Hello,
My name is Ruth Frausto. I am getting my degree in Teaching and Learning with certifications in EC-6 general education/special education/ESL. I am in my second semester of student teaching and will be graduating this December. I am student teaching at the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District or Lamar CISD. I am placed in a first grade classroom and I absolutely love it.
In terms of exposure to different languages, I did grow up in a household where both English and Spanish were spoken. Therefore, I learned English and Spanish at the same time and I am fluent in both languages. I also had exposure to other languages like Gujarati and American Sign Language or ASL; through my stepfather and friends. I have not picked up any Gujarati but I have learned some American Sign Language or ASL and hope to become fluent in it one day.
In regards to, taking any language classes, I did take a Spanish class that was intended for Spanish speakers in high school. In that class, we focused a lot on writing and reading in Spanish. My teacher incorporated a lot of group and partner work into her lessons. My teacher also included some cultural aspects into her lessons by incorporating certain types of books and music.
My teaching philosophy is centered around
student comfort. I want all of my students to feel comfortable, welcomed, and
accepted in the classroom. I want to create a relaxing, positive, and multicultural
atmosphere. According to Wright (2019), “Their academic success depends in
large part on how the school and the wider society treat them, their language,
their culture, and their families” (p.2). Therefore, I want to make sure that every
student in my classroom is treated well and accepted so that they can feel
welcomed and have an equal opportunity to reach academic success.
Nice V blog! Creating a nice, comfortable environment for the students will be the first step for the students because they will be in an unfamilar area. It is important for me as well to make sure my students are accepted because "many were subjected to discrimination and may have been denied access to education in their home countries" . Knowing different language , as far as writing and speaking them can come in handy for students they can communicate in different ways like ASL.
ReplyDeleteIncluding cultural aspects in the classroom can bring back memories to the student of their home country which can make them feel accepted or comfortable. As future educators, we must work hard to make our students future bright and easy.
Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice, by Wayne E. Wright, 3rd ed., Caslon, 2019, pp. 1–26.
Hello Lashay,
DeleteThank you so much. I am so glad to hear that it is important for you to create a classroom atmosphere, similar to the one I want to strive for. It is definitely important to make sure that all students feel welcomed, accepted, and comfortable in the classroom. According to Wright (2019), “Their academic success depends in large part on how the school and the wider society treat them, their language, their culture, and their families” (p.2).
Ruth, what a multilingual family you have. Your bilingual background can serve you well in your instructional approach with future ELLs. I appreciated the specific strategies you mentioned to help support your students' learning (visuals, scaffolding such as sentence stems, access to diverse resources). Cheers, Grace
ReplyDeleteHello Ruth, you created an excellent vblog! I know you will be an amazing teacher and I appreciate your commitment to SPED and ESl kids. Your personal experience will greatly help you when working with English is a second language and English language learning students. I appreciate your thoughtful teaching philosophy. Every student should feel appreciated and respected in their classroom. Write states, "Their (ELLs) academic success depends in large part on how the school and the wider society treat them, their language, their culture , their families, and their communities" (2015, p.19). This shows how important it is to ensure all of our ELL students feel accepted and comfortable. You are right when you say we have to work hard to ensure our students are happy and given an option to learn the best way possible for them.
ReplyDeleteWright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
I am not sure why this is publishing as unknown. This reply is from Hannah Hartsoch.
DeleteHi Hannah!
DeleteThank you so much. I appreciate it. Yes, I do think my own personal experience and exposure to other languages will definitely help my future students. I was a heritage speaker and I believe there is a great chance that I will have heritage speakers in my future classroom. According to Wright (2019) "Students from homes where a language other than English is spoken and who speak or at least understand some of that language may be labeled as heritage language speakers" (p.5). I think it is super important for children to feel welcomed, comfortable, and respected in the classroom. I feel like it is important to create a positive and comfortable classroom environment. I do believe that creating a positive classroom environment will help students reach academic success.