Curriculum for Challenged Immigrant Students

An article that really interested me this week was in The Washington Post titled “Virginia high school gets a boost for some of its neediest immigrant students.”   Although I don’t teach high school, I work closely with our district’s high school ESL teachers and I am aware of the struggles they face with some students on a daily basis.  Their difficulties go beyond teaching English.  High school ESL teachers see the struggles of students trying to make it to school every day.  Some of them need to work to provide for their families while others may need to take care of younger siblings.  Still others face the hurdles of overcoming “having fled violence and instability in their homelands,” (Balingit, 2017).  

One high school in Virginia received a $50,000 grant from the state “to help teachers develop curriculum for its most challenged immigrant students, young people who may have the drive and the capacity to learn but have major academic gaps,” (Balingit, 2017).  The teachers will develop a curriculum about basic literacy and number skills, as well as how to “adjust to school and life in the United States, teaching them everything from study skills and how to write an email to how to open a bank account,” (Balingit, 2017).  

I think this curriculum sounds amazing.  This is just what these ESL students need- differentiated instruction that is geared toward them and their unique needs and cases.  I hope to follow the success of this curriculum and these teachers.  If this curriculum proves to benefit the students, it could be used to help ESL students and programs in other parts of the country.

Balingit, Moriah. "Virginia High School Gets a Boost for Some of Its Neediest Immigrant Students." The Washington Post. WP Company, 27 July 2017. Web. 30 July 2017.

ESL Teacher lists "My Tech Essentials"

The website eSchool News has a new monthly feature called “My Tech Essentials.”  This month’s “My Tech Essentials” featured an English as a Second Language (ESL) specialist and administrator from Oregon.  This article caught my eye for several reasons: it is very relevant to this course, it is relevant to my job, and it provides great resources.

I was shocked to read how many ESL students attended this school district in Oregon (over 5,000 ELs speaking approximately 95 different languages).  In order to help these English Learners (ELs), the district relies heavily on technology.  “As a Future Ready district, we use technology to engage students in every lesson, while providing resources to bridge the gap between their native language and English,” (Maurizio, 2017).  

The three tech essentials that Maurizio lists are:

1. Lightspeed Redcat Audio Systems:  This is a system I had never heard.  This Oregon school district has a Lightspeed Redcat Audio System in every ESL classroom across the district.  “ The system amplifies educators’ natural voices so they don’t have to shout and do not experience vocal exhaustion at the end of the day. Hearing the teacher clearly is critical during the language-learning process,” (Maurizio, 2017).  
2. Laptops:  It states that “Laptops are an educator’s lifeline,” (Maurizio, 2017) and every ESL teacher in the district receives a laptop.  The laptop helps with lesson planning, grading, monitoring progress, presentations, and, most importantly, providing visuals to help bridge connections to the home language.  
3. ipads:  Each EL has access to an ipad to use Google Translate.  Additional keyboards can be added so that students can type and translate words to and from their native language.  

Out of the three tech essentials mentioned, I would have to say that the laptop would be my number one technology essential, with ipads coming in as a close second.  It mentions using the ipads for Google Translate, however there are endless other apps and activities that they can be used for.  Technology has had such an impact on learning a new language.  Maurizio mentions that the advances in technologies from when she began teaching have changed the language learning world very much.  These tech essentials (as well as other technologies), have made language learning and teaching more efficient for teachers and students.   

"ELL Specialist: These Are “My Tech Essentials”." ESchool News. 19 July 2017. Web. 24 July 2017.

Schools Transforming Immigrant Education?

One of the interesting articles I received was titled, “The Schools Transforming Immigrant Education.”  In the article, it explains that some schools are trying to improve the newcomer “achievement gap” by creating International schools.  Newcomer ESL students are enrolled in these schools with other newcomers.  There are a lot of mixed opinions about International schools.  At first glance, it seems amazing.  Newcomers get more individualized and/or small group instruction while feeling at home in their comfort zone with other non-native speakers of English.  And, it seems to be working!  “Students in these schools outshine their English-language-learner counterparts in traditional high schools,” (Gross, N., 2017).  

