ELL Classroom Analysis

In the last twenty years, the population of linguistically diverse school age-children has increased exponentially (Short & Echevarria, 2004, p.9). In order to effectively serve students with different language backgrounds it is important that teachers use strategies that benefit all students. Adrienne L. Harrell and Michael Jordan (2008) found that students need strategies that use explicit language objectives, provide constant reinforcement of academic language, make connections to prior knowledge, and give opportunities to read, write and speak in English to support their language development (p. 5). The presence of these strategies in a classroom with a mixture of ELL students and native English speakers only enhances the learning experience

One thing I learned is the importance important of getting to know students and their cultural backgrounds. The practices used in the classroom should cater to the needs of students in the classroom. For example, I have several students who have been classified between Stage 3 and Stage 4 language acquisition. In order to serve these students effectively, I would need to know the stage they are classified at. Next, I would need to implement strategies to increase learning. The materials chosen to read in class should be interesting yet challenging for my ELL students. Knowing about my students’ background and using strategies and tools to support them is the most important lesson that I’ve learned in this course. This understanding applies to any diverse student that I may teach. Truly getting to know students and their backgrounds, as well as intentionally implementing strategies that will help benefit students’ academic growth are examples of best practices in teaching. This has been the most influential lesson learned in this class because it can be applied to every student that I will teach. I plan to implement what I’ve learned into my classroom and create an environment were all students feel safe and motivated to learn regardless of their

I reported that my school was guilty of “‘fairyland’ multicultural education” (Nieto & Bode, 2008, p. 2). We hold dinners, culture days, and special programs to bring awareness to different cultures, but we don’t go any further than that. This course has given me countless tools that can be used to make my school and classroom better for students. The school that I teach at has a high percentage of students who live below the poverty line and who speak English as a second language. Countless research has been done about students in both categories. Students who live below the poverty line tend to do worse than students at a wealthy school (Bainbridge & Lasley, 2002). This understanding about students living in poverty should drive instruction in the classroom. As a teacher, it is my job to inform and discuss with my colleagues strategies for better educating these students. Most importantly, there must be a belief that these and all students can learn if teacher use various teaching strategies (Bainbridge & Lasley, 2002). This understanding about students living in poverty should drive the efforts at my