Blog 21

Here is what I have so far for my Research Project. This is information from  my articles.

An English Speaking pre-K teacher for Latino children, Implications on the teacher-child relationship on second language learning.  The study describes how an effective Pre-k teacher designs strategies for communicating with and teaching young English Language Learners. The teacher tried to enhance her own relationship with the students, and by doing so it promoted her students to become full participants in the classroom community.

By the end of the year, the Latino students showed progress in formal and informal measures of receptive vocabulary in both English and Spanish. The findings from the study show the importance of the affective and social nature of second language learning in young children.

The article starts by stating that there is a dramatic increase of Latino students in the U.S but they still have the lowest among other races in terms of school readiness. Their methods are to use Latino bilingual teachers so they can use Spanish as the language if instruction. They feel there is a lack of that, and they also feel there is a need for monolingual teachers to teach ELL to early childhood students.

Questions asked:

·         How does this teacher communicate with her Spanish speaking students?

·         How does she support the children’s native language?

·         What strategies does she use to teach English to
Latino students, and to promote literacy development?

Establishing a positive relationship with the students allowed access to opportunities for learning English

Interview questions:

Approximate age, ethnicity, education degree, any training for teaching ELL’s,  why you became a teacher, philosophy statement, give information  about the students in the class and their ethnicity  how many total students, the child in focus. Time of observation, how long, January to ,April, Wednesdays etc… This study is based on an interview and observation of the teacher’s interaction with Ted as well as Ted’s interaction with other students.

2nd Article:

It’s important to know the 2 social worlds of children. Trying to find out:  How social interchanges and classroom social dynamics contribute to children’s early school adaptation, particularly in contemporary classroom contexts with children from diverse backgrounds, cultures and abilities.

What are the implications?

There is a need to develop strategies to examine how children’s conceptions of classroom peer relations and peer group dynamics are related to their social behavior and classroom adjustment. 

I'm not sure if the information I have can help me start my interview and observation.

Research Project Interview-Transcribed

S:            This is Suzy Ackumey, I am interviewing N, a kindergarten teacher at Connecticut Farms School for a research project at Kean University. Today is Wednesday April 17,2013 and the time is 11:25 am.

                So how long have you been teaching?

S:            This is Suzy Ackumey, I am interviewing N, a kindergarten teacher at Connecticut Farms School for a research project at Kean University. Today is Wednesday April 17,2013 and the time is 11:25 am.

                So how long have you been teaching?

N:           umm… I’ve been teaching elementary children for nine years and I worked as an assistant and a teacher at a nursery school for 15 years.

S:            And what school did you get your diploma?

N:           From Kean University. First, Union County, and then at Kean.

S:            How long ago did you receive your diploma?

N:           I graduated from Kean in 2004

S:            Did you receive any type of training on teaching ELL students at all?

N:           umm…. Not really

S:            umm what about when you started like working within the actual school, did they like do anything

N:           yes, umm.. ummm.. they go over certain procedures, and certain ways that we can help them

S:            Do you know how many ELL students are in you class now?

N:           yes, two

S:            What different  strategies do you use when you are teaching the classroom, like just in general?

N:           umm  different strategies in general?

S:            yea, like I guess to accommodate the different learning styles?

N:           you know, have some children sit closer to us (teacher’s assistant and herself) to focus, some children need to sit closer to the board, umm, maybe put children, of course walk around the room, revolve around the room and help individual students, make sure they are on target. When we have umm, free time, call up some individual students to do sight words or read with us. We do centers with small groups.

                Of course you do all these things but you know you can’t figure out how to put them…hahahaha hahha

S:            yea I know… hahaha hahahaha

N:           You’re thinking let’s use presege… and you’re like well we did that already we just don’t call it that  hahahhah

S:            hahaha, right right

S:            So when you first umm.. I guess, just in general it doesn’t necessarily have to be in this classroom but in other classes that you’ve taught, When the ELL students first come in to the classrooms, how do you approach them? Like what kind of things do you do?

