EL School Wide Plan

     In a perfect world, I would like to see change at my school. After reflecting on how my school addresses English Learner students, it was alarming to me. There are several students in my school where English is not their first language. I feel our school could do a better job at meeting their needs. There are some teachers who already have great strategies in place in their teaching. These strategies meet the needs of all the students. However, more could be done. I would like to see the students language ability be evaluated and a plan of action be drawn up and put into practice so that the students make monitored progress.

     In the classroom, there are several changes that could be made to promote learning for our EL students. At the beginning of the lesson, teachers should post the objective and use the vocabulary from the lesson so that students can understand the meaning. Post maps, charts, and vocabulary words in the classroom for students to view and practice. They will learn to include these words in their vocabulary and it will show through their writing. Use tools such as the overhead for all to see. Use graphic organizers for students to learn to organize their thoughts. Create graphic organizers for students to use and manipulate in groups. It will increase their understanding and promote interaction among peers. Provide students with clear objectives and use appropriate speech. Use of idioms will confuse English Learners. Repeat key points, check for understanding, model steps, chunk information and tasks, use clear language and talk slow paced. Use of gestures will also help students. As an assignment in another English Language class, I had to view a television show in a language that I did not understand. I watched a novella and was able to understand a lot just by the gestures and the dramatic tones they spoke in. It was fun and proves these strategies help the students have a better understanding of the dialogue. Include authentic assessment as a means of equitable assessment. Journals, portfolios, anecdotal and observational records are all tools that provide meaningful tasks to students. Create hands on activities so that students can interact with learning. Students will be able to understand what the objectives are and retain it better. Provide students with opportunities to think. Promote higher order thinking skills by using questions that do not require one word responses. Offer strategies such as prediction, summarizing, scaffolding, guided practice, and reteach if the students do not understand. Teachers need to connect to what students know. This brings meaning to their learning. Differentiated instruction provides opportunities for EL students to be successful. Teachers can provide interaction among peers by designing a lesson to meet the objectives and allows all students to partake in a meaningful task.

     As a school, changing how we address the needs of English Learners would be a community coming together to better our teaching practice to help our English Learners succeed. I believe it would take the whole school community to unite and implement change. Parents would need to provide information about their child. Information would include what languages are spoken at home. Another question would be what is the primary language spoken at home. All this information is important in constructing an action plan for students.

     Realistically, there are several changes that could be made now. It does not cost money to implement simple strategies into our curriculum. For the teachers who are not enrolled in this class, I could give a brief overview of ideas to implement in the classroom. My coworkers know about these strategies, I believe they just need a gentle reminder. All the strategies I mentioned are easily put into practice. One could argue that more training is needed for all the teachers. This is a valid point but there are small changes that could be made right away. More training takes money my school does not have at this time. However, teachers could use maps, clear language, talk slow paced, post their objectives, provide hands on activities, check for understanding, and ask higher order thinking questions. These changes would not cost the school a dime and would benefit our students. Another obstacle would be to convince the administration that implementing a plan of action for our English Learners is necessary. Since I teach at a Catholic School, the Archdiocese has to approve any school wide plans. Another obstacle would be a time frame. Unfortunately, it takes some time to make changes. There are so many different things going on, this would add to an already heavy work load. However, I believe it is necessary. There are so many students in need of strategies to help develop the students’ academic skills and help increase their academic achievement. 

     Unfortunately there are obstacles in place not allowing this perfect world. Implementing a school wide action plan for English Learners is beneficial for all.  Working as a community to bring about change will benefit our kids and help them onto the path of success. As educators, we owe it to the students to reach their fullest potential.

TV Project

  I chose to watch Spanish language television. I watched two shows over the course of two days. One show was called Dona Barbara. This show was one hour long. I watched two hours of this program. The other show I watched was Sin Senos no Hay Paraiso. This show was half an hour long and I watched two episodes.

     I found the TV Project assignment to be frustrating. Trying to understand what was happening in the two shows I watched was difficult. This made me reflect on students who are not English speakers but are to attend eight hours of school everyday. I reflected on the struggle they must have to try and understand the lesson the teacher is presenting to the class. After thinking about these students, my three hours of television in a language I did not understand did not seem so bad. 

     Dona Barbara was an interesting soap opera type of show. I found it to be enjoyable even though I was frustrated trying to follow the story line. This show was fast paced which made it difficult because I felt as if the stories were jumping around. It was difficult to keep track of the different actors. I enjoyed it because of the music and the attractive people in the show.

