New Island Video

The New Island Video was over the Marshall Island population here in Arkansas. Many people reside in Springdale, AR.

-The Marshall Islands are over a thousand of small islands grouped together in the Pacific Ocean.

-Her children born in AR, and she tells them stories about living in the islands.

-A lot work with the Tyson chicken company in the factories. The job doesn't require the ability to speak english. Of the 240 working in that day, 70% were mashallese.

-The women also work shifts at Tyson Foods.

-Over the years the Marshallese population has been increasing dramatically.

-Diabetes is much more common among them compared to the american population (3-4x more common among the marshallese), and it's becoming a common issue with them. Possibly because of radiation exposure or nuclear testing that occurred in the islands.

-for the teenagers, some have began their education in the islands and are finishing it in AR, so it can be a difficult transition. Many group together at lunch.

-the parents take a stance that they are very focused on coming here to give their children a good education. Generally they will get involved in activities and come to events and they are very proud of their children.

-It's a struggle for them to learn english

-basketball, volleyball and softball competitions among them

-worried because only a few go on to college after high school, because it is easier to get a job instead of going back to school.

-many do work very hard in school, some are able to get scholarships. Many come here with almost nothing.

Chicken Pox Video

Arthur books are really common and most kids enjoy them. I also think it's fun that they used a french song to add to the lesson. Stories as well as music/singing are very effective tools for teaching students! Not to mention when you add physical movements into the mix. Children love to move around, and in my opinion there should be more hands-on activities in the classrooms. When you add physical responses to lessons, the children will pick it up quickly and it will engage them in the lesson.

I think this is especially a good idea for learning the parts of the body. This is knowledge every kid can relate too because they all have the body parts, it only makes sense to add a physical response so that they children can quickly learn the vocabulary. They also used visual tools, very important for language. They used the vocab words to label parts of the body on a large drawing that everyone could see. Great lesson!

SIOP Videos

Building Background
Q. Describe the various activities the teacher uses to develop background knowledge of the new chapter’s content in this social studies lesson.

-links to students' backgrounds/experiences
-links to past learning
-key vocabulary- (pays close attention to vocab)
-uses visuals
-picks out main idea/concept and figures out how to tie it into students' lives
-has everyone contribute
-prompts with questions
-promotes creative/critical thinking
-has children share aloud
-work in groups


Comprehensible Input
Q. In what concrete ways does the teacher help students to comprehend this science
lesson?

-appropriate speech for students' level
-clear explanation of tasks
-variety of techniques to make the concepts clear (modeling, demonstration, hands-on activities, etc.)
-Any words in the objectives that you do not understand? "extract"- (meaning will be demonstrated in the science activity)
-Take the word apart, students contribute what they think it means or what words they could substitute.
-they do very little reading, tries to present the content in a way the children can understand.
-hands-on activities
-allows students to come up and demonstrate things they've done, or how to identify things.
-Gives specific steps for the children to undergo, making the directions clear.
-Modeling
-presents new vocab words during lesson


Strategies
Q. Describe the ways in which students interact with this social studies lesson. What techniques are employed?

-predictions
-summaries
-scaffolding/modeling
-critical thinking questions
-how to make connections with information being learned
-visual aids
-sharing aloud
-reading/writing/speaking/listening
-has them arrange things on board, everyone getting to contribute
-work in groups
-put new vocabulary to use
-at end of day, asked a critical question about what they have learned overall, to give them a chance to summarize and connect everything.

Interaction
Q. Describe the ways in which the teacher gets these kindergarten students to interact with both language and content in this math lesson.

-gives them frequent opportunities for interaction
-supportive group configurations
-use native language to clarify information
-sufficient wait time
-talk one on one, and then puts them into groups
-visual aids
-partners
-simplifies directions for students
-has class input with tasks
-asks them to think about how they will tell someone something or explain something.
-has them tell each other stories using the key words being taught
-clarifies instructions
-given the chance to share with class
-allows other students model for others.

Ch. 5 Reflection

Chapter 5: Content-Area Instruction

In this chapter I learned was SDAIE is and how teachers of this can help teach english learners the language through teaching them lessons in different content areas. For example, the teacher may be teaching the class a certain concept in the area of social studies. They make the lesson in a way that the students are able to understand what they are supposed to do and communicate with others, therefore learning the english language while they are being taught something in a specific subject.

