In chapter 7 of Fox’s book Word Identification Strategies we see the illustration of using a lever to help us lift a heavy object. She reminds us that English language learners have a harder time with literacy because their lever is not as big. They do not have the same familiarity with spoken English as do their peers who are native English speakers. Children who are learning to read will not be able to read a word which they do not use in their speaking vocabulary; thus ELL students are limited from the start in learning how to read English.
The advantages of a dual language program such as the one for my dyad placement are many. These types of programs allow ELL students to learn half the school day in their native tongue. During that time they learn literacy strategies for a language in which they have a greater vocabulary. As Fox points out, most literacy strategies can be adapted across languages as long as the languages share a similar alphabetic make up (for example: English, Spanish, German, etc.). ELL students obtain success in literacy and in the learning environment which help them as they struggle to gain fluency in English. Another advantage of dual language programs is the effect on native English speakers who participate in it. These students sit side by side their peers who are ELL students. During the non-English class time they become the language learners, and experience how their peers feel as ELL students. As table groups, friends, and peers all of the students learn to value each other and how they can help one another overcome their weakness and take joy in their successes.
I love the pictorial analogy of the different size levers and the comparison of them to that of the challenges that English language learners can have in the classroom. The challenges that this group of particular students has is enormous; in addition to learning new material taught in school, students are also confronted with the difficultly of learning a new language. Therefore as you stated, English language learners have an even steeper mountain to climb. As a teacher I worry that these challenges will cause ELL students to be tracked in lower ability groupings, yet in reality they are simply facing the challenges that come from learning English as a second language.
ReplyDeleteHearing about the dual language program is encouraging; being able to gain strategies in different subjects from your native language and then learning about English in addition, seems to be a great method for dealing with these specific learners.