However, there are concerns.  “Some critics liken the separate learning environments to segregation practices of old,” while others are upset about the amount of funds and resources that are being spent on immigrant students while some native born students are still lagging behind.  Also, students often resort back to their home language in order to communicate with other speakers of their home language.  This takes away valuable language learning time.  Another concern is taking away the constant, daily interactions with native-born peers.  However, there is the option for students to “take elective classes offered by the parent high school, thereby mixing with native English speakers.”

I will continue to follow the research and information about International schools.  I, too, have mixed feelings about it; I see the pros and the cons.  This may definitely be one way to help close the achievement gap of ELs however at what cost?  Are these students losing too much of the social interactions?  Is it creating more of a divide between people?  These are certainly concerns to continue monitoring.

Gross, Natalie. "The Schools Transforming Immigrant Education." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 13 July 2017. Web. 14 July 2017.

ELs Not Attending College as Often as Peers

I had many interesting articles delivered through Google Alerts this week, however I chose to focus on "English learners graduating from high school, but not going to college like peers," from Statesman Journal.  This article caught my eye because of recent discussions among our ESL department regarding the new federal "Opt-Out" regulation.  Under this regulation, school districts must notify parents of the option of being able to opt their child out of the ESL program.  Our high school ESL teachers are concerned of some possible negative effects if students choose this option.  Many of their high school ESL students do not want ESL on their transcript because they fear that it will harm their chances of getting into the university that they want.  The teachers are concerned that many students will choose the opt-out option solely because of their desire to attend college.  

"While staying in those programs appears to help students graduate from high school in five years at higher rates than the state average, it has its drawbacks. English language learners who stay in the programs aren't going to college as frequently as their peers who leave the programs before graduation," (Pate; June 29, 2017).  After reading this, a thought popped into my head: Are these students not applying to college because they fear they will not be accepted due to the fact that they are English Learners?   Maybe that thought is complete off, however it definitely could be a lack of confidence which is causing this gap.  

Pate, Natalie. "English Learners Graduating from High School, but Not Going to College like Peers." Statesman Journal. Statesman Journal, 30 June 2017. Web. 02 July 2017.

Too Few ELs in Gifted Programs

This week, several of the articles from Google Alert that I received in my inbox mentioned the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and how it relates to ELs or ESL programs.  One of the articles that I found most interesting was "Too Few ELL Students Land in Gifted Classes."  In all of my years of teaching, both regular education and ESL, I have never had a student in gifted classes.  I’ve certainly had students who were gifted in their home country but they have never met the qualifications for gifted programs in my district.  Just because the students don’t speak the language, doesn’t mean they don’t understand the concepts.  Some of these students are even placed in lower-level classes because their lack of language is misunderstood for a lack of understanding.  

The ESSA “requires states and districts to report the number of their students performing at the advanced academic level, not just those who are academically proficient and below, and to include advanced-achievement data for specific student groups, including English-language learners,” (Harwin & Sparks, 2017).  This will help ensure that students are receiving the correct supports and placement.  The article mentions that more students will be able to be placed in the gifted program by having better parent outreach and also more diverse testing options, among other things.  One thing we run into in my district in Central Pennsylvania is our lack of diverse screening options.  Most of the screens are not in any other language, except possibly Spanish.  However, we have students speaking Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Russian, Urdu, and many, many more languages.  I am excited about the possibility of having more options for these students so that they have the same opportunities as their English speaking peers.  Hopefully the ESSA will help ensure every student is in the correct placement.  

Harwin, Sarah D. Sparks Alex. "Too Few ELL Students Land in Gifted Classes." Education Week. 22 June 2017. Web. 22 June 2017.

Diversity in Teaching ELs

For Week 3, I chose the article "Mass. House Pushes For Diversity in ELL Teaching."  This was delivered to my inbox today from Google alerts and I thought it was appropriate because, in my last blog post, I mention about how ELs have different needs and a "one size fits all" approach doesn't fit all of the EL students and their unique backgrounds.  The article discusses how important it is to differentiate the education for ELs because of the diverse backgrounds.  Some students are arriving are with families attending graduate school in the States.  These families are formally educated in their first language and are aware of on-grade level concepts in their first language.  Other students have interrupted education and may not be literate in their first language.  Our district sees similar issues to this, living in a university town.  We have highly educated students arriving from around the world but we also have service industry families, with priorities of business and work ranking above education/school.  Another growing population is the students adopted from other countries.

