Blog 2

I have been a teacher in the Headstart Program for 15 years.   Within only the past few years, our curriculum has integrated the English acquisition.  What I found immediately was the need for this objective to be included for young students.  I firmly support the English as a second language program because, frankly, it has shown results.  To start, seventy percent of my students are primarily Spanish speakers and these spectacular children have learned to grasp a new language with interest. I have seen progress develop since they came through my classroom door.   From August 2011 through today, one of my primary focuses within my classroom is to ensure my students have a firm understanding of their native language.  Once I have determined these kids are equipped to understand their own language/vocabulary, phonics awareness/rhymes, and the importance of letter to word association it is a natural process for these young students to be able make a smooth transition to a second language.

For instance, I observed one of my students modeling a teacher's role with her peers. During my observation, she instructed two classmates to sing "Itsy, Bitsy, Spider" in English.  They all sang along while acting out out the song. It was so cute to see and witness their progress.  This was an opportunity for me to be able to present open ended questions to them such as, "What color was the Itsy, Bitsy, Spider?" "Was it black?" This encourages conversation between students.

The classroom material for my students has also shown to be useful when learning English for the first time. For example, flashcards, printed labels, and picture/word relationships in both languages (Spanish/English) are a regular part of our daily routine.

I have had special learning experiences, insights, challenges as a teacher throughout my educational career.  One in particular that comes to mind is the fact that parents are becoming interested in learning English as adults.  They also understand the importance English has in their everyday life. Kids also seem to be more confident, involved and socially connected.  Parents see it is important for them to show interest in their children's activities and want be apart of their learning process.When parents were given a survey within our community they have expressed an interest in learning the English language. Our program is a result of listening to parent's needs and providing them with free English sessions with teachers twice per week. I am very proud of my students and their families for their support and interest.

Eva Speaks

Blog 1 Interviews

I had the pleasure of interviewing two ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers on Tuesday, April 23rd.  I originally anticipated that I would be an advocate of children diagnosed with Autism, but found that the this subject was not only too broad, but also can be a sensitive matter to both parents and children.  Therefore, I chose to focus my research on the area of teaching English as a second language to young children (ages 3 to 5).  This is an area of a child's education that I am truly passionate about, but I will get into that in a moment.

The first ESL teacher I interviewed teaches English as a second language to young adults (15 - 18 years of age).  She believes that it is imperative that the parents of these kids become more involved with the lessons provided in the classrooms.  It is obvious to most that young adults that have parents that use English as a second language will have an upper hand when compared to young adults trying to learn English as a second language for the first time.  However, parent involvement with their child's studies in either case has shown to expedite their child's grasp for English comprehension.  It was this teacher's contention that a lack of school programs within Illinois to help students learn English as a second language would definitely limit job opportunities and in some cases create resentment between family members.  In other words, young adults learning English as a second language feel empowered and more confident on the road to success.  This teacher feels that the lack of ESL programs within schools should be addressed through comprehensive Immigration Reform.

The second ESL teacher I interviewed teaches English as a second language to young kids (3 - 5 years of age). She believes in what she calls "Family Literacy".  She essentially is echoing the first teacher interviewed by stating both the parents and the child form a pact to help each other learn English as a second language.  She claims that when working with young children and parents it is important to create a lesson plan that resonates within them and is oriented around the family's interests.  Like the ESL teacher for young adults, she too believes that advocacy efforts for ESL programs within schools begins with Immigration Reform. 

I absolutely believe there needs to be greater awareness of ESL programs within schools, but it can be difficult to bring the sometimes heated discussion of Immigration Reform into the classroom especially for young kids.  Being a part of a child's language development and to be able to nurture a student's ability to comprehend a second language can be such a rewarding experience.  This is why I have chosen to be an advocate for teaching English as a second language to kindergartners and not to promote government change.  I feel very fortunate to get the feedback I did from the professionals I had interviewed.  Their passion for teaching and shaping young minds was felt through and through.  Their responses helped me to narrow down my focus for ESL teaching programs in school to language/vocabulary, phonics (sounding off), and literacy (writing/reading). 

I would be very interested in hearing everyone's feedback whether or not my research paper should include, at least to some extent, the topic of Immigration Reform and the relationship to ESL school programs.  More to the point, should I include information related to Immigration Reform within my research paper if I my main focus is teaching English as a second language to young kids?

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