Case Study

Your Name

Florida International University

School of Education

TSL3080

2

Getting Acquainted

Q1: Practices you experienced when you were in school and have seen in your previous

field experiences

When I was growing up in school, I was in a private Catholic school with a very narrow

demographic. The two main populations were white and Hispanic. The school currently has

opened its doors to more populations such as students with disabilities. However, at the time, the

school was not equipped to do so. Furthermore, the school has more variety in its demographics.

This may be because it has been around longer, and more people have heard about it. When I

went to school there it was pretty small, and everyone knew and lived around each other. The

practices of my school at the time was one of English instruction and a Spanish class period. The

only time I remember speaking Spanish in school was during Spanish class or with my friends in

recess who preferred to speak Spanish. However, we would never get in trouble for doing so.

From what I can remember, all our teachers spoke Spanish and would speak to parents in

Spanish if need be. However, it was never an issue if we were to speak in Spanish in class. The

only thing that was required is that we respond to both written and orally in English.

In my field experience hours, I have had the chance to go to both bilingual and non-

bilingual schools. All experiences were different in their own way as well as the schools’

practices. However, one thing that was common in all the schools I’ve volunteered at is that they

never were ones to punish the students for speaking their home language. I have only seen two

other languages spoken in schools and those were Portuguese and Creole. These in comparison

to Spanish and English both their seminaries and differences in terms of linguistics. However,

none of the cooperating teachers I had spoken either of those two languages. Thus, there was an

issue there because the teachers did not know what they were saying. At most the students would

3

be asked to speak in English instead to get their point across to the teacher., and reprimanding

was never involved. If they were not speaking with the teacher and just their friends, the teachers

will not have an issue with that. In the bilingual school I volunteered in this semester, they taught

the curriculum both in English and Spanish or English and Portuguese. The students choose the

track they would like to participate in. The way the tracks work is that in one half of the day the

students learn core curriculum in Spanish or Portuguese and in the other half they learn the core

curriculum in English. The purpose of this set up is to build a strong foundation of literacy and

proficiently in both languages. This school and its staff believe in a system that embraces

multilingual interactions and using both languages whenever possible. The way the curriculum is

set up is setting the way for ELL learners to thrive and succeed in both languages. It does not

favor one or the other and most importantly it does not erase that first language.

Q2: Groups that advocated for English language learners in Florida in the 1980s, as well as

accomplishments of the Consent Decree

Many minority groups advocated for English language learners in Florida during the

1980s. While there many, the notable groups include the League of the United Latin American

Citizens (LULAC), Spanish American League Against Discrimination (SALAD), the American

Hispanic Educator’s Association of Dade(AHEAD), and the Haitian Educator’s Association.

These groups, and several more, contributed to the landmark case resulting in the 1990 Florida

Consent Decree.

The 1990 Florida Consent Decree is what has made modern day translanguaging

practices possible in the classroom. This decree is the framework that ensures that both federal

and state laws regarding ELLs will be upheld. It further ensures the civil rights of ELLs will be

protected while providing the adequate resources to provide the quality education that is

4

necessary for these students. The Consent Decree addresses the civil rights of ELs, foremost

among those their right to equal access to all education programs. In addressing these rights, the

Consent Decree provides a structure that ensures the delivery of the comprehensible instruction

to which ELs students are entitled. The Consent Decree abides to and ensures the carrying out of

the following federal and state laws along with more:

Title VI and VII Civil Rights Act of 19641. This prohibits discrimination on the basis

of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Florida is a diverse state and ELs are often of a different race, color, and national origin than

those who know English. Enforcing this act makes sure that these ELs are provided with the

necessary resources to succeed.

Equal Education Opportunities Act of 19741. This act focuses more on the linguistic

aspects, mandating that educational agencies must take “‘appropriate action’ to overcome

language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs”.

Congress has extended this to include bilingual education for ELs which provides an efficient

environment for them.

Florida Education Equity Act, 19841. This builds on the previous rulings, but includes

a necessary addendum that these changes to be more inclusive and homogenous do not disregard

the cognitive or linguistic differences of students, stating that “this is not intended to eliminate

the provision of programs designed to meet the needs of students with limited proficiency”. This

prevented loopholes to be taken advantage of.

