I am placed in a first grade classroom where there are 23 students from 15 different countries. There are about 7 students who are pulled out from class to meet with an ESL teacher. Half of the students are good English speakers and can understand very well even though their first language is not English, but half of the students still struggle in speaking and listening. We even had a new student from Taiwan, a week ago, who speaks very little English but can understand. While reading through chapter 2, I noticed that there were many information related to what I have always struggled. One of the questions or struggles that I encountered when working with English Language Learners was how to encourage them to talk in class and mingle with other students. It was difficult to find solutions, but reading through chapter 2 helped me think about different ways I can set up a learning community that encourages ELLs to speak up in class. And one of the helpful solution chapter 2 mentions is group work. Group work, according to chapter 2, helps students in three different ways. First, group work increases input, which means that they hear more language than in other settings. Second, through more interaction with classroom peers, output is also increased. Third, language is used and heard in an appropriate way and meaningfully. A lot of teachers either ask ELLs to work alone or in pairs and not many teachers assign ELLs into groups. Most teachers pair ELLs with native speakers of English or those who can speak the ELL’s first language. This may help the ELL to progress in class assignments, but the student does not have the opportunity to hear more language and use the language; there are less input and output. Giving students the opportunity to talk and listen, input and output in language, is the best way to help students improve in learning the language. Group work gives students the opportunity to do so, and it also allows students to break down the barriers students have between native English speakers and ELLs.
When planning group work, I noticed that in-depth planning is necessary, and having a checklist could also be an organized and well-planned way of carrying out a group work. One of the top priorities when planning and carrying out group work is providing clear and explicit instructions. There are many ways to provide instructions, and as the book mentions, listening to directions is one of the most difficult task for ELLs. When I was teaching a science lesson in my field, I planned a lesson where the students had to do group work on weather. But one of the mistakes I have made while planning and carrying out the lesson was making the direction clear for all students to follow. The book talks about various ways to give instructions, like writing it on a card. But I only gave instructions verbally, so when I asked the groups to start working, they all had questions about what to do. It was a frustrating experience because each group member had a task to do, but they could not remember it. So everyone started to ask what they were assigned to do. Giving instructions verbally was not a good method to choose when half of the students are still English Language Learners. After the lesson, my CT gave me some ideas on how to make instructions clear and precise. And one method she mentioned was giving each student a number. Since there were only three members in each group, she asked me to assign students to either numbers 1, 2, or 3. Then on the board or a big piece of paper, write down the task for person #1, 2, and 3. When they are assigned to a number, the students can look at the board and read to themselves what their task is in their group. This makes instructions clear, and the students do not have to come to the teacher to repeat the directions or ask what they are assigned to do. I kind of felt embarrassed and frustrated, but it was a good learning experience for me. I have learned that group work and explicit instructions are intertwined, especially in a classroom where there are at least one English Language Learners.
When planning group work, I noticed that in-depth planning is necessary, and having a checklist could also be an organized and well-planned way of carrying out a group work. One of the top priorities when planning and carrying out group work is providing clear and explicit instructions. There are many ways to provide instructions, and as the book mentions, listening to directions is one of the most difficult task for ELLs. When I was teaching a science lesson in my field, I planned a lesson where the students had to do group work on weather. But one of the mistakes I have made while planning and carrying out the lesson was making the direction clear for all students to follow. The book talks about various ways to give instructions, like writing it on a card. But I only gave instructions verbally, so when I asked the groups to start working, they all had questions about what to do. It was a frustrating experience because each group member had a task to do, but they could not remember it. So everyone started to ask what they were assigned to do. Giving instructions verbally was not a good method to choose when half of the students are still English Language Learners. After the lesson, my CT gave me some ideas on how to make instructions clear and precise. And one method she mentioned was giving each student a number. Since there were only three members in each group, she asked me to assign students to either numbers 1, 2, or 3. Then on the board or a big piece of paper, write down the task for person #1, 2, and 3. When they are assigned to a number, the students can look at the board and read to themselves what their task is in their group. This makes instructions clear, and the students do not have to come to the teacher to repeat the directions or ask what they are assigned to do. I kind of felt embarrassed and frustrated, but it was a good learning experience for me. I have learned that group work and explicit instructions are intertwined, especially in a classroom where there are at least one English Language Learners.
Jae, I think you hit a lot of great points in your post! One thing I really liked was when you mentioned an experince you had in the field where your CT suggested that when doing group work that each member be assigned a number with a designated role, and that instructions and descrptions of each role be posted where everyone can see it and refer back to. It might be one extra step or two in the initilal planning of the lesson, but I think it will all be worth it when the students are working instead of asking you to repeat the instructions. I also think that by assigning roles, it will give each student a sense of ownership and intrinsically motivate them to contribute their part to the group.
ReplyDeleteAnother strategy I thought would have worked well in that situation would have been to model what the students were to do so they could see for themselves. This would let them know what they were to do and I think it would be especially beneficial to the ELLs in the classroom becuase they would already be struggling with verbal directions.