N:           Okay well first I would introduce myself and see, talk to them a little and see if they understand English and if they did not understand me, maybe I would search out for someone in the school that speaks their language and English and we can communicate that way.

S:            And then how do you build upon that I guess?

N:           And if there is a student in the classroom that speaks their language and English, I would buddy them up with that student.

S:            Do you feel that your teaching strategies have changed over the years?

N:           Umm yes. I feel as though every year you’ve been teaching and every time you go to another workshop you learn something new.

S:            Umm.. when was the first time that you had an ELL student in your class?

N:           umm… probably about three years ago, I taught pre-K in Union one year, probably in pre-K. I really haven’t had that many.

S:            Not that many, yea?

N:           Yea this is the first time I’ve had someone like Timmy.

S:            Oh okay. Umm..okay so with the training that, I guess, that you received like when you first started working at the school, like what does that entail? Like do you remember what kind of things they taught you?

N:           hahaha…I don’t remember them really training us, you know we just have a li…I received a list from the ESL teacher that would help us, and they gave us strategies.

S:            Do you feel that the ELL teachers, that  they have helped ? Like do you see any progress when they go to the ELL teacher, do you see any type of progress?

N:           Yes, a little progress, they help a little.

S:            How do you find the level of difficulty of how you relate to the ELL students?

N:           It depends on how much English they understand. If they understand a little it’s okay. But if they don’t understand any English it’s a little difficult. But they seem to learn quickly. He (Timmy) didn’t speak any English.

S:            What do you think contributes to him picking up and learning quickly?

N:           I think that he’s young, you know his brain is like a sponge, absorbing everything.

S:            right, right.  So umm, can you describe what it was like when Timmy first transferred into your class?

N:           Okay when Timmy first transferred into my class, when he first came, he didn’t seem to know any English so he did speak to a cafeteria worker, and his cousin is here that speaks English…

S:            The cafeteria worker, speaks Engl..

N:           Right, she spoke to him a little bit.

S:            What language does he speak at home?

N:           Portuguese

S:            How did he seem to act in the classroom when he first came?

N:           He seemed quiet, and we had a student helping him and he did become a little frustrated with the student telling him what to do all the time.

S:         What kind of changes have you noticed in Timmy’s behavior, I guess sin terms of like social interactions, school work, from when he first started to now?

N:        Okay, When he first started he was quiet but then he did become a little aggressive, but after we talked to his mother he settled down.

S:         Okay aggressive meaning?

N:        umm, like like he pushed someone.. or umm.. he seemed to settle in, he seems to do his work, and follow what the other students are doing. He copies what they are doing.

S:         How do you think he  socializes with other students?

N:        I think he socializes fine. He seems to get along with most of the students.

S:         And what about, how do you think he socializes with you the teacher? Or with other teachers?

N:        Okay he is speaking more, we told him to speak more, and he does speak more, sometimes his words kind of run together and I have to ask him to repeat it, but he is speaking more now.

S:         DO you know how he got introduced to friends, or do you know if he has any close friends in the class?

N:        Umm….I…don’t know how he, you know, other than introducing him to the class, I don’t know how he’s introduced on the playground. But he does have a brother, a sister in the school. And he also has cousins in the school, so that would help. His cousin speaks English very nicely, so he probably would introduce him on the playground.

S:         What grade is his cousin in?

N:        Umm..his cousin, she’ a girl, she’s in first grade. So it’s, first grade or second, I’m not sure, but I had his cousin in pre-K. She’s very outgoing so...

S:         AS of now, the transitioning period from when he started to now, what kind of change have you seen in him?

N:        Yes, I think he’s making a great, progress. He did not start in September so, he only started a few months ago.

S:         About how many months ago?

N:        umm… I’m not sure, I would have to look, maybe about 3 months? I think he’s made such a progress in that time.