Hi Angela! I really liked your video and all the pictures you included. I thought it was really interesting when you said that you forgot some of your native language of Vietnamese. This is not the first time someone has said this when they were trying to learn English. It reminded me of something that I had read from out textbook. According to Wright “When ESL and content instruction in English pressure students to replace or demote the home language, subtractive bilingualism may occur” (Wright, 2015, 22). This could be the reason you and so many others have forgotten some of their native language.
Wright, E. W. (2015). Foundations of Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Caslon Publishing.
Hi Jordin, thank you for your reply! I do think that it was because of subtractive bilingualism like Wright mentions in our textbook. I spent all of my school years learning English, so I eventually lost most of my vocabulary and fluency in Vietnamese. I think things might have been different if I had the chance to practice speaking more Vietnamese with my family members or attend Vietnamese school. At this point, I just feel grateful for being able to understand my culture's language and somewhat speak it.
Hi Angela, I think you have such a positive outlook on your situation with your native language and I really admire and respect that about you. I too am thankful for the little Spanish that I know and understand so I can somewhat communicate with my Spanish speaking family. I think if our schools were able to reinforce our second language then we would be able to use it more fluently.
Hi Angela! I completely agree with your teaching philosophy and the importance of differentiating within the classroom to serve the needs of all of your students. As you know the way we are taught to teach is lot different then way we were taught in elementary school. As a bilingual student myself I know I would have loved being in a classroom with a teacher that was willing to include my first language in the classroom. I think a great way to differentiate with in the classroom is by encouraging what Wayne E. Wright calls translanguaging or encouraging students to use their first language in the classroom in conjunction with English (p. 39, 2015). I think using a student’s first language to bridge the gap and help them learn English is a great way to differentiate in the classroom.
Hi Karen, I'm glad that we feel the same way about differentiation in the classroom. I had similar feelings as well when I was growing up. I wish I could have been in a classroom with a teacher that included my first language in the classroom. Translanguaging sounds like an amazing way to teach them English. By using this strategy, teachers can incorporate the student's home language with learning English and help scaffold their learning. Then the students do not completely lose touch of their home language.
Hello Angela, I enjoyed your post and I can relate to your video in a way, my parents came to America from Mexico for a better life for us. My first language was Spanish and I had to learn English during my elementary days. I agree with your view on teaching with differentiated teaching it gives all students a sense of interest since every child comes from a different background. (Wright, 2015, 22) So the children have different needs and these needs can be satisfied from the teacher by using different teaching strategies. I also like that you include how you want your children you teach to treat others with respect and be exemplary human beings. I like that incorporating group activity helps the child get out of their shell as they say it, since they are among their peers they feel safe to talk and work together.
Wright, E. W. (2015). Foundations of Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Caslon Publishing.
Hi Jesus, thank you for your reply! Differentiated teaching is important in a classroom because every child is different. Each child learns differently and has a different pace of learning. When teachers consider each child individually, it helps these children learn in the way that best fits them. When I was growing up, I was one of the quiet and timid students in the classroom. So, incorporating group activities helped me feel more comfortable with speaking without the pressure of saying something wrong.
Hello Angela! I enjoyed watching your video! I thought it was interesting how your parents prepared you before starting school. Some people that I know said that they did not start learning English until they were in school. I wonder if having your parents expose you to the language helped you advance quicker than if just being exposed at the start of school. I grew up learning both English and Spanish at the same time. I still was placed in ESL classes, but in the case of my sister she lost her Spanish for some time. She speaks Spanish again now but when she started school it was as if her knowledge of the language was deleted. The text mentioned subtractive bilingualism and how it may occur due to content instruction and ESL (Wright, 2015, p. 22). Seeing as you, my sister, and I am sure others have experienced this I wonder why schools do not create a way for students to use their language during school. I would think that it helps students to understand English when knowing what it means in their language.
Hi Alessandra, thanks for your reply! I believe that my parents exposing me to English did help me advance a little quicker. My parents taught me the alphabet and how to write, so I was already prepared by the time I started school. I think it is quite interesting how your sister lost her Spanish for some time but was able to regain her fluency in it. Subtractive bilingualism seems to affect a lot of students because of their exposure to mostly English instruction. I definitely agree with your thoughts. I think it would be very beneficial for students to use their home language in school so that the students can make connections between their home language and English.
Hello Angela, Much like you, my first language was not English although being born and raised here. When you spoke about how you are not fully fluent in Vietnamese, I related it to the following quote from the textbook. "Many ELLs will typically have literacy skills in their home languages only if they have had the opportunity to learn to read and write them in school..." (Wright, 2015, p.11). We learn languages best when we have adequate opportunity to practice it such as learning to read and write the language in school. So, it makes sense how you said that although you learned to understand it and can speak it to a certain degree, you don't feel fully fluent in Vietnamese. I loved your teaching philosophy, and I think that it is a great mindset to have to be able to teach your ELL students. Visuals have a huge impact on students' understanding when they do not fully grasp the concept.
Wright, E. W. (2015). Foundations of Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Caslon Publishing.
Hi Joselyn, thank you for your reply! Your statements and connections to our textbook do make sense. I would have been more fluent in Vietnamese if I had the opportunity to practice my literacy skills and speaking. That is why I ended up becoming more fluent in English than Vietnamese because of all the years I learned English in school. I understand that children learn in different ways and different paces. That's why I think it's important to differentiate my instruction and use lots of visuals to teach ELL students.
