Aristotle and paired sources referenced analysis

Sometimes students have obstacles to contend with as they enter school. One such barrier can be language. The student I worked with is a Chinese first year student who is attempting to assimilate to AP class schedules. He is a 14-year old interested in learning the English language and is having problems not only learning the language but balancing out the needs of his identity versus the American culture. English Language Learners often must contend with several influences and deal with a new culture that may seem dauting and stressful[footnoteRef:1]. His name is Bo. [1: Larry Ferlazzo, English Language Learners: Teaching Strategies That Work (Santa Barbara, Calif: Linworth, 2010)]
Bo recently immigrated to the United States with his family two years ago. While Bo has learned conversational English and some grammar, he still has problems writing in English. The way to write simplified Chinese is different than English and so he had to get used to writing. So far, Bo continues to make progress. His ability to learn vocabulary has helped him improve in speaking in English. However, his writing progress has been slower.
I assessed this information through language, literacy, and content. The first step was identifying whether he was an English Language Learner (ELL). While there are a variety of ways to identify ELLs, a language proficiency test can be used to gauge language skills[footnoteRef:2]. Bo mentioned when he first enrolled, he had to take to his parents, a home language survey which is a main indicator of an ELL student[footnoteRef:3]. The fact that he has been in an English language school for the last two years also helps in the assessment. I performed a Basic Inventory of Natural Language (BINL) and saw that he had good vocabulary. However, his grammar was lacking. Then I identified academic experience and noted he receives good grades in all his classes. [2: Ferlazzo, English Language Learners] [3: Ferlazzo]
Regarding the focus questions I identified his specific needs through the BINL and through the ACTFL WPTI. “The ACTFL WPTI is a standardized test for global assessment of functional writing abilities in a second language. The test measures how well a person spontaneously writes in a language by comparing his or her performance of specific writing tasks”[footnoteRef:4]. His needs revolved around improving grammar. For example, if he wrote a sentence like: “I enjoy there ice cream cones and its a great place to visit.” I would see that he used ‘there instead of ‘their’ and ‘its’ instead of ‘it’s’. These things although small, can greatly improve the quality of his writing and content. [4: J. Bown and T. Brown, To advanced proficiency and beyond: Theory and methods for developing superior second language ability (Washington, District of Columbia: Georgetown University Press, 2014), 51]
Because he has a good vocabulary, it is easy for him to identify appropriate word choices, especially when speaking. However, when applied to his writing and reading, he is not at the level where he needs to be to take AP classes. For example, some English words have Latin and Greek root words. Some examples of some Greek root words are: chrono, auto, biblio. I chose three literacy-based instructional strategies to help him translate his thoughts properly through writing via activities like Think-Pair-Share. Think-Pair-Share involves opportunities for students to reflect on any given topic individually, engaging afterward in discussion[footnoteRef:5]. By providing a chance for Bo to formulate his thoughts and express them verbally, then reflect on it in a journal, he can better connect the thoughts with the language in a meaningful way. [5: Lesley M. Morrow, Karen K. Wixson, and Timothy Shanahan, Teaching with the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts, Grades 3-5 (Guilford Press, 2012)]
The journal aspect is a second activity, journal writing. Double entry journals allow students to create powerful connections with what they learned to enable them to monitor their own understanding of the material [footnoteRef:6]. Double entry journals allow students to improve their literacy through taking informational notes, reflecting on these notes, as well as responding to the information they absorbed. Such an activity allows Bo to become self-aware of his own weaknesses regarding his literacy. [6: Janet Allen, More Tools for Teaching Content Literacy (Portland, Me: Stenhouse Publishers, 2008)]
Another literacy strategy is the use of K-W-L Charts. These charts assist students in organizing information concerning a topic, allows for activation of prior knowledge, and offers a purpose for reading, along with facilitating summarization[footnoteRef:7]. By using a three-column chart record information, Bo can visualize his thoughts as he writes them. These strategies all provide Bo with the ability to contextualize what he learns and reflect on the potential meaning of the words both in written form and verbal. [7: Michael James D'Amato, The Classroom (Lincoln, Neb: iUniverse, 2005)]
Reflecting on my own experience with Bo and helping him convey what he needs to as an ELL student, it has taught me several things. The first is that information needs to be processed in a multi-step way. Language is a complex means of communication. It involves rules of grammar, extensive vocabulary, and understanding context. When traditional education only offers a linear and often single means of learning, it thwarts the ability of students to understand what they need to do to grow and progress in their academic career. Going back to the K-W-L charts, this provided a visual representation of what Bo learned. Sometimes information needs to be separated and highlighted to make it easier to absorb. I have learned so much from this experience and I will certainly apply these lessons as I move forward into the future and teaching students.