Helena Mancini

CI-280
Reflection on Educating English Language Learners
Reflection One
Growing up in a school where many of the students first language was English, I did not
have much exposure to students who did not speak English fluently. With my goal to be a math
teacher in the secondary level, I realized the struggle of teaching those who do not fluently speak
English and the difficulties these students must face. The first two chapters introduced different
issues that I was unaware of and raised questions to how they might be dealt with.
In Educating English Language Learners, how to reference the students who do not speak
English as a first language seemed to be covered most in the chapter. I thought it was interesting
that there were many different labels for these students. Many of the terms used seemed to be
associated with a negative connotation, such as English Language Communication Barriers,
while others assume that the students are only bilingual when in actuality could be learning or
know more than two languages. I disagree with the text book when it chooses to call the students
emergent bilinguals, due to the idea that the student may already be bilingual or know three
languages. However the term emergent bilinguals does have a more positive connotation than
some of the other terms mentioned in the text and with the positive connotation the text believes
the educators will teach these students in a manner that embraces their culture and native
language.
I believe that policy, practice and research regarding bilinguals seems be growing in
conflict and resulting in a complex situation that causes many issues for the students involved in
these programs, the government and the educators who are trying to teach students who may not

understand English well. For example, the text states that research supports the notion that
students should continually develop their home and native language, while the U.S educational
policy tends to ignore those findings. It is surprising to me that policy and practice would not
align with the research that is found to allow the emergent bilinguals a better chance at
succeeding in maintaining their culture but also learning another language. It is upsetting to
know that some educators really want to give the students more support and aid in learning
another language; however the educational policy does not allow for that. I also found it
surprising how the proficiency level varied across states, showing how the bilingual programs
are not standard and in many cases are not successful.
Since the number of emergent bilinguals is increasing rapidly, the issues regarding how
these students are taught, the policy surrounding their education and the research about these
multilingual groups need to be dealt with. The demographics and information regarding these
students continually changes however there is a clear indication that emergent bilingual students
are being enrolled in public education and that emergent bilinguals are increasing in many states
across the country. This poses an issue for the teachers who only speak one language, but has
multiple non-English speaking students in their class rooms.

Reflection Two
The idea of metalinguistic awareness, where the learner has two or more ways to describe
the world, intrigued me considering I have noticed it with people in my life. My younger cousin
grew up speaking Spanish since he was living with his grandparents in Mexico, however when
he moved to the United States and started to learn English, he seemed to understand the world
more than other children his age. The concept of being bi/multilingual and the benefits being a

more creative and divergent thinkers and the ability to gauge communicative situations make me
wonder why a majority of the people growing up in the United States only learn one language. I
also wonder why many schools in the United States require that the student must only speak
English in the classroom, when even in English language learning classrooms they make the
student speak only English. According to the text, it seems as though students would have an
easier time learning English while speaking their own language because not only would it
encompass translanguaging, but also result in dynamic bilingualism which is beneficial since it
allows the student to harbor knowledge from both languages and use the information from both
languages to succeed in other aspects of life.
I chose to read Always Running, and it upset me to read a firsthand account of how
students who dont speak English are treated in the United States schooling system. Rodriguez
accounted how he was moved from classroom to classroom without really understanding what
was going on other than the fact that the teachers didnt want him because he could not speak
English. He was trapped in an educational system that would not accept his knowledge because it
was shown through a language that the teachers and other students were not familiar with. I also
found it interesting that Rodriguez found the most fun in the special education classroom because
people paid attention to him there. Reading this account of Rodriguezs schooling experience
makes me realize how necessary it is to change the ways English language learners are taught
and incorporated into the American schooling system.
The second article I read was Name Giveaway, and my first thought was that I am
frustrated in the United States education system. Although the students name, Two Swans
Ascending From Still Waters, is not a common name, it is not a difficult name to say. Also, I find
it very upsetting that the teacher does not respect the student enough to learn the students name,

rather than assigning names to Two Swans Ascending From Still Waters that he does not want or
does not understand. Not only is the teacher stripping away the students native language, but
also his culture and identity by giving him a new name and expecting him to speak English. The
stories in Tongue Tied seem to emphasize the issues regarding the ways English language
learners are taught.

Reflection Three
In reference to the methods used to educate emergent bilinguals, I believe there are a lot of
positive but also many negatives. For example, I believe the submersion method would be
extremely unfair and confusing to the student who does not know how to speak English. Many
times, the emergent bilingual students have an equal amount of knowledge as the students who
do speak English, but are considered to be unintelligent since they cannot articulate their answers
in English. I believe this kind of problem would occur quite often in the submersion method,
especially in areas that are pushing for English only initiatives. Personally, I believe that
emergent bilingual students should be taught with both English and their home language, so the
pull out, push in, and sheltered English method may not benefit the student as much as it could if
their home language was included in the curriculum. I think the other styles of teaching
bilinguals, such as the late exit bilingual program and dual immersion, are more important to a
student who speaks another language. I disagree with the late exit method because I believe that
students should be encouraged to speak their home languages throughout their entire education
but this method seems as though it is weaning students off of speaking their home languages. If I
were an emergent bilingual student I would like to use dynamic bilingualism in my classrooms