Hi Angela! I really liked your video and all the pictures you included. I thought it was really interesting when you said that you forgot some of your native language of Vietnamese. This is not the first time someone has said this when they were trying to learn English. It reminded me of something that I had read from out textbook. According to Wright “When ESL and content instruction in English pressure students to replace or demote the home language, subtractive bilingualism may occur” (Wright, 2015, 22). This could be the reason you and so many others have forgotten some of their native language.
ReplyDeleteWright, E. W. (2015). Foundations of Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Caslon Publishing.
Hi Jordin, thank you for your reply! I do think that it was because of subtractive bilingualism like Wright mentions in our textbook. I spent all of my school years learning English, so I eventually lost most of my vocabulary and fluency in Vietnamese. I think things might have been different if I had the chance to practice speaking more Vietnamese with my family members or attend Vietnamese school. At this point, I just feel grateful for being able to understand my culture's language and somewhat speak it.
DeleteHi Angela, I think you have such a positive outlook on your situation with your native language and I really admire and respect that about you. I too am thankful for the little Spanish that I know and understand so I can somewhat communicate with my Spanish speaking family. I think if our schools were able to reinforce our second language then we would be able to use it more fluently.
DeleteHi Angela! I completely agree with your teaching philosophy and the importance of differentiating within the classroom to serve the needs of all of your students. As you know the way we are taught to teach is lot different then way we were taught in elementary school. As a bilingual student myself I know I would have loved being in a classroom with a teacher that was willing to include my first language in the classroom. I think a great way to differentiate with in the classroom is by encouraging what Wayne E. Wright calls translanguaging or encouraging students to use their first language in the classroom in conjunction with English (p. 39, 2015). I think using a student’s first language to bridge the gap and help them learn English is a great way to differentiate in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, I'm glad that we feel the same way about differentiation in the classroom. I had similar feelings as well when I was growing up. I wish I could have been in a classroom with a teacher that included my first language in the classroom. Translanguaging sounds like an amazing way to teach them English. By using this strategy, teachers can incorporate the student's home language with learning English and help scaffold their learning. Then the students do not completely lose touch of their home language.
DeleteHello Angela, I enjoyed your post and I can relate to your video in a way, my parents came to America from Mexico for a better life for us. My first language was Spanish and I had to learn English during my elementary days. I agree with your view on teaching with differentiated teaching it gives all students a sense of interest since every child comes from a different background. (Wright, 2015, 22) So the children have different needs and these needs can be satisfied from the teacher by using different teaching strategies. I also like that you include how you want your children you teach to treat others with respect and be exemplary human beings. I like that incorporating group activity helps the child get out of their shell as they say it, since they are among their peers they feel safe to talk and work together.
ReplyDeleteWright, E. W. (2015). Foundations of Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Caslon Publishing.
Hi Jesus, thank you for your reply! Differentiated teaching is important in a classroom because every child is different. Each child learns differently and has a different pace of learning. When teachers consider each child individually, it helps these children learn in the way that best fits them. When I was growing up, I was one of the quiet and timid students in the classroom. So, incorporating group activities helped me feel more comfortable with speaking without the pressure of saying something wrong.
DeleteHello Angela! I enjoyed watching your video! I thought it was interesting how your parents prepared you before starting school. Some people that I know said that they did not start learning English until they were in school. I wonder if having your parents expose you to the language helped you advance quicker than if just being exposed at the start of school. I grew up learning both English and Spanish at the same time. I still was placed in ESL classes, but in the case of my sister she lost her Spanish for some time. She speaks Spanish again now but when she started school it was as if her knowledge of the language was deleted. The text mentioned subtractive bilingualism and how it may occur due to content instruction and ESL (Wright, 2015, p. 22). Seeing as you, my sister, and I am sure others have experienced this I wonder why schools do not create a way for students to use their language during school. I would think that it helps students to understand English when knowing what it means in their language.
ReplyDeleteHi Alessandra, thanks for your reply! I believe that my parents exposing me to English did help me advance a little quicker. My parents taught me the alphabet and how to write, so I was already prepared by the time I started school. I think it is quite interesting how your sister lost her Spanish for some time but was able to regain her fluency in it. Subtractive bilingualism seems to affect a lot of students because of their exposure to mostly English instruction. I definitely agree with your thoughts. I think it would be very beneficial for students to use their home language in school so that the students can make connections between their home language and English.
DeleteHello Angela,
ReplyDeleteMuch like you, my first language was not English although being born and raised here. When you spoke about how you are not fully fluent in Vietnamese, I related it to the following quote from the textbook. "Many ELLs will typically have literacy skills in their home languages only if they have had the opportunity to learn to read and write them in school..." (Wright, 2015, p.11). We learn languages best when we have adequate opportunity to practice it such as learning to read and write the language in school. So, it makes sense how you said that although you learned to understand it and can speak it to a certain degree, you don't feel fully fluent in Vietnamese. I loved your teaching philosophy, and I think that it is a great mindset to have to be able to teach your ELL students. Visuals have a huge impact on students' understanding when they do not fully grasp the concept.
Wright, E. W. (2015). Foundations of Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Caslon Publishing.
Hi Joselyn, thank you for your reply! Your statements and connections to our textbook do make sense. I would have been more fluent in Vietnamese if I had the opportunity to practice my literacy skills and speaking. That is why I ended up becoming more fluent in English than Vietnamese because of all the years I learned English in school. I understand that children learn in different ways and different paces. That's why I think it's important to differentiate my instruction and use lots of visuals to teach ELL students.
Delete