Blog 8:  Second Language Learning

            After reading the two articles and experiencing what ELL students feel like, my thoughts about teaching ELL has drastically changed.  I will begin with how my thoughts have changed using Cambourne’s Conditions. First off my students need immersion in learning English. This will be accomplished by bringing them into the English classroom and listening to their peers and I talk. Along with immersion, they need to have engagement. This can be a little tricky because I don’t want to emerge them in the class so much that they lose engagement. I will make it my goal to allow at least thirty minutes a day to sit and talk to them about themselves and what they like to do. I will ask them questions about themselves in English and ask them to answer in English. I will also take the time to learn the basics of their language so that they do not feel isolated.

            Another part of Cambourne’s Conditions I will use is expectations. I will expect my ELL to at least be trying to speak English. In return I will learn the basics of their language so that I can understand them and use a little bit of their language to help them feel “at home.” From my Spanish class in Costa Rica, I know that four hours of a language I am unfamiliar with can be very tiring and slightly frightening. It makes me feel more comfortable and better when the teacher understands some English and even says a little bit back to me. I also think feedback is extremely important. Students need to hear both positive and constructive feedback. As a student learning Spanish I like to hear that I am doing well and what I need to work on. It is important to remember to always have equal amounts of constructive and positive feedback or more positive than constructive feedback. Too much constructive feedback can make the student feel bad about themselves and their learning.  Lastly the most important component of Cambourne’s Conditions is trust. The student has to feel trust with you when learning. They need to be able to know that they can make errors and will not be criticized. If my teachers criticized me in my Spanish classes, I would not want to try new words.  Trust is very crucial in a classroom especially for ELL.

            I plan to use all components of Halliday’s Seven Functions of Language. Instrumental will be used in the beginning when I am asking the students what they need. It will be used especially in the morning and the afternoon when recording if students need a school lunch or if they brought their lunch. As mentioned above with Cambourne’s Conditions I will use the personal function when trying to reach out to my students. I will talk to the students about what they like and have them even tell the class. (Each student will talk about themselves so the ELL does not feel singled out.) The imaginative component is also very important for ELL. We will tell stories and play games using English. I may give them a topic and then let them tell a story. We did this in my Spanish class and I absolutely loved it. Making up your own story is always fun. After three weeks of learning a second language I have learned that it can be difficult at times but as long as my teachers use these different conditions and functions, I am able to learn and enjoy myself in doing so.

These are my Mama Tica's grandchildren. They speak very little English so I got a ton of Spanish practice when I hung out with them.