Reflection
For this assignment, I was able to interview a bilingual teacher in Alief Independent School District named, Natalia Stewart. She teaches 2nd-grade dual language in Spanish and English. Also, she mentioned in the beginning that she teaches mostly in English so her students will able to write and speak well in English by the time they reach the 4th grade.
In one of my questions, I asked about motivation and what was effective in her classroom. Ms. Stewart told me that she helps motivate her students by explaining to them that they are in a safe classroom environment. Through this, they can express their thinking and not feel like they are being judged. She does her best to help limit that anxiety that students can feel when placed in situations they aren’t comfortable in. Ms. Stewart does her best to increase L2 motivation by helping her students have positive attitudes from learning a new language. According to Ortega (2013), attitudes towards the L2 and its speakers will contribute to increased or diminished L2 motivation” (p. 174). In her classroom, she makes sure there is as much peer interaction involved so her students can also gain more from others when speaking in English. I found this to be quite interesting learning about what types of strategies (e.g. Think-pair-share) she used to have them interact in her classroom. She also makes sure to do a lot of positive interactions with her students as well as reinforcement. It goes along with what is mentioned in our text that helps positive attitudes prevail in her classroom in which behaviors, “…are rewarded and modeled for the learner in the communities in which he or she participates” (Ortega, 2013, p. 174).
Also, I asked her about whether age played a factor on how much L2 attainment a student is able to obtain. Ms. Stewart’s answer was yes because it is more of a natural environment at an early age and research has proved that our brain is wired to learn languages very early. To follow up on her statement about the brain, Ortega (2013) also mentions this by stating, “there is a specific period of time early in life when the brain exhibits a special propensity to attend to certain experiences in the environment (for example, language) and learn from them” and that, “the brain is pre-programmed to be shaped by that experience in dramatic ways” (p. 13).
Overall, I learned a lot from Ms. Stewart and her answers were all very insightful for me. I did not expect some of the answers I have received, and it has definitely made me learn so much more about second language!
Hi, Jessica! I liked your interview with Natalia and I feel like she and the bilingual teacher that I interviewed share common points and views towards teaching and helping their students. I agree that before actual instruction can take place, the learning environment should be a warm, positive environment that is safe for the students to be themselves and voice their opinions without being judged or criticized. Natalia incorporates activities and comprehensible input techniques that enhance the students’ understanding and practice with learning the second language, which is English in this case. These activities and methods include positive interactions, like the Think-Pair-Share, and positive reinforcement. This is important to include in the instruction and for the teacher to discover and understand “what variables contribute to increases or decreases in motivational quantity” (Ortega, 2013, Section 8.2, para. 1). As mentioned earlier, instruction can be more effective and authentic when the classroom is positive and safe. Additionally, the educator should understand the needs each student has and what their learning style is since every learner is different.
ReplyDeleteHello, Alora! Thank you for your comment. That’s fascinating that your bilingual teacher and mine were similar in aspects. I’m glad you found Ms. Stewart’s activities and techniques that she incorporates with her students to be important. Also, I agree with your statement that an educator should be aware of each individual student’s needs and that every learner is different. Students should be taught with a variety of activities and materials in the classroom. Moreover, a student may find another activity much more enjoyable than another when learning an L2. It is best to keep their engagement high so they will be more motivated to learn.
DeleteHi Jessica, I really enjoyed your interview. I really like that she said that she bases her lesson plans on their level of proficiency. Because we all know that this is important for all teachers to accomplish what we want to be able to match for the students. I really like that she stated that the motivation she has for her students is making sure that they feel safe in the classroom environment and that they can say what they are thinking without being judge. I feel that this is important. We all want to create a safe and welcoming environment for our students at all times. Think-Pair-Share is an awesome strategy. I personally use this strategy with my CT all the time, we feel that this a positive interaction among the classroom environment. According to Ortega (2013), “attitudes towards the formal learning context have been shown to exert a lasting and important influence on motivation" (p. 190). This in my opinion, is a positive reinforcement for the students and motivates them so by the teacher allowing them to share, they feel comfortable and the teacher is able to understand what the student knows and likes. Being able to always motivate your students is important especially if they do not always feel motivated when coming to school. My question to you is, how will you motivate your students to become successful and what strategies do you think can help you accomplish that? Good job on the interview!
ReplyDeleteHey, Claudia. Thank you for your comment. I’m glad you enjoyed Ms. Natalia Stewart’s take on how she promotes motivation within her classroom environment. Nice to know that both you and your CT does the same think-pair-share strategy in the classroom. I also find this strategy to benefit all students as well as my ELL ones when used in my classroom as well. And great question! I would of course provide group work for my students to get them to speak and bounce ideas off of one another as well as strategies such as using a word wall or implementing songs within my lessons to teach grammar, vocabulary, or even pronunciation of words.
