Hello Class,
This is my Blog Entry 3: Interview with Mr. Estrada, you can click below to watch it:
Click Here: https://youtu.be/oWcSIxJtqRE
Today I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Estrada an English
and History teacher for 9th and 11th graders at Springwood Highschool. He has
been a teacher for many years and he related some of the struggles he has faced
while teaching ELLs students. He talked about students that come from all over
the world such as Hondurans, Cubans, Mexicans, and so forth. Some come to our
country with their parents and some with known relatives he stated that some
come with the mentality of just working and therefore place no effort in
learning. Yet those that come with the desire to learn and be someone do place
an effort in learning. Estrada talked about the Entering Level 1, because some
of his students are beginners at school, which don't really know a lot of
English (Wright, 2015, Pg. 12). These students as he mentions fail test and do
really poor academically. He enjoys seeing students’ progress that have the
desire to learn, he is satisfied at their progress. Mr. Estrada talks about the
suggestions he gives his students, suggesting that when they go home he
recommends that they want an English program with Spanish subtitles, this is a
way of adjusting to the culture in the U.S. (Wright, 2015, Pg. 19). As future
educators we must create n environment where they can easily learn to adjust to
our culture. We learn from them and they learn from us, it important to understand
that sometime students have other goals or needs. Investing out time to learn
from their culture and about their lives is very important. Hope you enjoy
watching my Blog Interview with Mr. Estrada, see you in Blog 4!
Hi Rubi! I enjoy your interview with Mr. Estrada. It's nice to know that he's doing everything he can to help out ELL students, especially to those who are at the beginner's level. I think it's important to understand that we must consider meeting the ELL students' needs, especially for those with different proficiency level, and let them know that they are not being left out during the lessons. They are here to learn to adapt, learn new languages, and learn the concepts to the content area, and teachers should make them comfortable by offering them help and encouraging the students to meet their goals. After all, Wright (2010) did mention that "teachers, administrators, and political leaders must therefore take these challenges into considerations when creating policies, designing programs, and making instructional decisions. They also should build on the considerable strengths that ELLs bring with them to school, including their home languages and the funds of knowledge they have access to in their homes" (pg. 12)
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