Q3: Definition of “translanguaging”, opinion of this practice, and translanguaging

practices and scaffolding structures

This flexible, critical, intentional, and creative use of language is called translanguaging.

5

Translanguaging is the process in which multilingual speakers use their languages as an

integrated communication system. In addition, translanguaging refers to the language practice of

bilingual speakers, often involving their flexible and fluid use of their linguistic resources to

make meaning of their lives and complex worlds. Translanguaging is an extension of the concept

of languaging, the general practices of language speakers, but with the additional feature of using

multiple languages, simultaneously. This is a dynamic process in which multilingual speakers

navigate both complex social and cognitive demands through the strategic use of multiple

languages. An example of this exists in the English-Spanish households across the country.

Children may be speaking one language and the parents another, even to each other. Another

example is that the family might be watching a television program in English while the radio is

playing Spanish music or a Spanish radio show.

A significant number of studies have proven the efficacy of translanguaging as both a

meaning-making process and a pedagogical tool. I believe that translanguaging is unique in that,

unlike code-switching which posits a very disjointed view of language, translanguaging proposes

a uniform database of language from which we strategically select features to communicate

effectively. Translanguaging is beneficial both linguistically and culturally for students since it

ensures that ELs are not criticized for maintaining their often only connection to their family’s

culture. I believe that can also be an encouraging tool. By building on the flexibility of a

student’s language practices, they may be motivated to tryout other language practices, thereby

increasing the likelihood of becoming multilingual. I especially appreciate how translanguaging

does away with the hierarchies that arise when languages are kept separate. Instead, by merging

them, each is equally valued and can lend to a more diverse curriculum and

multilingual/multicultural education, which is beneficial for all. Overall, I believe

6

translanguaging is an innovative perspective on language practices that helps all students,

especially emergent bilinguals, to gain a metalinguistic understanding and appreciate cultural and

linguistic diversity.

Being an Advocate for Bilingual Students

Q1: Students’ backgrounds as resources, as well as two additional ideas

It is important to view students’ language backgrounds as resources in their learning. Ms.

Conte and Ms. Canton Kim believe that having different languages is only going to help their

students go further in their learning. They work to use their students’ backgrounds to model their

learning. They do this by giving the students two of the same books, but in two different

languages and asking them to see if they can copy quotes from the book both in English and in

Spanish. The students expressed that they can. The teachers also have the students create cultural

portraits at the beginning of the year to build community in the classroom. In these portraits, the

students discuss their cultures and their languages in comparison to students in their class. This

activity helps the students see what they have in common as well as what makes them different.

This brings more empathy into the classroom as well. The teachers also use the term emergent

bilinguals when they talk about their students' learning because it best addresses the goal instead

of the lack. To these teachers, it is more than learning English but teaching them how to best use

their language abilities as a whole.

Other ways to use students’ backgrounds as recourses for their learning is by activating a

student’s background into the classroom is through math lessons where they are learning

measurements. In baking, there needs to be a lot of attention to measurements and that fact can

be brought into the classroom. Students can be encouraged to make a traditional food item from

their culture and discuss the different measurements they needed to use to make the dish. This

7

activity promotes both the learning of the measurement skill and highlights a student’s culture.

Another way would be, if there was a unit on explorers, Ms. Conte could have students learn

about explorers who came to what is now the New York area. She can then broaden the focus to

compare the experiences of explorers going to the New York area with explorers going to Latin

America and Canada during that same general time period, as her classroom demographic comes

from those regions. She can then create a display to show the multicultural focus. They can then

map out which European countries sent explorers to which parts of the “New World.” Students

later can write historical fiction pieces from the perspective of one of the explorers or from one

of the indigenous groups. They can use their own cultural and linguistic information from their

family to personalize these writing assignments.

Q2: Reading and culture of inclusion, and your experience in the classroom

Reading multicultural literature creates a culture of inclusion as it promotes empathy and

unity. Multicultural literature serves to portray the ubiquity of human experience. All children

feel the same emotions no matter where they live in the world, what language they speak, or how

they look. It suggests that although people have many differences, there are common traits that

unite us. Multicultural characters also allow us to empathize with the depictions while

simultaneously introducing us to the traditions, beliefs, and languages of that character’s culture.