All of these students and situations are very different and require different teaching styles to reach these students.Last week, bill H.3736 was passed by the Massachusetts House.  This bill "would eliminate 'one size fits all' teaching for English Language Learners ( ELL )," ("Mass. House Pushes for Diversity in ELL Teaching").  The article states that the bill will require evaluating the effectiveness of the program and the readiness of ELs to enter the mainstream classroom.  It will also require the district to provide training to any teachers working with ELs and/or culturally diverse students.  There will be councils created to help advise the district of matters involving ELs and the councils will be comprised of parents and guardians of these students.   

I think this bill is a step in the right direction.  The ESL population is often overlooked, which is sad.  These students and families have so much to offer our communities and our country but they need to feel welcome and I feel like bills like this help those families know that they are wanted, welcome, and deserve an education here.  

Admin34, and Admin. "Mass. House Pushes For Diversity in ELL Teaching." Language Magazine. 12 June 2017. Web. 13 June 2017.

Determining Appropriate Assistive Technology

One of the articles that I found this week was "How to Determine if Assistive Technology is Right for Your ELL Students," from Concordia University.  The first section of the article was an overview of the importance of ensuring that ELs have appropriate reading material available.  The article then went on to discuss how assistive technology can help both the student and the teacher.  In reality, most teachers are not able to sit with an EL, one-on-one, at many points (if any) throughout the day.  Most classrooms have 20-30 other students in the classroom and it is impossible for the ELs, or other students, to receive constant attention.  This is where assistive technology can come in and be a huge asset to the teacher.  The student is able to learn at his/her own pace and level, rather than sitting in a classroom with all language above his/her head.

I really appreciate that this article gives suggestions for how to evaluate what assistive technology can help the student.  It suggests to investigate the student's background- find out what the student knows in his/her first language.  For example, I have had a student with significant gaps in education due to interrupted schooling.  This student would benefit from different assistance than a student coming from a prestigious school which has available technology and English as one of the main classes.  Another suggestion is to reach out to other people who know the student to gather as much information as possible and to get others' opinions.  For example, the school counselor, psychologist, ESL teacher, parents, and siblings will all have information that can help determine, as a team, which technology will be best for the student.

Often times, ELs are grouped together in classes, assuming that they all have the same needs.  This article points out that, with ELs, there is no "one size fits all" solution when it comes to assistive technology.


(http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-strategies/how-to-determine-if-assistive-technology-is-right-for-your-ell-students/).

ELs and Modern Technology

For Week 1, I chose to read "Preparing ELLs to be 21st Century Learners."  I became interested in this article after reading the first section describing a media technology class with an English Learner sitting in the back, not able to keep up, simply typing "j's" across his computer screen.  As sad as this scenario is, it is all too true and too common.  I have seen it happen many times.  I have also seen the teachers become so frustrated with the student when he/she has "done nothing the entire class period."  This is not to place any blame on the teacher.  He or she may not be fully trained to teach ELs or may not be completely aware of the student's language abilities.  However, it is imperative that school faculty be more compassionate to these students and also have some training to help them learn new strategies to help the ELs keep up in class.

The article listed some challenges for ESL teachers however these are challenges for any teacher that has ELs in their classroom.  One of the challenges is obviously the language.  The students may not have the technical vocabulary to understand how to follow the lesson or instructions.  Another major issue that is mentioned is the lack of experience.  Some students may have been using technology at a very early age while others are just now touching a keyboard for the first time.

Helpful strategies were provided and elaborated on throughout the article.  Some of the strategies included: building vocabulary and background knowledge, using handouts, simplifying or accommodating assignments, providing extra time, and using group or partner work.  I feel this is a great article for all teachers to read.  There are helpful and valuable suggestions and I think there is a take-away for any teacher, especially teachers of ELs.

http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/preparing-ells-be-21st-century-learners