After the interview, I was sad to hear that used assimilation on Cecilia. In Cecilia’s story, you can hear the negative impact the teachers had on her. According to Wright (2015), in assimilation, the students must abandon their language and culture to become Americans. So, students would feel discouraged about their native language and culture. And, the student’s linguistics and academic needs must be met in schools. So if a teacher discourages and does not help the student, the student has a low chance of succeeding. Since “learning to read in English is more difficult if students cannot read in their home language.” (Wright, 2015) Therefore, the teachers must fulfill their students’ needs so they can gain a high academic achievement. And as Cecilia mentions, she would have been more fluent in Spanish if her teacher did not discourage her from speaking Spanish.
In Cecilia’s story, you can hear the impact of standardized tests on the school's policies. The teachers wanted her to speak in English to pass those tests, instead of on focusing on her development in the long run. The teachers did not understand her point of view in learning English. If the teachers understood the challenges the students faced, they could have a smoother transition to English. And, I have thought about my own students. And, I agree with Wright’s statement of “the mandated one-size-fits-all standards … are not appropriate for the diverse ELL population.” (Wright, 2015) At my school, a teacher told her experience of ELLs students in standardized tests. The teacher’s ELL students have misinterpreted the prompt of the Writing STARR in the past. Therefore, it is important for the teachers and test makers to understand the ELL students’ point of view. So, there is not any confusion on the test so students can be successful test takers. Overall, understanding the student’s background and challenges allows teachers to know which resources they need to help their students.
Gutierrez, C. (2019, February 21). ELL Student Interview [Personal interview].
Wright, Wayne (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, Second Edition.
Hey there, Tiffany! I really enjoyed your interview with Cecilia and listening to her experiences as an ELL student. As I was listening to Cecilia talk about how her district taught her English, I couldn’t help but to realize that maybe Cecilia was in a transitional bilingual education program, otherwise known as an early exit program. Cecilia mentions how when she was in kindergarten she was mostly taught in Spanish, her native language. As she moved up grade levels, this Spanish instruction diminished and the emphasis in English instruction increased. This is exactly how Wright describes a transitional bilingual education program. “Most TBE programs begin in kindergarten with about 90% of language arts and other content-area instruction taught in the home language and about 10% taught through sheltered English instruction. Each year the amount of home language instruction is decreased and the amount of sheltered instruction is increased. After 2 to 3 years, the students are transitioned to English language instruction” (Wright, 2015, p.97). This is the perfect explanation as to why Cecilia's classes just “jumped” from Spanish to English. Her district was trying to have Cecilia exit the program as soon as possible, thus making her English proficient. Although, I do agree with Cecilia in the fact that this diminished her Spanish speaking abilities. English was too pushed upon, negatively affecting her native tongue.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Wright, Wayne (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, Second Edition.
Hey Alex, you are right. Cecilia's school had a negative impact on her Spanish speaking abilities. According to Wright (2015), losing proficiency in the home language before attaining proficiency in English leads to more difficulty in learning English. Therefore, it is important for teachers to help support students to help ELLs transition to English without losing their native language. Teachers can support students by getting to know their students. Then the teachers can know more about the student’s experiences to help nurture the students.
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Tiffany, Lucy here. I truly enjoyed your interview with Cecilia. You asked a nice set of questions. However, I would have wished that you would have asked Cecilia about her primary language spoken at home. Nevertheless, great job on your interview!
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I completely agree with you. It is very sad that Cecilia’s’ elementary the teachers were not understanding on her primary language development. Unfortunately, their primary goal was to get each student proficient in English, ignoring that speaking several languages is a beautiful and beneficial quality. Although the school did have the Developmental Bilingual Education Program (DBE) implemented and help students to slowly transition into English, it seems that the primary language support flew out the window once standardized testing came along (Wright, 2015, p.99). It is sad to say that this is a common trait in our education system (Wright, 2015, p.28). As you said, some teachers only teach to the test, not prioritizing the students long run learning. I guess we, as future teachers, can do a much better job by keeping these experiences in mind so they do not repeat.
Thanks,
Lucy
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hello Lucy, I agree with your statement of students losing their primary language support when standardized testing came around. Standardized testing is important to assess the students, however, the mandated one-size-fits-all standards, testing, and accountability requirements are not appropriate for the diverse ELL population. (Wright 2015). For examples, students may misinterpret the directions and questions. Therefore, teachers need to be careful when presenting content that is in the tests. They have to support more resources for the students when the class reviews the test.
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Thanks so much for sharing Tiffany! Cecilia’s experiences speak to why she was able to dive so deep in her interview with Leslie as I am sure that her own experiences gave her insight into what questions to ask. Her experiences will serve her well as a teacher also as she will have a deep understanding of what her students are encountering in a way that someone who has not experiences anything similar, simply cannot. Her interview and sharing of her experiences with standardized tests has me wondering what types of accommodations she may have received and it an increase in accommodations leads to a decrease in negative feelings surrounding standardized tests. I agree with Wright (p. 129) that the best accommodation would be to have the tests in the student’s home language.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hey Niki, I agree it would be interesting to know what type of accomdations Cecilia received. According to Wright (2015), there are many accommodations such as extra time, small group, and read aloud. I know my current students are receiving small group and read aloud of their standarized test. Accomodations are important to for students to succeed in school because they may misinterpret the questions and directions on the exam.
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelstandardizedphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.