     The program began with two men arguing. One man was older yelling at a younger man. The older man was holding a rifle. The setting seemed to be on a farm or ranch. I could not understand what they were arguing about. Then the scene switched to a man and a pregnant woman walking and talking. They are greeted by another woman who puts her head on the hand of the pregnant woman. I assumed she is the mother of the lady because she seemed so loving towards the woman. Then the program switched to the older man with two women. I believe the women are his daughters. He is still holding the rifle. The two women seem frightened by the man yelling. The next scene is a man in an office with a woman. He is drinking in the middle of the day. He offers the woman a drink but she declines. I am not sure what they are discussing. The music in the background sounds as if he is telling her something shocking.

     In the next scene two women are talking. One of the women is older and in bed. She appears to be ill because the other woman is leaning over her. The older woman seems as if she is giving advice because the younger woman is listening to her and shaking her head in agreement. There is another lady at the door listening. She looks sad and walks away. The next scene she is with a man. She tells him something and is beginning to cry. As the woman walks away from the man, evil sounding music plays in the background. I know this man is not a good person because of his facial expression toward the woman. He is also wearing black from head to toe characterizing him as a villain.

     The second day of Dona Barbara is more exciting than the first. Two men begin to fight over a woman. She kissed a man because she knew another man was watching them. I am confused because I thought the man defending her honor was her father. But the next scene shows them very close in a chapel. She grabs his face and kisses him gently on the cheek. You would not kiss your father this way. I think that he is her step father but they have feelings for each other. I am using visual clues by the way they look at each other to come to this conclusion.

     At this point, I have written in my notes that I am frustrated. I am not sure what the story line is and if all these people are connected somehow. I felt overwhelmed trying to follow the story line as I continued watching the show. It made me think of English Learners in my classroom. The actors in the show seemed as if they were speaking too fast. I realized that when I have an English Learner student, I need to speak slow and make sure they understand what is expected of them.

     The next show that I watched for this project was Sin Senos no Hay Paraiso. This show is half an hour. I watched two days in a row of this show. This show appears that it is going to be different than Dona Barbara. The show opens with a man talking into a walkie talkie to another man who appears to be in the middle of a war. I am confused because the man on the walkie talkie is not dressed as if he is in the military or a police officer. He is wearing jeans and a button up shirt. It appears as if he is giving instructions to men out in the field. The next scene is a man with a lot of jewelry. There are other men around him with jewelry and guns. I’m not quite sure if this is a soap opera. There are not as many characters as the other show. There are several scenes of men fighting a war. It does not jump around as much as the other show. However, I am still not sure what the premise of the show is.

     This show takes place in a jungle setting. The plot seems to be that the men are fighting in a war. There is a group of women who are spies because they communicate with the man with the walkie talkie. They act like they like the men with the jewelry but you can tell by their facial expressions they are do not like these men; they just want the men to believe they do.

     The story goes on and the men with jewelry take the women spies on a road trip in a jeep. There are men following them. There are times you think the men in the jeep will catch on that someone is following them but they don’t. I refer to my notes and again have written that I am not sure what is going on. I wish I could understand what is being said. The men with jewelry seem happy while the women in the jeep keep looking at each other and seem very unhappy. When the men are looking at them, they put on a smile. This episode ends with the men with jewelry noticing the car behind them. The show ends with dramatic music.

     The second episode shows the men following the jeep get ambushed. There is a big shoot out. The men in the jeep are enjoying what is going on while the women in the car are trying to hide their emotions.

     After watching these episodes, I believe I was catching on to what was happening. I may have not been correct with all the details of the story line but I did feel like I was able to understand a little bit. This made me reflect on my English Learners and how they are being exposed to a new language at school all day everyday. I need to make learning fun and engaging so they are not bored. I felt bored watching Sin Senos no Hay Paraiso. This immersion will help them to acquire the language. Acquiring a new language is a difficult objective. Attempting to learn the curriculum at the same time is even more pressure. If I needed to learn an academic subject while watching the show, I would have been extremely frustrated and not very successful.

     Different strategies I used to view these episodes were to listen to the music playing in the background, observe gestures and facial expressions, and become aware of props used in the different scenes. The more intense the music, the more shocking I imagined the dialogue to be even though I could not understand what they were saying. I also watched the facial expressions and the actors’ emotions. This was a good way to interpret what was happening in the show. Being aware of the props or backgrounds used in the scenes also helped in following what was happening.

     I will find useful strategies to utilize in my teaching so that students will be able to have success in school. Strategies I will continue to utilize in my teaching practice will include use of realia and pictures, speaking slowly, repeating directions and tasks, building on what my students already know, and frequent checks for understanding. I will provide a caring and nurturing environment for my students so that they can be successful.

     This assignment was an eye opener for me. It really helped me to put myself in the shoes of my students who are English Learners. I can only imagine their frustration when they are expected to learn and be successful in school when they are not receiving instruction in their primary language. They must feel lost and feel that they will struggle. As an educator, I will strive to help my students feel secure and help them to reach their potential.