Working with Diverse Learners
This chapter is full of insightful
information. There are many different strategies on how to work with diverse students
in the classroom. As a future teacher, it is very important to adapt to the
different learning styles that students have. It is hard to learn a new
language and speak fluently in it. The United States has become more populated
with children who do not speak English as their primary language, and normally
these children do not speak English in their household. This is a major
challenge for a child to go to school and learn a new language that is foreign
to them.
We live in a multicultural society and
therefore, this should be represented in the classroom. As a future teacher, I
will have a better knowledge of the different cultures and lifestyles to help
me teach my students. I can also be more aware of different strategies that
better the learning for a multicultural classroom. Lastly, I can set my
classroom up in a way that creates a positive and appropriate learning style
for students. It is interesting to learn about different cultures. As a
teacher, I will allow my students to embrace this in a positive way. I could
have a lesson that involves a student bringing in food from his country. Then, the class could taste the food. We could learn about the culture and traditions
of his country as well as the ethnic background. This would be a positive and fun experience for
the students.
Another important concept is dialect. Dialect
is a form of one language but it is used in a separate cultural group. Teachers
should be cognizant of the different dialect languages that children speak. A
child should never be looked down upon for using dialect language. Society as a
whole is diverse and students come from a variety of cultural backgrounds. This
should be accepted in today’s world because it is becoming more common.
Overall, I learned many different
approaches to use when working with English language learners. These students
need more support and encourage in the classroom. I will assist my future
students by using the techniques I learned in this chapter. For example, I can
take notes with an ELL students and talk about his story and cultural
background. I can gather information from the student, and then teach him in a
way that he comprehends the material. Diversity in the classroom occurs on a
daily basis. Teachers can take away enriching information from students.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteYou're so right. The schools that we will be teaching in will be an incredibly diverse environment, which is fantastic! Diversity is something I hold very dear to my heart, and is something I think ALL teachers should know and love. However, diversity is messy. Diversity means hard work. Diversity means going above and beyond what our society deems "ideal."
ELL's have DOUBLE the challenge of a student who is fluent in English (or who grows up in an English speaking home.) Not only does an ELL have to learn academic content, but they also have to understand the language that is represented.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that the key to a child's success was encouragement and support from the teacher. We have to be able to teach a child WHERE THEY ARE AT. We cannot hold them to a standard that they are not READY for.
I love that you mentioned food as a way to teach multiculturalism. What better way to bring a class together and make everyone feel connected?
To go along with that, making sure we know our students' backgrounds is imperative. We can not assume our children come from one environment or another. Getting to know the students and their families has to be our highest priority.
Other ways we can help ELL's in the classroom could be:
1. Use peer help and visual aids in the classroom
2. Group children in a purposeful way. Allow ELL's to be equally immersed in language.
3. Make sure ELL's have individual attention
Awesome post!