Hi everyone, I am currently working as a Instructional Technology Specialist. I am very interested in how I can help teachers meet the needs of ELL students. This was one areas I didn't have expertise in but wanted to learn about when it comes to Virtual Learning. This past year I've been trying to help find tools and resources to make communication and work flow easier and more consistent for teachers and students related to this area. Excited to work with all of you!
Hello, everyone! My name is Megan and I teach at a neighborhood, public school in Brooklyn, NY. Our school community of MLL students has grown from approximately 25% to 30% MLL in the past few years. Programming has also shifted so that I have one "section" that is nearly 100% MLL students (it has been that way last and this year). The students in this section span across English Language proficiency, from Entering to Commanding proficiency of English.
I am fortunate to co-teach with an English as a New Language teacher. We collaborate on lesson modifications/home language accessibility for ENL students. However, there is always more to learn to meet the needs of this diverse and growing population. In Module 4, I am hoping to learn more about the balance between leveraging home language(s) to teach content (I teach science) and practicing speaking, listening, reading, and writing in English. I am also curious to learn more strategies in the section on supporting oral language participation. A positive aspect of this year is many MLL students I teach are eager to practice speaking with a little encouragement or when given purposeful space to do so.
Thank you for sharing your insights on your experiences with ENL students. I'm sure in Brooklyn its very diverse group of students. How has the co-teaching for ENL students going? There several modifications that are needed to meet students needs and I'm sure having a second teacher in the room can be a huge help. Even as far as practicing their confidence and welcoming students to feel comfortable speaking and making mistakes is a huge task. Excited to learn with everyone regarding balancing the practicing and speaking in English.
I work in a large urban high school in Mohawk Valley that serves approximately 3,000 students in grades 9-12. The majority of my professional duties include teaching an English as a New Language (ENL) courses for students at the beginner level of English proficiency and co-teaching a sheltered Biology class that leads to a state assessment in science required for graduation. I also serve as ENL department chair overseeing nine ENL teachers, creating teachers’ schedules, making recommendations for the schedules of approximately 500 ELLs enrolled in our school, helping with the enrollment process of newly arrived multilingual learners, organizing state-required testing, serving on several committees, including the Seal of Biliteracy, and offering professional development to teachers of ELLs. Additionally, I am employed as an instructor for an online graduate-level TESOL program teaching Grammar and Linguistics courses.
Our district has always taken pride in the linguistic diversity of its student population: about 27% of our students live in households that speak over 40 different languages; 16% of the student population are identified as English language learners (ELLs); additionally, former English learners (the term that our state uses to track students who have achieved English proficiency within the last two years) make up another 7% of our student body. The most common languages are Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Dari, Karen, Kiswahili, Maay Maay, Nepali, Pashto, Russian, Spanish, Somali, Swahili, and Ukrainian. Students’ unique stories and circumstances create a beautiful, vibrant mosaic of our district and school’s identity.
I completed only the first session of Module 4 at this point, and the information in that session is well-known to me. I am hoping to learn more about using technology to create engaging, active, and meaningful learning experiences for students in a hybrid/online environment.
Hello Maria and thanks for sharing details of your district. I began my teaching career within Baltimore City Schools and the high school I taught in was similar to yours in that there were 29 different nationalities represented. I am not sure how many different languages but we certainly did not have the resources necessary to properly meet the needs of all students. I applaud your district for taking great pride in the linguistic diversity of its student population. I also am looking forward to learning more about the technologies available to better educate our ELL's.
I'll be curious to gather your perspectives on the value of translanguaging and how that impacts instructional elements, Maria. I would also be interested to learn how much use students in your school make of Google Translate and if there are other tools that your district has implemented for communications with families in their native languages. I know of some schools that have implemented some AI messaging applications that assist with translating into multiple languages.
I am looking forward to work with Module 4. I am currently a resource specialist who supports over 142 districts with a focus on English language learners and multilingual students. I hope to gain additional knowledge and add to my toolbox to continue to support all educators- district level, building administration, teachers and families.
That's a huge number of districts, Vanessa, Wow! How many ELLs and how many resource connections at each district? I'll be interested to hear your experienced insights as you journey through Module 4.
Yes, my team and I facilitate workshops and provide technical support to all the districts. Our point person is usually the Multilingual Coordinator/Director or the Assistant superintendents in the district. My team is an extension of the Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages and we are connected to other RBERNs across NYS allowing for a plethora of resources and connections. The amount of ELLs/MLs varies throughout the districts but it growing all throughout the NYS.
Nice to hear from Colleagues in this Module. Like you, Dave, I have completed 7/8 sessions and enjoy the learning. The challenge I am experiencing is not having ELLs in my current HE classes. I'm reaching to the past to create the lessons for integrating the content in the Module.