DeleteHello Jessica, this is definitely an insightful video especially with this week’s topic of motivation. Ms. Stewart reminded me about this week’s readings because she is a great example of an educator that encourages and motivates her students to develop their language development. Kaboody (2013) states that language instructors should assume the role of an, “initiator, facilitator, motivator, ideal model of the target language speaker, mentor, consultant, and mental supporter” (p. 48). Kaboody continues by explaining that by assuming these roles educators influence each learner’s motivation and because of that, “learners positively and actively engage in their learning until they reach their common target in L2 learning” (p. 48). I can definitely see this in Ms. Stewart. She comforts and motivates her students by telling them that they are in a safe classroom environment and she also allows for multiple opportunities to practice speaking English without the students having any fear of being ridiculed.
ReplyDeleteHey, Jessica! Thank you for leaving me a comment on my blog. I agree that Ms. Stewart is an amazing example of an educator that knows how to get her students engaged within her classroom. Her comment on how she lets them know that each of them are in a safe environment and it makes me want to let me own students know that too in the very beginning. I find this to be very important for students to know, especially in an classroom where English is not the main language they speak.
DeleteHello Jessica, this was a very insightful video with a nice flow of questioning. She states that she takes a student's proficiency into account when lesson planning, and provides helpful SIOP strategies to help students become successful. Kaboody (2013) states, " teachers should promote the learners’ expectations of success in the L2" (pg. 50). She does an excellent job of providing the achievement motivation model, so that students understand the expectation and are successful with the outcome. I like the strategy of think pair share, because it allows students to express their thoughts independently before collaborating with peers. In doing so, students can grasp how they think in comparison to others, and expand and elaborate on their schema of the content. She discussed a term called, " whole brain teaching," in which students use body movement to remember vocabulary. I think she is a great model of a high quality teacher, and understands the research and practice of how students learn.
ReplyDeleteHello, Laregilon. Thank you for leaving a comment. I’m glad you also enjoyed Ms. Stewart’s SIOP strategies she provided during my interview with her. And yes, whole brain teaching, is an amazing way for students to learn new terms. I also want to try this in my future classroom, especially with my ELL students who have trouble with English vocabulary. Thank you again!
DeleteHi, Jessica! Thank you for sharing your interview with us. I found it interesting how both Ms. Stewart and the teacher I interviewed had similar views and attitudes with their instruction toward their ELL Learners. I agree that it is important for the students to feel safe and comfortable in their environment. According to Ortega (2013, p. 58) “Schmidt concluded that positive attitudes and an optimal environment will afford the linguistic data needed for learning.” Many ELL students are introverts and are full of anxiety making it more difficult to speak out in class. That is why I also agree with encouraging small group discussions or think pair shares. Having students discuss things as an entire class can be overwhelming for any student. Not only will small group discussions make them feel more at ease to speak, but it also helps build their relationship as a class. Do you agree with Ms. Stewart’s attitude toward ELL instruction? Are you planning on using some of the strategies from this interview? If so, which ones and why?
ReplyDeleteHey, Stephen! Thank you for your comment. Nice to know that your bilingual teacher and mine also shared some similarities. It is nice getting to see another perspective taken and getting to learn more about methods of teaching ELLs. I agree that some students do indeed have anxiety to speak out in class. I also think that group activities make it easier for those shy students to speak and bounce ideas off of their peers. To answer your first question, yes I do agree with her attitude towards ELL instruction. And I am definitely planning on using her think-pair-share and other strategies she mentioned throughout this interview. I really want to incorporate think-pair-share because this allows my ELLs to interact with other students and even get to share ideas with them and get them comfortable in speaking in English and gaining that confidence.
DeleteI am glad that Ms. Stewart tries to build a safe classroom environment and reduce her ESL student's anxiety because I feel like this is very essential to a student feeling confidant in speaking English and being successful within the classroom. According to Ortega, communicative confidence can be measured by anxiety and how competence they feel(p.203). I think the think-share-pair strategy is a great strategy to help student to share their thoughts with another student and figure their thought process before having to share with the entire class, which for a lot of students is nerve wrecking.
ReplyDeleteHi, Nadia! Thank you for your wonderful comment. I noticed that a lot of people were very fond of the think-pair-share strategy. I am very taken by it myself! It is a wonderful way for ELL students to cooperating with others and communicate their thoughts and feelings about a topic. I agree that a safe classroom environment is essential to a student feeling confident when speaking their L2 and doing well. Without a safe environment, it can detriment a student’s motivation and they would not be able to learn anything in the classroom.
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