because I believe I would feel most comfortable in a setting where both languages and cultures
are viewed as significant and the classroom setting allows the student to grow in each languages.
As I learn about bilingualism and students who dont speak English, I am frustrated with
some of the laws that were put in place in the past few years. The push for English only
education at the polls does not take into account the needs of students who dont speak English.
The students who start to learn English later in life, are pushed through a one year program
where English is the primary language and then immersed in regular curriculum with no
inclusion of their home language. Personally, I think that this is one of the worst methods to
teach students English and the English culture. Personally, I have been taking Spanish classes for
years and I barely know any of the language. For a student to be pushed into a curriculum in
another language, I would fail miserably. I worry that the students who only had a year of
learning the English language, without the inclusion of the native language would also struggle
in school, even if they understand the material in their home language. Although some programs
are pushing for all students to succeed, it seems as though the education of bilingual students is
getting left behind. Programs such as No Child Left Behind, pushes for all students to succeed, to
pass standardized tests, but seems to be letting some students fall too far behind. In this program,
I find it confusing that schools need to report the students who are in programs struggling to
learn English and if the scores do not improve, the programs are then stopped, but the numbers
wont necessarily improve because the students who become proficient in English are moved out
of those classes into more mainstream courses. It bothers me that my educational system is not
praising students who speak another language, rather it is leaving these students to struggle in
school.

Reflection Four
While reading the assignments for this week, I was surprised about how much I
didnt know about language education and teaching those who do not speak English as a first
language. Multilingual language objectives was a completely new idea to education for me since
I typically build my lesson objectives only using the English language, and only working to
further skills in the specific content and English proficiency. Also, I found it important to know
that Language objectives are necessary for bilingual students in every grade, and that the
language objectives change to match the complexity of the language that students at each grade
will need to learn. I didnt know that using language objectives would also help Englishproficient students to develop language that could be used in more academic settings. I thought
the Translanguaging guide was extremely helpful by providing a section that focuses on teaching
EBLs in a general education section, rather than an ESL program. I personally think it will be a
challenge to teach EBLS because all of the readings so far dealt with making connections
between English and the students home language, but there might be many students who all
speak languages I dont know how to speak. Even though I am concerned about making those
connections, the translanguaging guide gives many ways to help me make those connections.
While I was looking for ways to connect to my students who dont speak English very well, I
was disappointed to see barely any examples for secondary education math education. Overall
though, the translanguaging guide focuses on helping EBLs translate vocabulary in English to
home languages, identifying cognates and comparing vocabulary. I feel as though this would be
helpful in many classes other than math, because numbers are one of the first translations
students learn and mathematics is standardized in many cultures.

Integrated instruction also seems like a very viable way to teach English language
learners. Thinking back on my education growing up, learning and teaching seemed to be a very
segmented practice, where each subject area is put into a specific amount of time. That type of
teaching seemed normal to me since I have experienced it my whole life, however I didnt know
that many bilingual students would struggle with the disconnected structure. It is amazing to read
about everything a teacher can do for his or her bilingual students, and the results that can be
achieved by teaching the students correctly. What really impresses me about the translanguaing
guide is that it relates so many different topics to help students succeed in teaching emergent
bilinguals. I noticed that that the guide talks about Common Core a lot and since Common Core
is being increasingly implemented in the classroom, it is interesting to see how the guide uses the
teaching styles to relate it to the common core.

Reflection Five
In my personal life, I have noticed the big differences between certain cultures, such as an
individualized and a collectivist culture. My family was raised in the American, individualized
culture belief that I must think for myself, rely on myself and share my ideas and beliefs to
others. My nephew on the other hand grew up with a Mexican father and grandparents and his
culture leans more towards the collectivist nature where he puts family above all else, contributes
to the group and understands his position in the hierarchy of family. I always wondered how this
difference between cultures would translate into the classroom when he does not understand why
he cant use someone elses materials without asking.
I am continually amazed by the different cultures that are on our planet, especially the
differences between individualized cultures and collectivist cultures. However, having the

numerous differences in cultures worries me as a future educator since I need to find a way to
incorporate cultural expectations and norms into the classroom and curriculum for each of my
students. I feel as if there is such a large difference in cultures that it is extremely difficult to not
only teach students who speak English but even more difficult to teach learners who are learning
English and have different cultural backgrounds. More often than not, there is a lack in
communication due to these differences because most people are so caught up in their beliefs and
cultures that they cant see why others live the way that they do. Thats why as a teacher,
possibly teaching in a very diverse school, I need to develop a social understand that goes
beyond the visible culture and focuses on a deeper understanding. I will need to learn more about
social ideals, values and behavioral standards that shape a childs life and role in schooling.
In making the classroom a place where all students, no matter how much English they
know or what culture they come from, can learn, educators need to understand their own cultures
and how it is implemented in the classroom. In some cases culture values in the classroom are
expressed by how the teachers expect students to take part in discussions or how to use
classroom materials. The school culture, the one that mirrors the culture of the dominant society,
largely impacts how students act in a classroom and what the teacher expects of the students. It
seems as though all of the cultures, at least in school, can be boiled down to the two contrasting
views, individualism and collectivism. These two values differ by their emphasis on
independence and success of the individual verse success of the group and wellbeing of the
family. I worry that as an educator, I will not be able to balance the two very different cultures in
my classroom and my curriculum.