ESL 4 Week 1

Week One Action Plan

April Gallagher

Create an Action Plan to explain how you would respond to the issue of teaching ELLs with different home language learning practices fro that learned in school! "hroughout the courses you ha#e taken so far$ this has %een a recurring the e! &sing infor ation you are learning in this course$ try to de#elop a plan to help your ELLs! 'e sure to co pare and contrast language learning #ersus language ac(uisition fro the teacher and the ELLs) perspecti#es! Also tell e how you could encourage parents to support ELLs learning school aterial at ho e! "ake into consideration all you ha#e learned in the last * courses as well! "his is worth +, points! -our action plan should %e 1.+ pages!

/y plan to help ELLs through ho e language learning practices0 On a ost %asic le#el$ 1 would want y ELLs to feel co forta%le with their atte pts at using English$ uch as possi%le$ %oth acade ically and socially! 1 a a

and 1 would encourage the

to use it as

fan of the concept of language ac(uisition$ as opposed to language learning! 1 a speaker today %ecause of how y fa ily co unicated with

a confident pu%lic ersed

e when 1 was a child! 1 was i

in language for as long as 1 can re e %er! /y hard$ 1 know$ to get e to where 1 a

other was a stay.at.ho e. o ! She worked #ery y

today2 %ut it ne#er see ed like she was working hard to

younger self %ecause she was always #ery creati#e a%out playing word ga es with e to talk a%out anything and e#erything around e! 1 learned to co

e and getting

unicate not %y sitting at the y opinion

kitchen ta%le with a work%ook$ %ut %y %eing part of a constant flow of con#ersation! 1t is that this confidence with speaking is reflected in the other areas of proud of

y language de#elop ent! 1 a star#ing$ and 1 ha#e %een e with a sure also

y a%ility to write well$ 1 read %ooks like words are food and 1) a 3good listener4! 1 gi#e y other

told that 1 a

ost of the credit for this %y pro#iding y teachers who 1 a

strong foundation %efore 1 e#er set a foot in school! 5Apologies to deser#e their fair share of credit for y acade ic success67

So$ 1 was actually going so ewhere with that tangent! When 1 a of y own$ it is y plan$ y nu %er one goal$ to ha#e

finally %lessed with an ESL class unicate orally as uch and

y students co

as often as possi%le! So eti es 1 will %egin the discussion with con#ersation.starters designed to focus on specific the es or #oca%ulary! And other ti es 1 will let y students) interests guide the

tra8ectory of the dialogue! 1 won)t want the classroo is a 3safe 9one4 where

to feel graded or 8udged$ instead knowing that

istakes are 8ust spring%oards to further learning!

"he issue of how 1 will acco plish that feat once they lea#e :learly$ ELLs who are i

y classroo

is a tougher o%8ecti#e!

ersed in English around.the.clock are going to ha#e an ad#antage o#er unicate in anything except their L1! ;ere y ELLs to increase their exposure to

their peers whose fa ilies are una%le or unwilling to co are a few ite s that 1 ight try$ in an atte pt to encourage

English in their non.acade ic ti e0

"here are few things

ore uni#ersally appealing to kids right now than the use of technology! 1 read ultiple co puters$

recently that e#en large fa ilies who share one s all apart ent will still ha#e

ta%lets$ and s art phones! "hat speaks #olu es a%out the priorities of our nation! ;a#ing inade(uate sleeping space is not an issue$ as long you can connect to your face%ook page at the touch of a %utton! 1 would definitely use this as oti#ation for kids to stay connected in English!

"here are sites where kids can chat 5as long as it does not get too personal7 and then e ail or print out the results$ which carries the possi%ility of 3chatting4 as a legiti ate ho ework assign ent! "he opportunities for growth are unli ited! "he printouts would %e a great tool for analy9ing gra studying #oca%ulary or spelling$ or e#en assessing ar$

astery of concepts if the chat was part of an

assign ent that ga#e a specific discussion topic 5ie! How do American holidays differ from the holidays of your native country?). And this can all %e acco plished at ho e!

1 ha#e also found a host of other great internet sites that are designed for ELLs to practice! So e pro#ide lessons 5a great thing if your school is experi enting with 3flipped learning47$ practice ga es$ and e#en ini.(ui99es! Other sites feature con#ersations and opportunities to %uild fluency! So e of

y fa#orites include0

http0<<www!englishacti#ities!net<english.topics.esl http0<<www!eslfast!co <ro%ot< http0<<www!eslgold!co <speaking!ht l

1n response to the (uery regarding parental in#ol#e ent$ 1 school districts where 1 ha#e done

ust express

y concern that in the two

y field study hours$ there has %een al ost 9ero effort put into

relating the ELLs acade ic endea#ors to their li#es at ho e! =a ilies are in#ited to the school for periodic eetings$ when necessary or when re(uired$ %ut few are asked to participate in the day.to.

day functions of their child)s schooling! 1 ha#e ideas a%out how to strengthen that connection$ %ut 1)#e %een told repeatedly %y ESL instructors with su%stantial collecti#e experience that in theory %ut will ne#er work in practice! y ideas are lo#ely

=or exa ple$ 1 think it would %e a fa%ulous idea to ha#e the ESL classes host an annual 1nternational >ay at school! "his would gi#e the kids and their fa ilies a chance to %e the experts and to share their knowledge and their cultures with A erican students! 1t would %e fun to ha#e ethnic food$ to listen to their nati#e the fa ily usic$ perhaps to learn a dance or hear so e reading in their L1! 'y in#ol#ing ore authentic and eaningful experience for

e %ers of the ELLs$ it would %eco e a far

e#eryone in#ol#ed!

1 also like the idea of reading logs for younger students that chart the %ooks read to and the %ooks read %y ele entary.aged children! 'y using a sheet that gets su% itted to the teacher after a set ti e period$ parents ere suggestion! ight %e ore willing to see that ti e as #alua%le and re(uired$ as opposed to a

1 would also do a %iweekly newsletter$ detailing current assign ents and pro8ects$ discussing lesson o%8ecti#es$ and pro#iding at.ho e suggestions that will help students experience success %oth inside

and outside of the classroo

setting! 1t is para ount to ha#e a rapport not 8ust with your students$

%ut also with their fa ilies! Great things can %e acco plished if e#eryone is on %oard$ sharing the goal of aking a kid)s acade ic success a priority that is the result of a tea effort!