Eva Vincent

11/21/19

Activity 1- Article 1 & 2

 When I first read this article, I was shocked that this was something that had occurred so

recently. I would have thought that professors in today’s world would be much more

understanding of the use of multiple languages by a student and that something would

be in place to assist these students through a form of an access center. I think that the

professor shouldn’t be concerned with what students do during their time outside of

class. If they choose to take English classes or do other means to improve their non-

native language is up to them. For all this professor knows, these students could be

taking measures to improve their English, so it is insulting of him to make such an

accusation. I’m just shocked that faculty drew such a large and insulting conclusion all

from witnessing a conversation in a student common area.

 If I was the professor I would not have sent out an email like that which was obviously

singling out a select group of students. Instead, if I had students that I noticed spoke

another language I could reach out to them and see if there was anything I could do on

my part to help them with their studies since these students are older students who

might have ideas of their own. They might know methods that work really well for

them so if I could get their input that would make them feel more comfortable with me

being their professor and they can know they do not need to fear judgement from me.

As for the “loud” conversation that my colleagues observed I would not have addressed

because that is not an issue in the slightest. Students should be able to communicate

with one another in whatever form is most comfortable and effective for them no

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 matter where they are. I would have explained this to my colleagues and asked them

what harm they were causing by doing that, which was none.

Article 3-

 This article is important for myself becoming a teacher in the future because this is a

scenario I will be in. Not all names are as common or easy to pronounce so it is

important that I am prepared for that scenario and understand how to go about it so

that the student does not feel embarrassed or ashamed of their name. Whether or not

a student feels welcome and included in the class can affect their participation with the

class and their academics. So, an easy way to avoid causing a student to feel that way is

to say their name correctly and respect that that is a big part of your student’s identity.

 To remember my students names, I could do a fun activity with the entire class on the

first day of school where each student will pick an animal whose name starts with the

first letter of their name or an animal that rhymes with their name. I did this activity

when I was in grade school and I was “Elephant Eva” and other students would be

something like “Snake Savannah”, “Buffalo Bruno” and “Lizard Lindsey” just as a fun ice

breaking activity which also doubles as a name game. Then throughout the first few

days while I am still trying to remember their names and I get stuck on one students,

they can tell me their animal and I can try to remember it that way.

Activity 2- Patricia Ryan

 I think it is good that there are languages that a majority of populations around the

world speak because it better connects different groups of people together. It is good

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 that there is common ground because it makes communication easier and more

widespread if more people speak the same languages. A bad thing about English being

a “Universal Language” is that there is a stigma that comes from some native English

speakers when they witness others who do not speak English and they tend to look

down on those individuals. This idea that English is superior to other languages is not a

healthy mindset and is ignorant.

 It is extremely important to have access to many different languages because that

allows us as a population to learn more about one another. Languages are a part of

people’s heritage, so it is so important to have multiple languages around to preserve

them. Different groups of people can learn more about one another through elements

of languages which could have different words for concepts that are not present in

another language.

Using the Native Language as a Resource-

 This video is important because she is talking about how beneficial it is to utilize the

native language while an ELL student is learning English, but this is not the common

belief. The research supports that ELL students can utilize those skills from their native

language and apply those same skills to learning English. For students who are more

proficient in their native language and can use it to learn English actually learn it faster

than students who do not.

 When I am a teacher, I will use this strategy to support my ELL students. I could do this

through printing the instructions and questions in the student’s native language on their

worksheet, so the student has their native language as a reference point and can make

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 comparisons between the language they are familiar with and English. I could also help

the student incorporate their language into the classroom by finding stories that are in

both English and the students’ native language and read it to the class during reading

time. This will help the ELL student to feel welcomed in the classroom and know that he

or she should be proud of their language.

Using EDL Strategies to Support Content Area Writing-

 I really liked the strategies used in the video and I think that they are good methods to

use when ELL students are present in class. But, I do think that there could be a time

where the teacher addresses that the sentence structure can look different in other

languages and then show examples of languages that students in her class speak. This

way ELL students could visualize the differences in sentence structure so they could

better understand how to do it in English.

Activity 3-

I chose to become a teacher because I love being around children and seeing their skills

progress over time. It is so rewarding to see their growth and help them to achieve new things,

especially with areas that they have struggled in. It is so encouraging to see the “ah-ha”

moment when students feel accomplished with what they just mastered. Because of this, I

want to teach so that I can do everything in my power to help students accomplish this

confidence in subject areas and supply them with the resources to do just that. A love for

learning stems from positive interactions and experiences so I plan to strive to be a teacher

who creates an inclusive environment where those positive interactions can take place.

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 I chose to get my endorsement in ELL education because I believe that in today’s society

with how diverse our country is it would be a skill I should have as an educator, and even just as

a citizen. Understanding students and their families who speak another language is so

important because those are all factors that I felt that the ELL endorsement would help me to

better accomplish this goal of helping students accomplish goals and overcome obstacles. I feel

that this endorsement will better prepare me for scenarios I could experience in my classroom

in the future and therefore have the skills to handle it correctly. This endorsement will give me

tools to help my students accomplish new things that I could not help with without having this

endorsement and through having an understanding of English language learning students.