In my search for resources, I came across this great website titled Bilingual Monster (http://www.bilingualmonster.com/ ). Now, this website's target audience is elementary students, but the website includes articles, research and technology tools that would benefit any teacher. The site features a variety of worksheets and activities in both English and Spanish which can be used in the classroom to supplement learning, OR can be sent home to encouraging learning in the household. Parents of ELs want to help their students to succeed in school, but do not always have resources. Bilingual Monster helps to address this problem by creating learning activities that can be accessed by educators, tutors, students and families. The website is a work progress, but has a promising future. It is a great way to support bilingualism in Spanish-speaking ELs! Take time to explore this site and all of the cool, 21st century resources it has to offer!
What to do first in the ELL classroom... Many of us are getting ready to head back to school after a much needed summer vacation. I recommend watching this video for tips and tricks on welcoming ELs to the classroom on the first day. It is important to remember that this is the first day in American schools for some of our ELs, so we need to be very diligent in creating a welcoming classroom environment and establishing routines that help ELs successfully navigate through the school day. In this video, I especially appreciated the fact that there was an emphasis on diversity and respect for different cultures. In one scene, a child is translating a word into her native language, and sharing the translated word with the class. As the narrator says, "Simple things like pronouncing students' names correctly, learning a few words in their language, and displaying their work make a big difference. The easiest tip of all-SMILE." Start day one with this advice and you should be off to a great start. For more videos and ideas on teaching ELs and promoting student bilingualism, visit www.colorincolorado.org In the video, "Inside Look At A Spanish Immersion School," we learn what takes place in an immersion program. While this program primarily targets non-Spanish speakers (as opposed to native-Spanish speaking students), we get insight into the educational and cultural benefits of promoting and developing bilingualism. The research on dual language immersion is highly positive, and this video is reflective of that research. Hope you enjoy this video as much as I did! I came across this fascinating 2010 TED Talk by Patricia Kuhl on language acquisition of babies. From the perspective of an EL teacher, one of the insights I gained from Kuhl's presentation was that as we get older, it becomes more difficult to acquire a new language. It is extremely easy for a baby to learn one or many languages, but this is not true for adults or teenagers. This is relevant to English Learners because it provides us insight into school-aged children's abilities to acquire a second language. It is significantly harder for an EL who enters American schools in middle or high school (after puberty) to learn English, than a much younger child. So, the questions I have after watching this TED Talk are: (1) Does a baby's exposure to language have a lasting impact if the language is not utilized during the development stages? (2) If a an EL who arrives in the U.S. in Kindergarten or third grade and is taught in English only, will they be able to commit their native language to memory? and (3) Will English-only strategies hinder ELs abilities to become bilinguals? As concluded by Dr. Kuhl, research on language acquisition in babies and how language impacts brain development is only beginning. |