Whole Group Discussion Analysis

ELL stands for English Language Learners and are often students from countries which do not speak English that come to school to learn not only the regular content that a school teaches but also the English language. One of the many issues teachers face in helping students learn the content in class is the challenge of integrating the students’ native language along with the content of the lesson. Studies have shown that “3 years of exposure to English is not long enough for all individual ELLs to catch up to their monolingual peers for all subdomains of language” (Paradis, 2016). To properly teach ELL students both content for subjects as well as the English language teachers need to help integrate English and the students’ native language

Grouping ELL students with “peer-buddies” or students appointed to assist the ELL student can give the ELL student more opportunities for using conversational English, allow them to receive minor assistance without interrupting the teacher, and give

The students that make up the school are mostly Latino, African American, West Indian and white. Language is the medium through which students gain access to the curriculum. (Tamara Lucas). For example, Maria was placed in a dual language classroom, since arriving from Mexico and when she entered middle school that was taken away. The teacher in her English class needs to realize it takes second language learners longer to develop fluency in academic English than in conversational English. (Tamara Lucas). Ms. O’reilly should take this inconsideration when it comes to the strategies used in the classroom. Social interaction will help Maria’s language development and a method that can be useful to promote social interaction is the use of group work. Using group work will allow Maria to not only expand her English skills but also learn from the other students. Tamara Lucas states; “Scaffolding learning for ELLs requires teachers to consider the relationship between students’ linguistic abilities and the tasks through which they are expected to learn”. Ms. O’reilly has set the goal of having all the students to be on the same level at the end of the school year, this might not be a realistic goal since each child comes from different backgrounds and learn at different speeds. Different scaffolding strategies should be use to accommodate the ELLs in her classroom. Group work, sharing about ones culture, knowing the child’s mother tongue and creating a comfortable environment where the students can raise their hand or ask questions without feeling dumb or like an

Collaboration and communication are important skills for students to obtain to prepare them for their academic careers. Group projects also help students to collaborate and communicate among each other and share different points of view. When I was in middle school my history teacher wanted us to do a project that required us to create our own restaurant, mall, or business that is history based and present it to the class. We were split into groups of three and my team decided to create a restaurant. We named the restaurant the Gold Rush Café. My group worked together as a team and shared our ideas on what we wanted the restaurant to look like. My group and I finished the project on time by working together and sharing responsibilities.

“Group work is a teaching strategy that promotes academic achievement and socialization”(Frykedal, Chiriac, 2011). This method is often used since allow individuals to combine their skills with the intention to achieve a mutual goal. To be efficient when working with a group, individuals have the responsibility to understand and respect others preferences and

Students especially ELLs can find personal relevance in the world when they see problems that connect with them and make it easier for them to understand. Strategic Grouping of ELLs within student teams. Each small group team will consist of 4 students. Within these teams, emerging students, expanding students, bridging students and a native speaker are grouped together in order for them to benefit from each other. Since they will get exposed with communication with a fluent English-speaking person. Also, working with students with similar language needs allows ELLs to work on both the structure of English and the academic content and the students feel more comfortable and tend to participate more

A paradigm shift is necessary in order for instructors to understand their ELL students and be equipped to deliver instruction in such a manner so that the achievement gap is eradicated. ELL students must meet certain English proficiency benchmarks and perform at a certain level on standardized tests.

In group discussion, I further explored key concepts like data validity, types of data, and collection strategies. I demonstrated professional flexibility by offering potential limitations created by the data sets my peers had collected.

Working to ones’ strengths, however, is not always the most beneficial way to utilise group work in an educational setting. Putting members together that have different skills or traits can cause them to improve them individually, like putting an introvert and an extrovert together. An extrovert can bring an introverted person out of their shell, causing them to interact more with the rest of the group and offer more of their own opinions; while an introvert can make an extrovert learn to listen more and consider other students’ thoughts, perhaps teaching them to be less overbearing. To put together two conflicting traits can help to average out members’ work, also which can improve grades.

Differences in language and culture are often subtle but affect students' classroom participation in several ways. Understanding these will help you to respond in ways that will help both ELLs and other students to learn.

The English Language Arts (ELA) class integrates English Language Learners (ELLs) with cultural and linguistic diversity. Among the ELA class of grade 6, there is a significant representation of Spanish speakers and a minority of speakers of other languages, such as French and Arabic. The classroom environment is suitable for facilitating the learning process.

An ELL is an English Language Learner. There are countless and diverse people around the world who become ELLs for a variety of reasons. This could include fulfilling a language credit during the years of general education, or in order to acculturate to an English-speaking country or group of people. ELL’s bring their own preunderstanding of language to their learning experience, just as teachers bring their own unconscious bias to their classrooms. Teachers of English need to keep an open mind, and remember to be compassionate in dealing with their ELLs as there are a myriad of reason why they want or need to learn English. The needs of an ELL need to be addressed based on what their previous experiences have been, and what their reasons

In regards to the argument it is best for ELL students to be placed in a separate classroom to enhance their ability to understand English. This is a great way to have ELL’s engage with students like themselves to motivate them in learning English and receive help within each other. Although some parents and critics may disagree with the idea of separating ELL students from other students critics and parents should know that it is a great way for ELL to prepare for faster pace mainstream classrooms. It is important

My philosophy of teaching language is that in order for a child to achieve language they have to have the desire to learn it. In my short time, I have overseen teachers implement a student-centered learning environment. Learning in my future classroom will always occur within cooperative and collaborative group work. Having observed this strategy, this strategy is completely effective and positive to reaffirm and develop strong student-to-student and instructor-to-students relationships. This only reassures and establishes an honest and sincere communication in classrooms. I would also do my best to create a positive and enjoyable environment for my future students, which motivates them to participate actively in the activities. In today’s classrooms, I find, they are becoming extremely diverse in socioeconomic, academic, disability and ethnic backgrounds. To be able to provide a connection and identity with the English language only becomes a more challenging task to achieve due to the diversity of the group of students. “Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening” (Arizona College and Career Readiness Standards). However, as my duty and responsibility as an instructor, I am obligated to design activities that address the diverse abilities and needs of each and every student. One of my primary goals of teaching is to help

In the research article An Investigation of Communicative Competence of ESL Students Using Electronic Discussion Boards, Zha et.al. (2006) worked with 28 elementary-aged students who spoke English as a second language (ESL). Over the course of the six-week study 956 messages were posted to an electronic discussion board by the students and were analyzed. The researchers found that the students’ use of language changed depending on the social and cultural settings of the discussion. The topics of the discussion boards were developed by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages