Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Amy Reese
ESL 6
Action Research Project
Section 1: School Profiles
School #1
School District: Hazleton Area School District
School Name: Hazleton Elementary/Middle School
ELL Population: 199 198 Latino/Hispanic; 1-Chinese
ESL Supports: Reach (K-5), Inside (6-8); Systems 44 and Read 180
School #2
School District: Hazleton Area School District
School Name: Heights Terrace Elementary/Middle School
ELL Population: 220 All Latino/Hispanic
ESL Supports: Reach (K-5), Inside (6-8); Systems 44 and Read 180
School #3
School District: Hazleton Area School District
School Name: Hazleton Area High School
ELL Population: 491 ( 1 Russian, 3 Indian, 1 Chinese, and 485 Latino)
ESL Supports: Edge curriculum for grades 9-12
The district has a partnership with Migrant Education for tutoring and credit
recovery. The Hazleton Integration Project also provides after school support for the
ELLS in the entire district. Here are the websites:
http://news.psu.edu/gallery/333188/2014/11/04/academics/tutoring-throughtechnology-education-online-college-education.
http://www.cphazleton.org/services/children
Section 2:
School Selection: Hazleton Area School District: Heights Terrace Elementary
/Middle School
Why did you choose this school for this this research project?
I chose this school district because I have been working in the district for 3
years and am familiar with the ESL program. With the district having so many ELLs
in each building, especially Heights-Terrace Elementary/Middle School, this
building is the best opportunity for the research project. This building houses
grades kindergarten through grade 8. There are 220 ELLs in the building and there
are 6 ESL teachers. Students in grades K-6 are pulled out of the classroom for small
group English instruction and ELLs in grades 7 and 8 have a separate English class 2
periods each day in place of the ELA class for regular students.
Since I have done most of my observations at this building, I have had the
opportunity to get to know the staff at Heights-Terrace, who has been helpful to me
in exposing me to many chances to work with ELLs in kindergarten to grade 8.
This particular school cares about the diversity represented by the students and
tries to not only accommodate families of ELLs, but also offer programs to help the
community experience the diversity of its students and their families.
Hazleton also has the access to 3 major interstates including I-80, I-81, and I84. This area also has access to many local colleges including Pennsylvania State
University, Bloomsburg University, Luzerne County Community College, and many
more.
The community is also going through a revitalization plan in downtown
Hazleton bringing more businesses, employees, and residents. There have been
several road improvement projects, which has made the area more appealing.
The area has many cultural opportunities like Eckley Miners Village, and local
events, which include Funfest and recreation areas including Rails to Trails,
Nescopeck State Park, and Eagle Rock Resort.
Amy Reese
ESL 6
Section 5: Teacher Interviews
December 6, 2014
ESL Teacher: Caren Burkholder
How ELLS, families, and community are supported:
Caren is an ESL teacher at Heights Terrace Elementary School and pulls out
kindergarten, first, and second grade ELLs for English instruction. She explained to
me that she tries to encourage as much parent participation in school events as
possible. Miss Burkholder sends out reminders for school events like open house
and diversity night. She tells the students to choose a pencil if they come with the
parents to the event. One year, She took pictures of each student at diversity night
and attached the photos to papers. Then each ELL wrote about the night and the
photos and papers were hung in the hallway, outside the classroom.
As a school, forms, report cards, and other newsletters are available in both
Spanish and English. The only current language of the k-2 population is Spanish, but
there have been students who have spoken Chinese and Arabic in the past. There is
a full-time interpreter/translator, who is available for conferences, walk-ins, and
phone conversations. The translator also translates letters that need to be sent
home, as well as contacts parents for the teachers as well.
adaptation support, cultural and social emotional support, and community support.
This program also consisted three other programs. First, was an after school
program that was dedicated to academic skills, social, and behavioral adaptation for
students from third to fifth grade. Second, was F.A.C.E. Time Summer, which
included collaboration with a local learning center that provided hands-on science
and math lessons and a music school. This summer program also provided
instruction in writing, music, math, social studies, art, physical education, and field
trips. Finally, The Prime Time Reading Program was offered through the University
of Kentucky, school district, and the local library. Families received two reading
books with translations. The books were read and discussed by the facilitator.
Adults and children participated actively in the discussions.
This is a program that grown and now serves children in Kindergarten to
eighth grade. It is a program that is a great example of how the community and the
school can make a positive impact on ELLs and their families. Having a program
available in the summer outside of school helps keep the students connected and
continues to assist and advance the ELLs and their English skills.
primarily on English skills but do not address the other academic subjects. This ESL
program has the possibility of being lacking in academic instruction. Third, is the
content-based ESL classroom where the students are separated for instruction. The
ELLs are taught English through the content areas with a curriculum organized
around grade-level objectives. According to the author, the most effective way to
achieve success is when an ESL teacher works with content area teachers and team
teaching occurs in the classroom.