The diversity of media also allows children to be more tolerable and understanding of different

perspectives while also being able to relate to these perspectives. Multicultural literature

promotes the interaction of children across differing ethnic backgrounds. Stories portraying

cultural diversity can foster the belief that race is not a barrier, but rather a contribution to the

beauty of our multicultural world.

In one of my previous education classes, I’d designed a multicultural unit examining

8

various forms of identity in Mexican culture while using Chicano poetry, music, and combining

these with poems and excerpts by African Americans or works from other Hispanic groups. This

unit was then put into practice when I began tutoring and my student and I completed the unit

together. The first lesson plan was about names and their power as a means to control or

determine identity where we read accompanying fiction and non-fiction about how names are

impacted by immigration. Creating this unit was an enlightening and horizon-broadening

experience as it made me cognizant of the issues of othered groups and how cultural identity

permeates in everything, like our names, and how we can be stripped of it by giving our names

away. I recall my student having this revelation of the importance of names and she became

more reflective of cultural identity and how it relates to language and how we identify. This unit

plan was based on the novel Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by

Benjamin Alire Sáenz. It explores Mexican cultural identity, drawing explicit questions on the

connection of cultural identity and language in a third-generation immigrant family.

Q3: Profit from exposure to bilingual books

English speakers can benefit from the use of bilingual books because it helps them form

an understanding of the structure of that other language. The first step to literacy and fluency is

being exposed to the language’s content. Students need to be given a text where they can

visualize the correct use of that language and begin the process of learning it. Through this, the

students can start pinpointing the seminaries and differences as well. Later, when the students are

more comfortable with the language, they can begin the process of learning how to read and

write with it fluently. However, it all starts with the initial exposure.

Q4: Ms. Conte’s findings and your opinion about full class control

She discovered that she had as much to learn as her students did. She had to gain patience

9

and be like her students as both try to understand a language they do not know. It is

understandable where this teacher was coming from because I have experienced the same

feelings in a class that had students who spoke mainly Portuguese. At that time, I was a freshman

in college and was never really exposed to Portuguese at all. There are some commonalities with

Spanish, so I was able to understand through some context.

The idea that teachers are the dominating and sole source of learning within the

classroom is an antiquated and incorrect model of efficient learning. This places undue burden

on the teacher and limits student ability and prior knowledge as valuable pedagogical resources

to be optimized. Despite my agreement with this pedagogical stance, I would feel uncertain and

limited in my classroom if I did not control everything. The teacher must design lessons with

meticulous reflection and foresight but should also be flexible enough to accommodate the

unknown. For that reason, I believe that I would struggle with the inability to communicate

quickly with my students or easily facilitate learning or a student-teacher bond. However,

students are a valuable resource so a bilingual can help me interact with ELs. Additionally, I

would likely research basic phrases in my students’ languages so I could communicate with them

and compensate for other methods of forming a student-teacher bond. If anything, I can follow

the example of Ms. Chapman Santiago and have typed, private conversations.

I believe that as a teacher you never stop learning and every day is an opportunity to learn

something new. I also believe that there are no teachers that have all the answers or solutions to

problems. However, that can be reassuring as an inspiring teacher. This is because knowing that

not knowing everything is alright is a freeing idea. Through my time learning to become a

teacher, I have written down everything. From strategies and advice, to things to avoid doing.

This has helped me because there needs to be structure in a classroom as well as fun. Having the

10

strategies and methods already lined up leaves room for flexibility and change. That is something

that is needed in a classroom.

Bilingual Superpowers

Q1: Benefits of graphic novels?

Graphic novels are an excellent resource because they can enable the student to

comprehend English skills appropriate to their level in combination with visual aids. These

visual aids enable the students to better comprehend and associate the written words with the

images,, not only providing context to the situations which these words are utilized (ex/

pragmatics), but also enabling the teacher to understand the foreign language the student is

expressing in so the teacher can use the language to springboard into greater and more complex

English comprehension. For example, in the video provided, Ms. Ballantyne-Barry reads

student-made graphic novels which have mandarin written in them, which she does not know.

