Chapter 8: Teaching Teenagers Who Are Still Learning English

Chapter 8: Teaching Teenagers Who Are Still Learning English

            There were a few examples given in this chapter of teachers who did a poor job of handling English Language Learners.  In two examples, the teacher stated they would give them the answers on a test or give them credit (a “B”) just for showing up.  In the third, the teacher behaved as if they were younger than their age. 

            The students were upset about these incidents, and rightly so.  In the first 2, it was apparent to the students that the teacher didn’t believe they would be capable of doing the work.  He was going to give them a good grade solely because they weren’t fluent in English.  He (apparently) never offered to get them a translator or other services to overcome this difficulty.  This will not help them to learn the material – it will only delay that process.  This is not going to make the student feel they are respected or a valued member of the class.   They will probably feel self - conscious, and think their new classmates will hate them for getting a free pass.  Most students want to blend in, and that won’t help.  In the other example, the student felt they were being talked down to, as if they were a younger kid.  None of this will help these students.  In this situation, I would need to get services to assist them with the translation issue.  They should understand that I would expect that, once the language barrier was accommodated with assistance, that they would be expected to learn the material and be responsible to demonstrate this on exams and other assessments.  It might take some arranging for taking exams, such as having the assistance of a translator, or getting written material translated.  They shouldn’t feel we are “dumbing down” the curriculum, just because of a language barrier.  Perhaps they could be emailing me (teacher)  questions later about stuff they didn’t understand from class, which could be run through web translator software as we speak back and forth.  It might be possible to find web resources in their native language that I could check, using web translation options, that they could go to for supplementary instruction that could be easier for them to consume.  If I was lucky, I might find another teacher or professor website for a similar class that they could refer to.  Who knows, that instructor might welcome opening a dialogue with an English – language class.  I would also want to take advantage of the unique cultural knowledge and insights an ELL student might have.  If it were relevant, I might seek to ask how (that idea) relates to things they have seen in their past, but would try to do so in a respectful way.  This might help them feel more a valued part of the class if they can contribute something unique.  These are some possible options I would be pursuing.