I hate that some teachers think students cannot learn because they do not speak their language. It is important to realize that all students can learn and that a first language is important to a child's identity and the child deserves to be respected. The child should use their first language to build off of to learn the second language. It drives me crazy that some teachers won't allow the children to speak in their own language or that a child is stupid because they speak a different language.

It's important to make connections for students in lessons, "bridges" for learning. I also agree with the importance of reviewing lessons. I think it is crucial to summarize lessons are activities and brushing over the concepts and vocabulary that were key to that lesson. (I myself am extremely apt to forgetting things quickly. Having a quick overview of what was just learned helps me understand it better and it sticks in my head a lot more. Sometimes it is not until this happens that I even make the appropriate connections of how things tie in together).

It was fun to read the section on mathematics. A quick conclusion to draw would be that it's numbers and children will be able to recognize that quick and easy. However, once you think about the language we use when it comes to mathematics...well, it would make me scared. Even subtraction sounds like a scary word even though is a very basic concept.

Reflection on Class 11/4/09

Presentations Continued:

Laos- landlocked, china is to the N, Cambodia to the S, capitol is Vientiane (also largest city), climate rainy and tropical, rivers are key to transportation, main food source is rice 80% of land area is for growing rice (eat raw meat, chicken and ducks, etc). main religion is Buddhism, select few women are chosen to become buddhist nuns, very poor and crowded schools-open schools, (Laos was controlled by the french up until vietnam) most bombed country ever in the world.

(http://www.everynation.org/assets/images/churches/restricted%20nations/laos.jpg)

Russia- country in northern "Eurasia", capitol is Moscow, (potatoes, bread, eggs, meat and butter are 5 top components of meals), greek orthodoxy and judaism

Thailand- buddhism main religion- speak different dialects of thai, respect, courtesy and politeness, family is very important, are taught english at their schools, free 12 year education, teacher is always right and very well respected, greet with wai, often late, do not make eye contact, remove shoes when entering certain places, will go to great lengths to avoid embarassment, very non-confrontational. geckos are everywhere in thailand.

Hmong- sewed history onto clothing, Hmong are NOT Mongolians!, history passed on orally from generations, Laos has majority of Hmong people, vietnam war threatened their lives, many fled to refugee camps in Thai which were like prisons, Hmong are divided into 18 clans, "Hmong Thai, Hmong Stripe, White Hmong(most), Green/Blue Hmong, etc", tonal language, no written language until the 50s, new year celebrations a big deal for kids from Hmong, red and white yarns are worn for good luck and new year so maybe be absent 3-5 days, shy, more quiet, wont look in the eye because these are signs of respect, lots of Hmong is US are in minnesota, wisconsin and california, a lot of refugees transferred here are still traumatized from war and may be shy, but given time will begin to learn english and adapt.

Pakistan- islam religion 96%, cuisine is known for richness and flavor (dont eat pork or consume alcohol), teachers should note that students may participate in Ramadan, eat with only right hand, education divided into 5 levels (primary 1-5) (middle grades 6-8) etc. , 56% literacy rate as of 2008, official languages of pakistan are Urdu and English.

Jordan- Islam- 5 pillars of Islam, prayer 5 times a day, Ramadan, Family is very important and family honor is put above life, have a young King (was educated in Britain) his wife was educated in US, don't have oil, education has become really important in Jordan.

Vietnam- capital city Hanoi, vietnamese with diff. dialects and english is a preferred language, 85%buddhism, may partake in ancestral worship, father is "ultimate authority" of the home, mothers take care of home, parents make all decisions for the children including marriage, kids are encouraged to become educated, education is free and mandatory up to age 11, five levels of education like in US, avoid eye contact with elders and people of opposite sex


Similarities
-religion is important
-respecting elders
-eye contact
-education available
-often man is head of household (excepting Marshallese)
-respect for teachers
-often linked to US because of War
-most have more than one language (except US)

