Site Purpose

Many teachers know the number of students who speak a native language other than English is on the rise. “From 1998 to 2008, the number of English language learner students increased from 3.5 million to 5.3 million, and researchers estimate that 1 in 10 public school students in the United States is an English Language Learner” (Chang, 2012).  Meaning the number of diverse needs we need to meet in our classroom is increasing exponentially.  This site is to be used as a resource and summary of some of the different: programs, teaching strategies, assessments, laws, resources, and language acquisition research for educating English language learners (ELLs).

Digital Philosophy

Plan For Growth as a Dynamic Culturally Aware Educator

Ford (2014) states the following:

The United States is considered the land of immigrants and cultural diversity, and our nation's ever changing demographics attests to this. Yearly, our nation and schools become more racially and linguistically different. In what ways, we must ask, are schools welcoming and providing for students who come from different cultural backgrounds, especially Black and Hispanic students? The author contends that schools and educators must be culturally responsive; however, misperceptions hinder their appreciation of and respect for multicultural education and, thus, the adoption of culturally responsive practices is infrequent and/or met with reservations. Several (by no means all) misperceptions are share accompanied by counterarguments (p.59).

As discussed in the above excerpt the United States diversity in: culture, language, race, economic status, educational backgrounds, intelligence, religion, values, and more are increasing exponentially over the years. As an educator the awareness of different cultures needs be taken into account as we interact with our students and design curriculum and implement different teaching strategies. As a special education teacher, I have learned how important it is to get to know your students and to start teaching content by starting with what the students know.  I feel these same concepts can be applied to ESL education. I have always felt there is nothing “special” about “special education” good teaching is good teaching. There are particular teaching strategies that are not just beneficial for students in special education or bilingual education  but for all students. This part of why I chose to earn a Masters in ESL, it is my goal to learn and teach using universally designed strategies so that I can reach all students at all academic levels and proficiency levels. Each student is unique and worth getting to know.

 In order to grow as a dynamic culturally aware educator I plan to:

• Reflect on my personal beliefs and possible biases.
• Get to know each of my students in multiple aspects of life by asking questions. (I feel many people fear asking and as a result remain ignorant)
• Make sure I a pronouncing all my students names correctly.
• Connecting with parents through phone calls home, meetings, and e-mails/letters.
• Continually learning new teaching strategies to increase my student’s content knowledge.
• Communicate with my schools ESL teacher.
• Talk with my peers about teaching strategies and cultural awareness.
• Educate myself about different cultures.
• Increase my knowledge of linguistically differences.
• Learn and then use different languages in my classroom.
• Encourage my students to use their native language in my classroom.

My list could go on and on, but my overall goal is to continue to: update my education on a continual basis, reflect on my own and with peers, and to create an environment that allows students to feel safe to promote their cultural identity.

Importance of Cultural and Linguistic Awareness

The United States has more immigrants than ever before. As a result the number of students requiring cultural and linguistic sensitive education has also increased. Meaning educators have to meet more diverse needs in one classroom than ever before. When creating assessments, curriculum standards, and implementing teaching strategies if cultural and linguistic differences are not taken into account students may not be able to access the curriculum to the fullest. If content is not geared to meet students’ cultural needs and interests, student motivation and performance will also decrease. Assessment data will not be valid because cultural and linguistic biases will inhibit a student’s understanding of the questions and assignments. As a result student scores will not be a true representation of a student’s knowledge and capabilities. Eventually overtime, if a student puts in effort and continues to struggles to access the curriculum and does not perform well due to cultural barriers, a student may become frustrated and eventually give up. Cultural and linguistic awareness is essential to creating meaningful and effective lessons. All students deserve the right to a meaningful education that will prepare them for the future. Eliminating cultural biases and implementing effective teaching strategies will allow students to reach their fullest potential.