with tools to deal with the unfamiliarity of a language in a safe environment, they will be more prepared to do succeed themselves.
When you're in math class trying to figure out what words your teacher used mean and then you look up from your notes:
https://gph.is/2l622jL
ReplyDeleteI found the "Declaring Freedom" article very interesting because it allows student to flourish academically while still holding on to their roots and cultures, which can be put to the side when in school because not everyone shares the same language. Strategies that we can use to implement a bilingual lesson plan is perhaps by using technology. It can be both interactive and helps students engage and learn better. For example, there might be websites that offer games for English Language Learners and these games can be done at home providing instructions to the parents (in their native speaking language as well) so that they are able to do these activities with them. Parents can gain insight of what is being done in class and also see what tools help their children learn English. I thought of this because I have seem how toddlers learn words and language through toys and hearing the T.V. It can work for older ages as well if using academic games. Flashcards can also work as a tool for ELL students. Through out the class students can write down words they learned in English and translate it in Spanish together with the class and then come up with a definition in both languages. Students can study those flash cards whenever necessary. https://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2012/08/27/25-terrific-online-games-for-english-language-learners/
The articles I read “The grupito flexes their listening and learning muscles” gives a good insight on how being able to express your thoughts in a language other than English can be quite beneficial for class discussion. The article shows many instances where Spanish is constantly being brought to the class discussion by both the students and the teacher. This is great because students who are still learning English can still participate and even bring new ideas that other students may not have thought of previously. If the student were forced to speak in only English, then the whole class loses the opportunity of hearing a unique thought. It is important to give everyone in your class an opportunity to share out their ideas and I believe it is our job to help everyone else who is listening to these ideas understand them. We as educators can help those students explain themselves and possibly even translate for them if possibly. I believe group discussion would greatly help those who are struggling with the complexity of a subject. By arranging students into smaller groups, you reduce the level of stress that comes with sharing out loud and this also helps students explain their thoughts in great detail to one another. They can see where their ideas match or where they may have misinterpretations of some concepts.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I believe that letting a student express their thoughts in any way that they can, it is also important to have them understand that their academic paths may ask for a more formal description. Once students have expressed themselves and have become familiar with a concept, they can then work on translating their thoughts into a more formal approach. But there needs to be a foundation before they can do this step. That is why I think we should let our students use their distinct backgrounds to help them move forward in their schooling.