Throughout this course I will be exploring English Language Learners and Literacy. I do not have much prior knowledge on the topic, so I decided to make my initial question simple: What challenges do an ELL student face in a typical classroom? To answer this question I reviewed Helping English Language Learners in the Classroom. This article provided some general issues to consider when working with ELL students including their exposure to new cultural and societal rules, frustration over not being able to communicate effectively, and perhaps pressures from their family to succeed. The article also brought up an issue I have experienced firsthand with students. Parental English literacy and the child's literacy in their native language greatly effect their ability to learn English. As with all students, the home environment and parental assistance is key to a child's success in mastering any skill. If a child has parents who do not speak English, not only are they left on their own to master the language, they also have extra pressure to do so to ensure their family can function in society. I have seen this at the after school program where I work which has many minority students who regularly translate conversations between their parents and the staff. It is a tremendous responsibility they take on and it also means the only help they receive is at school. Furthermore the article states, if a child is not fluent in their native language, does not know the grammar structure, etc., they are at a disadvantage to learning English as their literacy knowledge is low in general.
Another article I found useful was Challenges for ELLs in Content Area Learning. This article outlined the challenges in specific subject areas while hitting on some key ideas all educators should keep in mind when teaching an ELL student. The first being that much of our literature is culture bound. If a student has no background knowledge on our culture, on important events to our society, they will fail to grasp references or omissions that everyone already knows. I am sure we have all experienced this in a class or conversation where a discussion is happening about a topic you have never been exposed to before or terminology you are unfamiliar with is used. One gets completely lost and gains nothing from the information presented. This is unfortunately what an ELL student may face in every single text they read and class discussion they hear. Furthermore, in many cases if an ELL student is coming from another country, they have not been taught in the same manner as Americans. The class structure, expectations, materials and content may have been different. Once again their missing background knowledge in certain subjects and how we teach them put the ELL student at a devastating disadvantage. To a teacher, it might be confusing how a time line or multi-step direction is a new concept for an ELL student, but if they are not native born, it may be. It is clear that building background knowledge and tapping into any prior knowledge an ELL student has is going to greatly assist them in school.
Christy, J. (2005). Helping English Language Learners in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/subject/help_ELL.phtml on 25 September 2011.
Haynes, J. (2009). Challenges for ELLs in Content Area Learning. Retrieved from http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/challenges_ells_content_area_l_65322.php on 26 September 2011.
I suppose the most important dichotomy in this argument comes down to the balancing act between maintaining the voluntary curriculum while diversifying instruction in order to reach every student. You are astute to point out that activating prior knowledge will be incredibly important to moving on with the education of students throughout ELL instruction.
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