I find myself applying some of the same techniques presented in this Module for ELLs to all learners - especially to freshmen who can benefit from language development even in English.
I also do not have any ELLs in my classes this year. I do have many students who are far behind in reading and writing, though, and I think much of the content for this module would also benefit those struggling readers and writers. Incorporating audio/visual supports to enhance the understanding for these students as well as considering cultural backgrounds and experiences can be beneficial for both ELLs and for struggling readers/writers. With students in this situation, song lyric analysis is usually an easier place to start than with a novel. Having students share a song that they like and then write about the message of the song also allows for the students to bring something of their own to the lesson rather than forcing them to work with material that they have no interest in or experience with.
The content from Module 4 and insights generated through the reflection and lesson-development activities will quite likely benefit ways of thinking about courses I teach in higher ed and also with the research conversations that I frequently generate with K-12 educators. All of the content in this module was meaningful and applicable, and I found myself reflecting on numerous positive experiences I have had over the past 10+ years with international students in my courses & programs at Warner. At the same time, I know this info will be applicable, in practice, with conversations, formal research, and with (potentially) developing and/or participating in professional learning experiences with schools in our region. I'm glad I was able to include Module 4 in my VITAL Educator work. - Dave Miller
I'm also excited to dive into the deeper learning of this module. Starting off with equitable instruction, using translanguaging to create access to instruction and developing assessment practices really stood out to me as I was looking through the modules. In my district, I have a very big Spanish population but also Chinese and Ukrainian. It will be extremely useful to gain more insight in how to better serve those students and help them on their academic journey. I hope that this module will provide more insight in how to develop assessments, supporting oral language participation especially since these students tend to be quiet and afraid to speak in a general classroom setting. Being able to design equitable learning experiences within this module is what I am most looking forward to.
Hi, Nicole! With such a diverse student population in your district, your dedication to supporting their academic journey is appreciated, I am sure! I share your anticipation for gaining insights into developing assessments and promoting oral language participation, particularly for students who may feel hesitant in the classroom environment. This is so important.
Thank you, Alicia! Do you have many ENL students in your classroom? For me, I have around 2-3 students per class this year which makes things interesting! They range from Spanish to Korean to Quiche which is a Mayan dialect. Very diverse groups which makes a wonderful classroom environment being able to share everyone's experiences throughout the year!
That sounds so dynamic and I am sure fascinating! I have one ENL student right now, but also is a SIFE student (student with interruption to formal education). He is 18 years old and only went to school through grade five in his home country. My Spanish students love to chat with him and hear a native speaker as they don't have a lot of experience or exposure living in the most northeastern part of NY. I love quiche and always study it just a bit with my students during our unit focused on Guatemalan history and people. 2-3 students per class is significant!
I'm excited to get started with this module. I teach in a district that has a large Spanish speaking population and the language barrier is one of the largest obstacles standing in the way of a student's success. I know very minimal Spanish which also makes it difficult to help some of our kiddos that don't know any English. I'm hoping for more tools to help me help them.
Hi Mary, I'm hoping you'll find Module 4 as valuable as I did with the tools and practices that accompany working with ELLs/MLLs. One of the activities nudged us to work with Google translate to create a lesson document in another language and also work with a YouTube video to turn on translation services for the closed captioning - I found both of these very cool. I know many of the international students I work with at Warner leverage these Google tools, and it was valuable to be able to practice with these and align them with the work I do in the classroom and in research settings. - Dave
I am really looking forward to Module 4: "Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners Across Learning Environments" because I do not have much training or experience in this area. I teach in the very northeastern part of NYS and ELLs are not common in our district. However, as a Spanish teacher, my district relies on me to help with Spanish-speaking Ells who enter our district. I am hoping that this course work and content will give me more insight and skills and knowledge in how to best serve these students.
Hi Alicia, I'll be interested to gather your perspectives of the module, once you have completed a few of the sessions, because your experience as a Spanish teacher will definitely add a set of valuable perspectives to our VE learner. I have completed 7 of the 8 sessions in the Module, and I found it highly informative. - Dave
Thank you for your encouragement! I'm eager to delve into Module 4 and share my insights with you. It's reassuring to hear that you found the content informative! I'll definitely keep you posted on my progress and perspectives as I work through the material.
Hi everyone, I am currently working as a Instructional Technology Specialist. I am very interested in how I can help teachers meet the needs of ELL students. This was one areas I didn't have expertise in but wanted to learn about when it comes to Virtual Learning. This past year I've been trying to help find tools and resources to make communication and work flow easier and more consistent for teachers and students related to this area. Excited to work with all of you!