Differences
-islam, hinduism, christianity, buddhism
-family life/values
-number of years of education, costs, how much of population attends school, no transportation
-poverty at different levels/ways in diff.places
-school times of the year
-foods
-literacy rates

Reflection on class 10/28/09

This past class we spent on our culture project presentations. I think this is great for this course because we get to see our fellow students get up and teach the class. It's also great because we get a 5 minute (which turned into around 15 minutes per person!) summary of key facts about a country. The most important thing that we discuss are the things that may effect us as a teacher when it comes to teaching a student from that country. The key question you asked us was "What would be the most difficult thing about teaching a child from this country?" I think that really helped us learn some important things and how to stay open minded in the future as a teacher! Anyway, here are some things I learned about the different country presentations:

1) Honduras discovered by columbus. only 43% kids go to school..number decreases with older grades. no toilet paper in toilet-put in trash can next to toilet.

2)china - 1/5th the world's population.., quiet, arent supposed to ask questions, avoid risk taking. one child policy-creates pressure on the one child the family has.

3)saudi arabia- worship same god, speak arabic, write right to left, monarchy, all schooling free, get paid money to go to school. better to pass something to an arab with RIGHT hand. bottom of foot pointed at person is extremely disrespectful. students may have trouble with decisions for themselves bc it's a collective society. time is more open, less structured.

4)south korea- take off shoes before school and house, wont talk about family life personal things (will talk about sports), eye contact very important to show honesty, *appointments should be made 3 to 4 weeks in advance*, arrive on time, don't touch or pat children, dont point with index finger, don't shake hands, they'll be seated in their culture and are expected to be shown where to sit.

5)cambodia- extremely rainy climate, mostly buddhist theravada, very poor, genocide and killings, live in groupings of huts and off the land, barely enough money to live, strting over school again as of 1995, must wake up before sunrise or considered lazy. females must eat very small amounts, men can eat as much as they want but must eat very slowly. cannot disrespect elders, most important people.

6) phillippines-elders are most highly respects and always first, 83% roman catholic bc spain ruled them for a few hundreds years, spanish influenced their language, tagalog more native, filipino language the infulenced language (some will not speak filipino "dirty").

7)guatemala- spanish is official language. value eye contact to show interest, sustained eye contact in conversations, school begins in january ends in nov.,

8)Japan- my presentation- hardest thing may be getting the child to speak up more and participate more, want to handle possessions with care or it shows disrespect, present things with both hands, considered extremely rude to blow nose in front of others

9) lebanon- cedar tree is key symbol, beirut capital city, arabic is official lang,

10) mexico- 298 diff languages, 95% speak spanish, kiss on right cheek

More coming up next class...

Reflection on Ch. 4

Chapter 4: Oracy and Literacy for English-Language Development


To develop proficiency in the English language, students must be able to read and write at levels that will support advanced academic success. They also must use their skills of listening and speaking to gain knowledge as well as demonstrate it. They also must be able to think critically and creatively. As a teacher, we must take all of these facets into consideration and do our best to incorporate the learning of all these into our students.

I realize from reading this chapter that there innumerable ways and activities to aid students in their literacy learning. I would personally start by looking at the Standards for Development to get an idea of the overall goals that are necessary to get accomplished. There are so many aspects of language to teach, that it is easier to build off of the language that they do know in order to understand the new language. Ex: rhyming. They may be able to recognize rhyming in songs from their own language that they know, and then it is easier to understand and identify in english. I think visual aids are extremely important as well.

In these situations, I would try to use the LEA in the classroom as well as gain some insight from the DR-TA strategy. Both strategies seem like they could be very helpful for students! CALL also sounds effective, since we have arrived at a digital age (i'm writing a blog).

Last, but not least, I've mentioned it on other posts too. Fluency over accuracy! Don't correct all errors or distract your students from what they are trying to say. Let them say it, and learn as they go to correct themselves. Just like with writing, we write rough drafts first. It's more important to get the ideas across than to make sure it is spelled right, or, grammatically correct/pronounced correctly.

Reflection on Class 10/21/09

In this class we were able to interact with ESL students and learn about their backgrounds and countries. I thought this lesson was great, because we got to learn so much about other cultures and countries while at the same time the ESL students got to know some more UALR students and work on their english speaking with E1.

