Integrated English 1 Class

525 Words2 Pages

In the past, students in the integrated English 1 class were taught using the normal project-based learning methods where all students, no matter their background, are mixed into the same classroom. Often times the English language learners are put into one group and they are provided with very little support or assistance from the teacher. Teachers often steer clear from accommodating those students because it is difficult. Drew and Carolina have acknowledged these issues and have decided to step outside of the box with their curriculum design. In Allan Johnson’s (2013) excerpt, What can we do? he discusses taking little risks to make a change. Allan offers many ways individuals can “do something” to offset oppression and many of those …show more content…

The premise behind the course is to teach the English 1 content standards in Spanish for several weeks so that the students learn and demonstrate mastery of skills such as reading, writing, making claims, and providing evidence. The English language will be infused little by little until the course is finally taught completely in English. Drew and Carolina have chosen to take a risk and step outside of the normal style of teaching this course. The normal novels will not be used and multicultural perspectives will be taught in order for students to perfect their ability to analyze and make inferences. Allan (2013) also suggests for individuals to “Openly choose and model alternative paths (p. 616).” Because of this alternative path, they are taking with the curriculum, Drew, the English teacher, is going to enroll in Spanish classes over the summer so he can be familiar with the language. Carolina, the Spanish teacher, is studying the English state content standards over the summer so she can be familiar with what she will be held accountable for teaching. Both teachers are putting themselves out there to change how the non-native speakers learn English. Furthermore, they are working together to prove, although struggling with the barrier of language, these students are fully capable of mastering the

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