Peer Response 1

· Review your classmates’ posts and respond. Compare the answers of your classmates to yours. Notice any similarities and differences to teaching adults versus K-12. For distinguished peer responses, respond with a minimum of five sentences that add to the conversation, and refrain from evaluative posts (i.e., You did a good job.).

PEERS POST:

Hello Everyone,

Describe some challenges with teaching writing and content in an ESL classroom? 

Some of the challenges may be that they do not understand the words they are writing. ESL students might have difficulty writing down their ideas on paper and writing the words in English (Robertson, n.d.). Another challenge might be they are scared to write the wrong words and do not want to make mistakes.

Explain how teachers help students overcome those challenges?

One way to help students is to be culturally responsive teachers. By doing this, you are using the strength of the student and their knowledge and use these skills to make learning a positive atmosphere (Piper, 2015). Another way to help students is to make accommodations to the student's level of learning and provide different learning activities that best suit that particular student (Piper, 2015).

Determine how teachers can help students with the vocabulary needed to write?

Teachers must show the children how to brainstorm ideas to write and help direct them to the correct vocabulary by writing them down on the board as a class. Teachers should also use strategies such as the word wall, graphic organizers, and partnering ( Acacia University, 2017). Each of these has different steps that build vocabulary and help students organize their ideas; they can visualize what their thoughts are and can interact with other peers (Acacia University, 2017). These strategies allow the students to visualize the proper words and learn how to correctly use them in a sentence structure (Piper, 2015). 

Defind how BICS and CALP language proficiencies can impact a student's writing?

An ELL child will use BICS more in a social setting. This is known as the playground language (Piper, 2015). While students use BICS, it helps them become comfortable with the English language and practice with their friends. CALP is the academic language vocabulary, and students will use this more in school with teachers. ELL students can use both of these concepts by helping the m correlate the correct English words to form proper sentences when writing.

-Jennifer Burnett

Reference:

Acacia University (2017).  Writing strategies for ESL students (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd3ezbUBbLo

Piper, T. (2015).  Language, learning, and culture: English language learning in today's schools. Bridgepoint Education.

Robertson, K. (n.d.). Improving writing skills: ELLs and the joy of writing. (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/improving-writing-skills-ells-and-joy-writingLinks to an external site.

MY POST:

Challenges with Teaching Writing and Content in an ESL Classroom

            Teaching and writing English as a second language can be challenging, just like other second languages. Acquisition of a new language, as indicated by Acacia University's research outcome on ESL, goes through five stages. These are; early production, speech emergency, intermediate fluency, and the advanced fluency stages. Learner’s experience writing and content acquisition challenges in every step, more so in the first two stages. Such challenges include inadequate mastery of Vocabulary and students' readiness to write and master the new language, as put forward by Robertson (n.d) in his illustrations on how the students behave -when told to carry their pencils and when not supposed to. Student anxiety towards the new language and poor spelling. Teachers also experience challenges when teaching writing and content acquisition in an ESL classroom: learner differences and lack of student interest in learning the new language.

How Teachers Help Students overcome those Challenges

            There are three broad strategies on how to help learners overcome writing and content in an ESL classroom, namely, the use of word walls, graphic organizers and partnering activities (Acacia University, n.d). Word walls involve meaningful teaching of Vocabulary. It has proved to be important in that it improves the students' ability to read, comprehend and write, allows learners to internalize key concepts, increases interactive learning sessions and encourages the acquisition of new Vocabulary.

Graphic organizers enable teachers of ESL to organize their content comprehensively and act as a visual aid; hence the learners can gain more understanding of the teaching concept, internalize, and write. They are very important since they are favorable for different learners and therefore consider individual learner differences. Lastly, partnering as a way to help learners in writing and content acquisition in an ESL class has proved to be very helpful in that it encourages learner interaction with peers and the instructor in the classroom. It allows learners to practice writing the second language and use it in their communication. The teacher keeps engaged with the learners through question-and-answer sessions, hence able to gauge the understanding level of the learners in terms of ESL and make appropriate adjustments. Other ways include sentence auction and the use of the language experience approach.

How Teachers can help students with the Vocabulary needed to write

            Teachers can help students in the following ways to acquire new Vocabulary to help in writing during ELL classroom sessions;

· Enable them to figure out the already developed words and then introduce new words (from known too unknown).

· Engage learners in dictionary usage to get the meaning of the new word.

· Select interesting texts and choose a wide range of words from the text.

· Discuss the word definitions and later engage them in question and answering sessions.

Defend how BICS and CALP Language Proficiencies can Impact a Student’s Writing

            BICS and CALP are the determiners of time duration spent by a learner to acquire a new language and the academic grade proficiency in a given language. BICS is considered to be a playground and a social language. It is non - specialized, not complex and does not require any training. On the other hand, CALP language is an academic language and is applied in various content teaching areas. Here, learners develop new skills such as comparison, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. BICS and CALP are related in that BICS sets from birth through interaction, but later on, it is influenced by CALP when a child starts schooling and writes in the language accepted in the learning institution.

 

 

References

Acacia University, (2017). Writing Strategies for ESL students. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd3ezbUBbloLinks to an external site.

Piper, T., 92015). Language, learning, and culture: English Language learning in today’s schools.

Robert, K (n.d). Improving writing skills: ELLs and the Joy of Writing | Colorin Colorado (Colorado.org). Retrieved from https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/improving-writing-skills-ells-and-joy-writingLinks to an external site.

Writing a paragraph with high schools, (n.d). Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbZ2k5j8MFkLinks to an external site.