I spoke with 5 different ESL students. The first was an older man from Iraq (Pakistan region) who informed me that he has a PhD in computer science. I told him how surprised I was at how good his english was, he has only been here 4 months. He told me he studied a lot of english by reading. The naming system according to him is as follows: given name, father's name, grandfather's name. We also realized we both love the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Next, I spoke with a younger boy named Adam from Saudi Arabia. At this point I just kind of kept smiling and didn't really know what to ask. It's tough to know what questions to ask complete strangers. He told me he has also been here for 4 months, but had previously been in canada for a while. He said people in Canada were more friendly than he felt people were here at UALR. We talked about French in Canada and Toronto. (So I didnt really learn much about saudi arabia from him).
Elisbaeth was third, and she told me that she was from Niger which is in West Africa. Loved her accent, and she told me that they speak French in that portion of Africa. I didn't know what to ask..so I said that the way they pronounce their French probably sounds a lot different from the French in Europe, which she said was true. Next I spoke with Siyu from China. I asked if she spoke either Mandarin or Cantonese, she said that she speaks Mandarin and a little bit of Cantonese. She seemed the more informative about her country. I slipped the question of "do you have any siblings" and she described to me how the government only allows one child per family, which I knew of but it was much more real hearing it from someone first hand from China. She explained how the schools were mostly reading and writing and no speaking out. Lastly, I spoke with Waleed who was also from Saudi Arabia. I asked if the schools were much different and he said not really. I was at a loss for questions again, and asked about siblings, pets, etc.

The one consistency I saw involved pets. The conversations seemed to go fine, except each person I asked if they had pets, they would say "pets?" and I'd have to explain what pets are. Then everyone would tell me no. I found out in these countries, such as in Chinam, Siyu explained that they live in such small spaces that there aren't room for pets or yards for them. Most of them said they wouldnt have yards for the pets to go outside and... "do their business" I filled in. I thought that was interesting because I've always been a lover of pets and didn't realize how it is common for people from a lot of other places to not have pets.

India and Vietnam Videos

India: Calcutta Calling-
-The first girl, she feels like in claremont people stare at her, she feels like she doesn't belong, she loves indian food.
-Lizzie thinks americans are materialistic, Indians play soccer too!
-the girls go to India to visit the country and are amazed at what they see. They realize that it's not like what they had thought, and that they feel just as much like outsiders there than they do at home. They ended up eating ice cream and mcdonald's while there! One girl claimed she would not be able to survive living there (and feel bad for eating in front of all the people around that have nothing to eat).


Vietnam-
-always stay connected to past- tradition, customs, etc
-his father was kept as a political prisoner
-60% of population is under 30
-very conservative, anxious about kids using the internet and finding new things
-changed market to capitalism
-as far as food, the faster the better, "but no fast food please"
-since sept.11 vietnam is safest place to travel in asia, geting more tourism
lately gov helping more, but werent in the past
-poor rice farmers
-marching soldiers reminder of it being a communist capital
-used to be a crime to speak english
-teenagers born long after war ended, don't know much about it
-water puppets- farmers, scholars, and kings- history/memory- but for foreign tourists
- the last moments of the video when he was in the water concentrated area and people in small boats was really cool! The woman that stopped by with goods in her boat to sell was interesting.
-insists vietnam is a country that insists on staying hopeful and resists change culturally


Differences:
India seemed to have a lot more poverty than Vietnam
-just had completely different ways of life
-languages
-religions
-customs


Similarities:
-lots of color, colorful walls and clothing
-a lot of poverty

Ch. 6 Reflection

Theories and Methods of Bilingual Education

I found the page on "Ten Common Fallacies about Bilingual Education" to be interesting. Many things in it (such as "total immersion" in a language is the best way to learn language) were things I had heard before. It's interesting to know that many of those things have no real credible evidence backing them up and that a lot of common things we hear about language are not really true.