However, she begins to understand because of the pictures drawn. Graphic novels, thus, benefit

both the student, in comprehension and fluidity of their linguistic resources, and the teacher with

understanding their students. Describe the process Ms. Ballantyne-Berry uses with her graphic

novel assignment.

Q2: Process of the assignment

In the video, Ms. Ballantyne-Berry demonstrates how she utilizes graphic novels in her

class. She started the process by having the students do notebook writing. The teacher gave each

of them a checklist that they copied into their notebooks. This checklist had all the things that

they needed to write about in their notebooks so that they will not forget. In the video, the viewer

can see that the students wrote some parts in English and some parts in Chinese. This is because

the teacher allows them to express themselves in ways that they are comfortable with but also

11

encouraging them to challenge themselves. The students used English for structures the teacher

already taught them. Teachers need to allow students to do this because it is a start. It is a start in

reading comprehension and comprehension in general. If it is easier for students to use their

home language to demonstrate their knowledge on complex ideas, then teachers should give

them that option so that they can still show what they know. This then serves as a drawing board

of where you start building their English skills. The teacher also gave them a drafting notebook

where the students can draw pictures to illustrate their ideas and convert those into writing

samples.

Q3: Language repertoire as a resource

Ms. Ballantyne-Berry understands that students think and process aloud in the language

that comes more naturally to them. She also understands that a student’s personality ties into how

they use language. For instance, a student in her class likes to be silly and while he mainly

speaks to his friends in English, he learns how to express his silly ideas in English and says them

aloud in English and that too is a start to language building. Through Ms. Ballantyne-Berry’s

graphic novel project, she drew on culturally relevant and historical texts for the students, she

encouraged students to use English for things she has taught them and allows them to use their

home language to demonstrate more complex levels of thinking. She also gave students the

opportunity to develop their new language naturally and process things in ways that came the

most natural to them.

Knowing your Students

Q1: A quote applied to a teacher’s work

The quote Ms. Chapman-Santiago reads from Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird

is “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, you

12

climb in his skin and walk around in it”. This quote applies to all teachers because it reminds

them to have empathy with their students. It reminds them that not all backgrounds are the same

and not every student comes from a happy home. This also applies to learning a whole new

language. Teachers need to understand the difficulties that arise with that and how to best help

their students feel comfortable to learn it. However, if a student feels overlooked,

underappreciated, or misunderstood, they might be less likely to want to learn.

Q2: Body language and facial expressions, as well as an example

It is important for teachers to watch out for cues their students make through facial

expressions and body language. A student can be having a bad day, issues in school or at home,

or they might be feeling sick. More often than not, facial expressions and body language depict

these feelings and can let the teacher know that something is wrong with the student. In order for

a student to remain focused in school and in their learning, they need to be motivated to do so.

As teachers, we need to develop a warm and caring classroom environment where students are

welcomed to express how they are feeling.

When I was a student, I remember feeling extremely sad about the loss of a family

member the weekend prior. It was a very emotional time and I can say that my attention was not

on schoolwork that day. However, like many students, I wear my emotions on my face. A

teacher noticed this and was the only one who asked me what was wrong. I did not go into detail,

but simply saying what had happened out loud and expressing my sadness, I immediately felt

better and was able to continue the day more calmly. However, this was in the middle of the day

and I remember not being as focused on my work during the morning hours. In short, it is

extremely important to check on your students because a key component to learning is an open

and clear mind. When a student’s mind is consumed by something else, it can be really difficult

13

to focus on anything else.

Q3: A teacher gain of home language

There is more to what a teacher does than simply teaching the students information and

having them demonstrate their knowledge in some way. There is a relationship that needs to be

built and a level of trust the student needs to have. By encouraging students to use their home

language, they are better able to express how they feel to a teacher. Students are allowed to have

bad days and feel their feelings. Often, if a teacher does not ask the student how they are and

make assumptions, that could lead to an unsuccessful and unproductive day. It is best to address

a student’s feelings and ask how they are doing than ignoring it altogether. If a teacher does not

understand the student’s main language, there are a variety of tools teachers can use today to fix

that problem. The teacher in the video used google translate to communicate with her students.