The final ESL model is sheltered instruction which is provided by teachers who
knowledge in both content and second language acquisition. The lessons consist of
language and content objectives. The ELLs are mixed in with native English speakers
to keep the stigma of ELLs being in a separate class to a minimum.
Observing all these ESL model programs in the local schools, it seems to
work for some students but there is still some missing components including ESL
assistance in the content areas. Many content area teachers have not adjusted to the
influx of ELLs coming into their classrooms and do not have the knowledge in
second language acquisition. Although ESL support is available, the content area
teachers are not utilizing the support system available to them.
conversational English skills outside of the classroom but receive poor marks in
school, which reflects on their difficulty to grasp new concepts taught to them in
academic English. A graduate level course, literacy and inquiry in the content areas,
the co-instructors assigned professors and students exercises. These exercises were
meant to make them reflect about teaching ESOL students and conveying lessons in
ways that ELLs can understand. Vicki Cardullo, one of the co-teachers of the course,
explained that there are two different areas, reading and English as a second
language. Overloading the student may make it too difficult or too much material to
deal with together. It was explained that teachers do not know how to help the ELLS
in their classroom and do not realize that it is not a cognitive issue, but a language
issue.
Although this was not a model program for teaching ESL, it is important to
recognize the teachers who understand that it is not a cognitive learning delay. ESL
teachers learning how to address how ELLs learn a second language is just as vital
as what program model works the best in school. Teacher instruction, especially in
the content areas, will be key to helping ELLs succeed in their academic language.
school system, not only to develop ELLs literacy skills, but also develop advanced
literacy skills. The UNO (The United Neighborhood Organization), a community
group lead by Juan Rangel, provides Hispanic families with a high quality education
through its local network of charter schools. UNO chose English-language
immersion over a traditional bilingual transition program. According to Rangel,
English immersion is effective in closing the performance gap between ELLs and
their peers nationwide. Not only is immersion financially viable and scalable, and he
also believes that these schools provide a well-rounded and challenging program
with exceptional teachers, who work with any population, but work well with the
Hispanic immigrant children. Even though the UNOs students is mostly Hispanic,
low income, and ELL, they perform far better on state tests compared to the public
schools of Chicago. These schools have also extended their school day to 7.5 hours
and 191 days on instruction, which has proven to prevent the summer slide. The
UNOs success also depends on the strong relationship between home and school.
UNO teachers conduct two home visits a year to create a trust to help challenge the
families.
This organization is an excellent model of what an immersion ESL program
should look like in the public school. Although a charter school, the public school
system can observe the obviously strong leadership and dedication of the teachers
and staff, which is what makes a program exemplary.
reading, and writing in all content areas. These early childhood educators need
training on not only linguistic and cultural diversity, but on the foundations of
second language learning for children ages 3-8 so they can help meet the needs of
their diverse classrooms.
TESOL: Position statement on Multilingualism
A valuable tool in todays global community is the ability to speak a second
language. English is becoming a common global language for communicating. The
ability to communicate in more than one language is more important than ever and
promotes international goodwill and helps in dispelling mistrust.
TESOLs mission is to advance superiority in the teaching of the English
language. Not only does TESOL value multilingualism, but encourages learners to
learn a second language and supports and encourages programs that enhance skills
in both first and second languages.
TESOL also supports individual language rights and wants governments and
countries to endorse policies that recognize and value the languages within their
population. Finally, TESOL strongly encourages policies that sponsor and enhance
multilingualism by identifying and building on national resources.
TESOL: Position Statement on the Diversity of English Language Learners in
the United States
Since the 1990s, there has been an increase in the immigration population,
which has had a dramatic impact on both the number and diversity of students and
adults known as English language learners. This diversity has brought on groups
with not only linguistic and cultural differences, but also in educational and
socioeconomic characteristics. All these factors have an impact on the way that
these students learn English. It is vital that educators and policymakers be made
aware of these important areas.
Cultural differences can be small, but do influence students learning. For
example, student-teacher interaction and the value of education may be viewed
differently. How students comprehend content an also be due to cultural
differences. Students from different cultural backgrounds will not all have the same
experiences necessary to understand the texts.
Another factor is language, which is embedded in culture and the culture
affects how people think and use language. The native language of the person
impacts the way a person learns English. Over time, ELLs will develop their own
cultural sensibilities in local contexts.
Another set of factors affecting English learners is age and educational
background. According to research, children and adults do learn differently, this is
especially for learning a language. Learners at different ages have different needs
and approaches to learning and teaching methodologies must fit the age group.
It is a fact that strong language and literary skills in the ELLs native language will
definitely help with second language learning.
Finally, an ELLs socioeconomic status will also affect learning. There are
many factors that financially impact a family and these experiences not only affect
learning, but also how education is viewed and supported.