I also thought it was interesting about how "The Hispanic Dropout Project found that teachers may make one of the two choices that undermine minority students' achievement: either to blame the students and their families for school failure or to excuse the students' poor performance..." I know as a teacher it is important to know how to balance many things in the classroom, and you also must balance your bilingual students in a way that you are treating them fairly. You shouldn't be too hard on them, but you shouldn't let them slip through the cracks and let them go either. As always, parental support and involvement is most always a very helpful tool for children in school.

I also like the idea of Newcomer Centers. I think it is a good idea to allow children new to this country a chance to be educated in an "emotionally safe educational atmosphere." Where it allows rapid development of english and improves self esteem instead of lessening it. It can be terrifying to be totally submerged in an english speaking classroom of kids and not knowing any of the language. This can quickly become detrimental to self esteem and participation in the class as a whole.

Ch. 8 Reflection

Cultural Diversity


I thought it was interesting to flip through and see the different contributions to our country from immigrants of different backgrounds. The chapter showed what types of influences the US has accumulated from different groups such as asian americans, african americans, hispanics/latinos, native americans and arab americans. Thanks to immigrants we use a lot of things in our daily lives, including music, that were brought to us or heavily influenced by immigrants.

However, the chapter also points out the exploitation of immigrants. I agree that this problem still exists today. It is also troubling to think of the poverty issues and the inadequate pay, without healthcare, inadequate housing, etc. I like that the chapter points out that being poor also entails many other things. This is important to keep in consideration when teaching children, especially those of high poverty. Instead of coming to a conclusion that their parents don't work, you may think twice and realize both parents may be working and their labors might be exploited. A child in this situation may face interferences in learning due to factors of social and political matters, lack of materials or even lack of nutrition. (I personally will keep snacks in the back of my classroom and inform my class at the beginning of the year that if someone didn't have time for breakfast or something like that, they can grab something quietly in the back.)

Lastly, the chapter touches on more about reasons for immigrants coming to the US (war, famine, economic factors, political factors, family unification, etc) but also goes over some of the US immigration laws. I remember having a friend from Romania, he was very intelligent and made excellent grades in high school. He went on to a really great university, but all through high school he couldnt get a job because he didn't have a green card (permanent resident card) and I remember the trouble this occasionally caused him.

I knew many of the things this chapter pointed out, but I enjoyed that it went into further detail and specifics. I especially liked the detail it went into about the contributions to the US from different immigrant groups, I think it is interesting to know where some things came from that we do in the US.

Picture from here (has interesting info on supporting immigrants).

Snag

I found this site that is a little more interesting than the regular youtube that we discussed in class. It contains lots of videos and documentaries that I thought you might find interesting.

Effective Teaching in a Multilingual Classroom

For some reason, I loved the intro music to this video. It made me much more excited than the Growing Roots video! The Growing Roots video in comparison was interesting and definitely beneficial and important. However, I found this video much more fun. I also really respected the teacher in this video, she seems passionate about her teaching and seems to really love the children.

Anyway, here are the answers I came up with for the two questions given.

What the teacher does to make the lessons comprehensible:
-breaks things down
-speaks slowly
-goes to board a lot
-holds up pictures
-repeats things and also rephrases them using different words
-gestures
-acting things out
-models new things for them and goes through them and shows them on board, goes through them together so children understand what to do
-pairs them up with partners (preferably ones that speak the same language)
-allows students to discuss lessons together in their native language
-will sometimes pair students up that need extra help with more advanced students
-has students predict things with pictures, asks them different ways to name things, expands their vocabulary and understanding.
-brings in their own culture to connect them to lessons and their own background knowledge. (The owl in El Salvador, what sound does it make?)
-oral presentations to prepare for speaking in front of english-speaking classes in the future.

What the students do in order to learn the language and content:
-listen to the teacher speaking
-pick up on visual cues
-work in pairs
-make connections with the lessons and language
-read
-volunteer answers and ideas
-make stories in english
-ask questions
-listen to each other

Growing Roots

I appreciate that this video makes the point that many immigrants are here for important reasons (anything from war to nuclear testing). I've heard different types of negative thoughts and comments on immigration, this video shows that many immigrants went through a lot of hardship to get here. It proves that many immigrants tend to be hard working and eager to be here. It showed a family from Thailand that had to leave everything behind and come to the US or die. They made their home in Arkansas and have stayed faithful to it all this time. In fact, they said most the immigrants that come to Arkansas plan to make it their home and stay here.