By letting students communicate in their own language, teachers can find out what they really

know, how much they know, and where to start in their English language instruction as well.

Q4: Practical ways to incorporate home language as a scaffold, the role of L1 in second

language acquisition, and the L2 acquisition theory tied to language techniques (linguistics)

Teachers need to start where the student is at linguistically. Teachers cannot expect

students to get from point A to point D. There are steps that need to be taken, and through

scaffolded instruction where the student is building on a firm foundation, they are more likely to

be successful. As the teacher in the video pointed out, it is important to figure out the student’s

proficiency levels within their home language as well. There can be issues there too that need to

be addressed. Teachers can start with teaching vocabulary outright with the translated word and

definition. It is important to not ignore the student’s home language, but let it grow as their

English is growing. Therefore, teachers need to align instruction to the students’ English and

14

home language proficiency. This means that students may need to have a structured response,

pictorial choices, or concrete manipulatives in order to participate in the instruction. Structured

responses can be seen as sentence starters, graphic organizers, a chart, or even questions posed

with a multiple- choice format. As the student’s English improves, these supports can be

loosened or even removed. Providing these supports give students the opportunity to be

successful in the academic content while they are learning the language.

The Benefits of Bilingual Education

Q1: “Push for more” in promoting their students’ learning

Some teachers do a wonderful job of facilitating the learning of ELL students in the

typical American classroom. However, there are proven benefits for students to be enrolled in a

bilingual/multilingual program and curriculum. A bilingual classroom invites the whole child

and helps them in every area of learning. It promotes growth not in one but in both languages the

students speak. The goal is for students to be bilingual and biliterate. This means that students

are not only able to read and write in English, but in Spanish (or another language) as well.

When teachers “push for more” they are moving towards the most beneficial outcome for the

students. The best outcome is for the student to come out of school being bilingual and being

able to express themselves in a variety of ways in both languages.

Q2: The impact of the book on students

The book has most likely impacted their self-perception of their identity, especially in

relation to their cultural and linguistic identity. Names are one of the most potent devices of

identification available. The way we refer to ourselves and allow others to refer to us defines us

and establishes a set of power over the named/unnamed individual. The students in Ms. Aponte’s

classroom are immigrants or have parents who are recent immigrants. Their established identity

15

and roots have undergone a trauma. They no longer live in a country that treats their language or

traditions as natural. Often their connection to the cultural and linguistic identities are tethered in

their families and their name. When students with “difficult” names, like Jorge, they become

“George” instead, thereby stripping one of their final cultural identifiers. Students now further

separate their identities between what their family calls them and what they’re called at school,

sending the subliminal message that their culture is not welcome at school. Instead, by teaching

students that their “name is Jorge on both sides of the river”, students learn to value their cultural

identity and reaffirm it in making sure their name is correctly pronounced and not lost to

assimilation. These immigrants or children of immigrants regain certainty in their cultural

identity. The book also contains poems that help the students highlight the use of

translanguaging. As mentioned earlier. Ttranslanguaging is a great strategy that helps develop

the use of language in a more natural way. Through this activity, students are analyzing language

and working to build a better understanding of them.

Q3: The goal of bilingual education programs and the impact of bilingual education

programs on English speakers

Bilingual education programs encompass a great philosophy and ideology, which is to

attend to the whole child and that includes their background. The goal is for the students to come

out of school both bilingual and biliterate. This means they can both read, write, and speak

fluently both in their new language and old language. Another goal of bilingual programs is for

the students not to lose their home language. Often, especially when the students are young, there

is such an emphasis on learning English, not only for school but for socializing as well. This can

lead to a loss of the home language altogether because it is not being used as much. This is

something bilingual programs want to avoid. Bilingual programs are also great for immigrant

16

families and parents to get involved in the school and the student’s education. When parents feel

they can communicate and express their expectations for their child, they feel more comfortable

with sending them there every day. They also get to address things that may not be seen in

school as well as help the teachers work on skills both at home and at school. Overall, it is a

great idea to enroll students both from non-English speaking backgrounds and English-speaking

backgrounds in a bilingual school. It facilitates learning and understanding in both language

forms and can be a great asset to students in the future.