The article was very enlightening in the ways that it described various techniques and instructional methods that have worked so well in classrooms with large numbers of English language learners. I am proud that I have already started to implement some of the methods that were described in the article. However, I was never sure if the way I have implemented them were the most efficient or appropriate way to do it. I learned from the article that I was on the right track and it gave me ideas on how to implement the techniques.

I am a firm believer in cooperative learning. My students are seated in tables in groups of four. I chose to have tables instead of rows so that students may help one another in completing the task. Furthermore, I routinely use grouping and pairings in activities across content areas whether we are studying language arts or math. These grouping are hetereogenous so that the higher achievers may help lower achieving students. Higher achievers also benefit by attaining a higher understanding of the concepts when they have to explain it to others. I also have found that when students explain it to one another they understand the task better than if I were to explain it to them.

One problem area I have found in grouping though is that some students do all the work but the others just follow or that they fight for various responsibilities. From the article, I learned that it is not enough to just group students and expect them to work together. They need clear responsibilities. To help facilitate learning in groups, I need to assign students in each group a specific task. I also need to make sure that the task requires that every group member to do a part.

Another interesting technique I read in the article is writer’s workshop. While I have blocks of time that I have set aside and called them “writer’s workshop,” they are not the same as those described in the article. The article describes writer’s workshop as a time in which students work at their own pace as they go through the various stages of writing. While I teach students the writing process, we go through it together. Everyone does drafting or editing at the same time. However, I have found that some students need more time to write while others are quick to finish. It is still hard for me to push all students to finish and publish their writings.

The article, however, advocates that student should be able to work at their own pace. Students should not be pushed to finish at the same time so that everyone has a finished product by a certain date. It seems that it is more important for students to know the process than to have a final draft. I need to implement a writer’s workshop in which I provide for various activities in the different stages of writing. I need a space for students to be working on drafts while others are peer editing or creating their published copies. I also need to make sure that I teach to the whole language aspect of writing so that I have mini writing lessons and provide materials for students to publish their writing into books. This will motivate my students to writing and engage them in such a difficult task.

Last, I have learned that previewing is an important method in supporting English language learners. In the article, teachers use the students first language to help students understand a concept before it is taught to the whole group. This allows English language learners the ability to connect their knowledge to the material being taught. Thus, they are more likely to understand and attain the targeted concepts. Since I tutor students who are struggling in reading and mainly they are English language learners, I will use tutoring time to preview the next story we are going to read. That way I can connect their schema and background to the story in a way I wouldn’t be able to during a whole group lesson. By previewing, I will give the students who are my English language learners more opportunity of success in understanding the story or concept we are learning.