Most importantly, I like that they show that our state and economy profits from our immigrants. The profits outweigh the costs, which is a fact that can come in handy in future conversations.

Looking ahead even a decade from now, the natives of Arkansas will be taken care of by this new generation that will be a mostly immigrant dominated population. That's important to take into consideration to give those children opportunities and appropriate education in schools.

Overall, I think this video shed some light on the positive points of immigrants in Arkansas as well as a positive outlook for the future.

Ch. 2 Reflection

When it comes to young children, I won't be teaching the terms found in Ch.2 such as Phonemes, Clipping, Syntax, Scripts, etc. However, I will be modeling many of these things. In learning a language, you have to learn pitches and where to stress certain sounds. We also have our polite, scripted conversations that mirror the usual "How are you?"

Eye contact, turn-taking, a lot of things in language can vary depending on a person's origins. That is why Ch. 2 is important for a future teacher. We must accept that some students may do or say things that we find disrespectful, and in some cases we must realize that these are misunderstandings. If the child has a different cultural background, you will need to let the child know what is appropriate and what is not. In the end, you will both be more knowledgeable about culture clashes and how to avoid them.

Wide Angle Series

I was very fascinated by the Wide Angle Series. I knew that obtaining an education is much more difficult in some countries, but I've never personally connected so much with the reality of the situations children go through. Seeing video footage of children from different places going through turmoil to get to learn allowed me to see a deeper meaning to education and schools.

When I was the age of the children in the Series (in both Back to School and Time for School) I honestly hated school. I couldn't imagine trying to make it there with the consequence of getting acid poured on me as a possibility. Or having to work all day, and leave at night to study in a field while the rest of my family slept. The lives that the children lead are quite extraordinary compared to the typical American child, which is what allowed me to hate school at that age.

I also really want to go to Africa now.

Observation

Over the course of our first week attending this class, we were assigned to observe someone who is not native to the US.

I did see several people that are foreign, but I didn't see anything that was very different or out of the ordinary. Sometimes they would dress a bit more reserved, or they would dress just like everybody else, but nothing that really stood out. The most common thing I noticed was that if they were not very good at English, they seemed more shy and quiet and avoiding of eye contact.

That's why I decided to write about someone I work with from Brazil. From my interactions with her, we've found out how funny language can be. She has lived here for two years and before that did not know any English (she speaks Portuguese). She claims that the food in Brazil is healthier than the usual food in the US. She also told me that McDonald's is pricey in Brazil at an average of around $10 per person for a regular meal in contrast to how cheap it is here.

When I think of customers at work and general interactions I have had with foreigners, they all just seemed like normal people to me, except with accents or trouble speaking English. I can tell that coming from another country would possibly imply higher importance on certain values, ideas, etc, than here in the US but I haven't really witnessed any cultural clashes thus far.

Reflections on Ch.1

Chapter I was quite a bit of information to absorb for the beginning of this course. However, I realize all the information as a basic and general foundation for the rest of this course to build on. Obviously, it is very important to be knowledgeable about the Language Learner in classrooms. The book covers so many areas that I will just discuss the factors that stuck out most to me and seemed most meaningful for me as a future teacher.

First off, I love that we discussed "modeling." We shouldn't interrupt children (we should be happy a language learner is even speaking in some cases!) but if they make mistakes we should model back to them what they've told us in a way that they can learn from our language. ie.:

Child: I need going bathroom
Teacher: Oh, you need to go to the bathroom?

When I tried to give an example, I completely blanked out on something a child might say, so I just made up something. The point is, if they say something incorrectly, you model it back to them in a subtle way to help them learn it.

I also believe names are an important aspect of identity as well as a child's place of birth. You should learn the correct order of their names and the appropriate way to pronounce them. You should also take out time to learn the background of a child's country as well as important cultural values to take into consideration when doing lessons that may clash with the child.

Last of all, and just as important to me, use the child's L1!! It is learning for other students as well, but it will help the ELL child to learn English. The use of a L1 will allow the child to build upon that grammar and knowledge to more easily obtain a L2.