With all these factors affecting English language learners, educators need to
be aware of this diversity when it comes to teaching and learning. Policies must be
flexible to give diverse English language learners opportunities for success. TESOL
wants decision makers to explore and understand the diversity of the target group
before making any education policies and to consult with researchers, educators,
and other stakeholders in the formation of education policy as it will affect English
language learners.
In this ESL classroom, the ELLs are pulled out of the regular classroom and
Nat Geos Reach curriculum is utilized according to the grade level. The primary
focus in this class is vocabulary and learning how to communicate on a daily basis in
English. I also observed a newcomer class of fourth grade students. The curriculum
used was Nat Geos In the USA, which is introduced to the new students coming into
the American school system. The emphasis of this curriculum is to learn vocabulary
words and communicating the basics in English.
The ESL teacher is bilingual and at times does use some Spanish with her
newcomer class to communicate to the new students. She keeps a word wall of all
vocabulary words introduced and reviews the words often with the students.
The ESL teacher also is able to call the parents because she is bilingual, which helps
with getting to know the parents personally.
The ESL teacher for these young students, which are pulled out of the
classroom, emphasizes the basics like letters and numbers, and also uses the Reach
curriculum with the ELLs. With Kindergarten students, the ESL teacher uses the
curriculum but also uses music to learn the letters and their sounds. Pictures are
heavily used to introduce the vocabulary as well as flashcards. A favorite activity of
the ELLs is bingo with vocabulary words.
This ESL teacher also sends home newsletters in Spanish in order to keep the
parents informed of the activities in the ESL classroom as well as progress reports
on the students English language development.
Type of model
Available
Unavailable
Computer Supported
Writing Program
Integrating Technology
Tools
Newcomer Program
Immersion Model
Sheltered Instruction
(SIOP)
Content ESL Instruction
Bilingual Education
Structured English
Immersion
X
X
coming into the school district, there has not been any motivation to get parents
involved. If I could recommend to parents, it would be the following:
1. Read to your ELL at home in Spanish or watch television programs in
Spanish. This will strengthen their native language skills, which will benefit
learning English skills.
2. Be proactive with your child and work on vocabulary development. Help
your child by drilling words on flash cards.
3. Participate in parent/teacher conferences when scheduled. Ask the teacher
what you can do to help your child in school.
4. Volunteer when opportunities arise at the school.
Administration Recommendations: Based on my experiences with the school and
what I have observed, I recommend the following:
1. Hire more ESL teachers and support staff. The present staff is overwhelmed
by the growing number of ELLs and cannot service these students properly.
2. Reevaluate the current ESL program method and get feedback from the ESL
teachers on what is working and what is not working.
3. Listen to the ESL teachers concerns and suggestions and take into
consideration their concerns.
4. Have some teachers and administrators observe ESL programs at other large
school districts to get some ideas on how the present can be improved.
5. Run workshops for content area teachers to help them learn strategies that
will help ELLs with difficult content material.
Teacher Recommendations: I recommend the following:
2. Allow mandatory workshops for content area teachers so they can learn how
to accommodate ELLs in their classes.
Finally, I will be an advocate for the ESL students in my school. I will educate
other teachers with information concerning the cultures represented by the ELLs in
the school, which mostly consists of the Hispanic culture. Understanding several
cultural differences like shyness, dating, eye contact, dealing with time, and
attendance will help teachers and staff to relate the Spanish-speaking students and
their families. Planning an informational session at a faculty meeting or Act 80 day
will be a way to help teachers understand the ESL students and the cultures they
represent.
AS an ESL teacher, I will also keep in mind how it must feel for a child with
little English speaking skills to be placed in a room full of strangers. I will help the
ELL feel more comfortable with new and unfamiliar surroundings by spending time
with him or her and checking on the ELL in the mainstream classroom. I will also try
to pair up the new ELL with a student who shares the same L1 as the new student.
Finally, as an ESL teacher I will assist the ELL in mastering writing, reading,
speaking, and listening skills in English to the best of my ability. I will praise the ELL
at every milestone the ELL achieves and be encouraging every step of the students
journey to master the English language.
Assessment
I will use various formative and summative assessments to measure the
students proficiency and understanding of the English language. I will also utilize
technology-based assessment including audio and video, and computer.
Implementing a variety of assessment tools like observation, checklists, self and
peer assessment will also be a part of the assessment of the ELLs in my class.
Professionalism
Throughout this ESL certification process, I will use research that I have
conducted to make up my own educational philosophy for teaching ELLs. I will also
collaborate with school staff for the purpose of assisting the teachers with
differentiated instruction ideas for the ELLs in the regular classroom, especially the
content areas like science and social studies. I would like to also come up with ways
to include the families in classroom activities, keep them informed with information,
and offer support and assistance.
Appendix
Notes of Staff Interview: Patti Craig
1.
7-9th
69-10th
32-11th
21-12th
There are 7 ELLs at the Stem School.
Our ESL population is 99% Latino. We have 2 Chinese
students, one Russian student, and 3 students from
India.
2.
3.
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