Hello, everyone! My name is Megan and I teach at a neighborhood, public school in Brooklyn, NY. Our school community of MLL students has grown from approximately 25% to 30% MLL in the past few years. Programming has also shifted so that I have one "section" that is nearly 100% MLL students (it has been that way last and this year). The students in this section span across English Language proficiency, from Entering to Commanding proficiency of English.
I am fortunate to co-teach with an English as a New Language teacher. We collaborate on lesson modifications/home language accessibility for ENL students. However, there is always more to learn to meet the needs of this diverse and growing population. In Module 4, I am hoping to learn more about the balance between leveraging home language(s) to teach content (I teach science) and practicing speaking, listening, reading, and writing in English. I am also curious to learn more strategies in the section on supporting oral language participation. A positive aspect of this year is many MLL students I teach are eager to practice speaking with a little encouragement or when given purposeful space to do so.
I work in a large urban high school in Mohawk Valley that serves approximately 3,000 students in grades 9-12. The majority of my professional duties include teaching an English as a New Language (ENL) courses for students at the beginner level of English proficiency and co-teaching a sheltered Biology class that leads to a state assessment in science required for graduation. I also serve as ENL department chair overseeing nine ENL teachers, creating teachers’ schedules, making recommendations for the schedules of approximately 500 ELLs enrolled in our school, helping with the enrollment process of newly arrived multilingual learners, organizing state-required testing, serving on several committees, including the Seal of Biliteracy, and offering professional development to teachers of ELLs. Additionally, I am employed as an instructor for an online graduate-level TESOL program teaching Grammar and Linguistics courses.
Our district has always taken pride in the linguistic diversity of its student population: about 27% of our students live in households that speak over 40 different languages; 16% of the student population are identified as English language learners (ELLs); additionally, former English learners (the term that our state uses to track students who have achieved English proficiency within the last two years) make up another 7% of our student body. The most common languages are Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Dari, Karen, Kiswahili, Maay Maay, Nepali, Pashto, Russian, Spanish, Somali, Swahili, and Ukrainian. Students’ unique stories and circumstances create a beautiful, vibrant mosaic of our district and school’s identity.
I completed only the first session of Module 4 at this point, and the information in that session is well-known to me. I am hoping to learn more about using technology to create engaging, active, and meaningful learning experiences for students in a hybrid/online environment.
I am looking forward to work with Module 4. I am currently a resource specialist who supports over 142 districts with a focus on English language learners and multilingual students. I hope to gain additional knowledge and add to my toolbox to continue to support all educators- district level, building administration, teachers and families.
Nice to hear from Colleagues in this Module. Like you, Dave, I have completed 7/8 sessions and enjoy the learning. The challenge I am experiencing is not having ELLs in my current HE classes. I'm reaching to the past to create the lessons for integrating the content in the Module.
I find myself applying some of the same techniques presented in this Module for ELLs to all learners - especially to freshmen who can benefit from language development even in English.
The content from Module 4 and insights generated through the reflection and lesson-development activities will quite likely benefit ways of thinking about courses I teach in higher ed and also with the research conversations that I frequently generate with K-12 educators. All of the content in this module was meaningful and applicable, and I found myself reflecting on numerous positive experiences I have had over the past 10+ years with international students in my courses & programs at Warner. At the same time, I know this info will be applicable, in practice, with conversations, formal research, and with (potentially) developing and/or participating in professional learning experiences with schools in our region. I'm glad I was able to include Module 4 in my VITAL Educator work. - Dave Miller
I'm also excited to dive into the deeper learning of this module. Starting off with equitable instruction, using translanguaging to create access to instruction and developing assessment practices really stood out to me as I was looking through the modules. In my district, I have a very big Spanish population but also Chinese and Ukrainian. It will be extremely useful to gain more insight in how to better serve those students and help them on their academic journey. I hope that this module will provide more insight in how to develop assessments, supporting oral language participation especially since these students tend to be quiet and afraid to speak in a general classroom setting. Being able to design equitable learning experiences within this module is what I am most looking forward to.
I'm excited to get started with this module. I teach in a district that has a large Spanish speaking population and the language barrier is one of the largest obstacles standing in the way of a student's success. I know very minimal Spanish which also makes it difficult to help some of our kiddos that don't know any English. I'm hoping for more tools to help me help them.
I am really looking forward to Module 4: "Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners Across Learning Environments" because I do not have much training or experience in this area. I teach in the very northeastern part of NYS and ELLs are not common in our district. However, as a Spanish teacher, my district relies on me to help with Spanish-speaking Ells who enter our district. I am hoping that this course work and content will give me more insight and skills and knowledge in how to best serve these students.