A 1st grader’s struggle with the English Language

By: Becky Enders

Student Information6 year old male student in 1st grade

Born in Mexico

Lived in United States for about year and a half

Has attended Park Elementary in Orland Park, IL since Kindergarten

Lives with Parents (who can’t speak English) and Grandparents (Grandpa can speak and write a good amount of English)

School DemographicsPark Elementary- Pre-K to 2nd grade: 343 students

78.7% White, 12.2% Hispanic, 4.7% Asian, 2.6% Multiracial, 1.7% Black

9.3% Limited Language Proficient

10% School Low Income

Made Adequate Yearly Progress

Marty’s ESL HistoryWhen entered Kindergarten he barley spoke a word of English

Since then he has made much progress speaking English

Reading & Writing have not made much progress

Still struggles with letter sounds and basic sight words

Marty’s MAJOR Issues

Right now the biggest issue: decoding words using sounds, and sight word recognition

ESL HelpESL teacher pushes in classroom in the mornings 5 days a week and works with all ESL students in the classroom

Focuses mainly on reading, vocabulary, and spelling

ESL teacher pulls Marty out 2 times a week with another student to work on the skills they need the most

What are the causes of these issues?

MOTIVATION

ESL Program

Classroom Teacher Style

MotivationRequires much motivation and redirecting during class

Doesn’t want to try and sound out unfamiliar words

Doesn’t want to practice sight words from his keyring sight word on his own

Motivation“Motivation is made up of three elements: effort, desire, and affect”

Marty lacks the effort to study the new langue, the desire to want to learn, and has a negative affect on learning the language

Instrumental and Integrative motivation are also lacking in his academics

He has no positive attitude while trying to learn the new language, and has no true reward to learn besides praise from his teachers which he doesn’t seem to care about

Motivation

Family only speaks Spanish (with exception of grandpa) = no reward/reason to learn

Needs a boost in his integrative motivation to sustain long-term success in English

ESL ProgramSchool consists of 9.3% Limited Language Proficient Students

Only 2 ESL teachers for K-2nd

Works with Marty and 6 other ESL students 5 times a week for 20-30 minutes on reading, vocabulary, and spelling

Works with Marty and one other student 2 times a week on specific skills they both need extra help in

ESL ProgramDoesn’t allow for much one-on-one time to work on the skills he is falling behind in

Program must meet the linguistic, academic, and affective needs of ESL students

Provides necessary instruction so the ESL students can progress at a rate similar to their native-English speaking classmates

Makes the best use of their resources

ESL ProgramWhile talking with ESL teacher she feels that the program can make some changes to meet all the needs that a program should consist of, in order to ensure the success of the students they are helping

Classroom Teacher Style

Not set-up to expand ESL students’ vocabulary and understanding of English

Didn’t notice any strategies classroom teacher used to help benefit the ESL students (didn’t explain unfamiliar/basic vocabulary)

Classroom Teacher Style

Teacher must understand his/her students’ learning styles

ESL students may differ in styles than native-English students

Marty- dependent (becomes frustrated when facing new challenges not directly addressed in the classroom) (likes to work by himself or only with ESL students)

Classroom Teacher Style

Classroom teacher needs to use strategies and techniques that support ESL students’ new language

Cooperative Learning (pair with native-English or another stronger ESL student)

Whole Language Approach (meaningful and engaging instruction)

Graphic organizers (allow students to organize and represent information clearly)

Ways to help Marty

What? When? Who? For What?

Cooperative Learning

During regular classroom time

Classroom teacher

To expand vocabulary and practice reading strategies with

peers

Graphic Organizers

During regular classroom time

Classroom teacher

& ESL Teacher

To gain clear understanding and remember

(use with vocabulary)

More Ways to HelpTalk with parents/ or grandpa and tell them to motivate Marty at home to learn language

Develop reward system in order to motivate Marty to learn basic sight words

Work with ESL teacher to concentrate on major issues before moving on to more complex concepts in reading

SourcesCrandall, J. (1994). Content-Centered Language Learning. ERIC Digest Retrieved

February 29, 2012 from ERIC Digest on World Wide Web: http://www.ericdigests.org/

1994/content.htm

McKeon, D. (1987). Different Types of ESL Programs. ERIC Digest Retrieved

February 29, 2012 from ERIC Digest on World Wide Web: http:// www.ericdigests.orgpre-

927/types.htm

Norris-Holt, J. (2001). Motivation as a Contributing Factor in Second Language Acquisition. The

Internet TESL Journal Retrieved February 29, 2012 from The Internet

TESL Journal, Vol. VII, No. 6 on World Wide Web: http://

iteslj.org/Articles/Norris-Motivation.html

Putintseva, T. (2006.) The Importance of Learning Styles in ESL/EFL. The

Internet TESL Journal Retrieved February 29, 2012 from The Internet TESL Journal,

Vol.

XII, No. 3 on World Wide Web: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Putintseva-LearningStyles.html

Zehler, A. (1994). Working with English Language Learners: Strategies for

Elementary and Middle School Teachers. NCBE Program Information Guide

Series 19. Retrieved February 29, 2012 from SUBE- English Language Learners on

World

Wide Web: http://www.sube.com/uploads/b1/pD/

b1pDb_pcH6gJI83AbQpn7Q/Working_with_ELL_strategies.pdf