Bilingual Learners Case Study

 To effectively support the bilingual learners in my classroom, I would make the content comprehensible for all students.  To teach language and content effectively I would consider all areas of lessons / activities.  When preparing lessons / activities I would ensure that my objects are clearly stated and displayed and adjust content to make it authentic and meaningful.  It is also important to build on the students' prior knowledge.  I would also ensure that I pronounce words and sentences properly to accommodate the varying abilities of the students'.  To help support all students' I would use a variety of strategies, hands-on activities, scaffolding, and provide multiple opportunities for the students' to discuss and interact with one another.  

Students learn a second-language through five stages: preproduction, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency.  The approximate time frame for the preproduction stage is zero to six months.  During this stage, bilingual learners have minimal comprehension, uses no speech, and uses body language to communicate.  The time frame for the early production stage six months to a year.  During this stage, bilingual learners have limited comprehension, produces one or two-word utterances, and use familiar words and phrases to communicate.  The approximate time frame for the speech emergence stage is about one to three years.  During this stage, bilingual learners have good comprehension, can produce simple sentences, and misunderstands jokes.  The approximate time frame for the intermediate fluency stage is about three to five years.  During this stage, bilingual learners have excellent comprehension and makes few grammatical errors.  The approximate time frame for the advanced fluency stage is five to seven years.  During this stage, bilingual learners have a near-native level of speech (Hill & Flynn, 2006).  

Some instructional approaches I would use to a second-language bilingual learner are using appropriate questioning and prompts, multimedia, and the Word-MES strategy.  Using appropriate questioning and prompts will help ensure that bilingual learners are engaged and motivated to learn.  Using multimedia can be very assisting and useful to bilingual learners.  The Word-MES strategy was developed by Jane Hill.  This strategy is used to enhance language development. 

References 

Hill, J. D. & Hill, K. M. (2006). Classroom instruction that works with English language learners.  Retrieved on October 13, 2013, from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/106009/chapters/The-Stages-of-Second-Language-Acquisition.aspx

Language Acquistion

Knowing the phonetic alphabet is important when helping students with this difficulty and how it is used to represent sounds.  It is important because with out understanding the phonetic alphabet children will have an extremely difficult time with writing and reading.  The phonetic alphabet represents the individual sounds in our language (Rowe & Levine, 2012). 


Two language acquisition theories that could apply to this scenario are the Secondary Cognitive Plane and phonology. 

The Second Cognitive Plane states that first and second language are stored in different parts of the brain.  A child may retrieve information with his / her primary language to gain a deeper understanding of his / her second language comprehension.  This could cause a problem because it would provide inaccurate information (Rowes & Levine, 2012). 

Phonology acquisition is acquired by babies learning the sounds of their primary language.  Individual languages have specific sounds that are learned at a young age.  The older children become, the more difficult it can become to effectively learn phonics.

 The types of questions I would ask to elicit ideas to help with my bilingual learners are...

1. How do you motivate and encourage bilingual learners in your classroom?
2. What strategies work best for you when teaching the phonetic alphabet to bilingual learners?
3. What do you feel is most challenging when teaching bilingual learners?

References

Rowe, B. M. & Levine, D. P. (2012). A concise introduction to linguistics, (3rd Edition). Boston, MA: Pearson   

Time Well Spent

The three things that I have learned from this program are...
1) networking with other professionals is critical as an early childhood professional.  So much is gained from communicating and collaborating with others. 
2) my dedication and passion for the early childhood field makes a difference in the lives of the children and families I serve.
3) Reflection is key to my success.

My long-term goal is to obtain my certification to become an English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher.  I have already began the process by registering for two classes. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Teri and all of my colleagues for all of your support, feedback, and encouragement.  If it were not for all of you I would not have been able to accomplish all that I have.

Thanks again! I wish all of you the best of luck with all of your future endeavors.

International Jobs / Roles in the Early Childhood Field

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has 15 job openings related to education.  The job that I was most interested in was an Early Childhood Development Specialist.  This job is located in Kenya.  The qualifications needed for this job opportunity are an advanced degree in education or a related field, eight years of related experience at national and international levels, and fluency in English as well as another UN language. 

Currently, Save the Children has 17 international job opportunities available currently.  The job opening that caught my eye was the Education Programme Manager position.  This position is in Lebanon.  The qualifications needed to fill this position are a degree in a related degree in related field or equivalent work experience, 3 years of working with an NGO in emergency education, experience of staff training and capacity building of organizational staff and partner staff, flexible, adaptable, ability to improvise, results orientated, familiarity with SPHERE standards guidelines and other humanitarian standards, ideally fluency in written and spoken Arabic, and strength in interpersonal communication and presentation skills.  

The Academy for Educational Development currently has 97 job opportunities available at this time.  The job that seemed most interesting to me is the Technical Advisor I, Monitoring & Evaluation position.  This job opportunity is located in Equatorial Guinea.     The qualifications required are a master’s degree in education or a related field, 10 years of relevant international experience required, professional work experience or equivalent combination of education and work experience, demonstrated experience in working in quality improvement at the classroom level, teacher training, curriculum development, materials development, and support of inspectors in active learning methodologies, fluency in Spanish, and working knowledge of English, knowledge of formative evaluation in education projects, knowledge of statistics and statistical software for education research, ability to work in challenging country context, ability to interact with diverse groups, including: clients, teachers and community leaders of various cultures, cross-cultural communication skills, ability to work in teams and build consensus with individuals at all levels, excellent interpersonal skills: openness to sharing and listening to new ideas, ability to work independently and meet deadlines, ability to be flexible and adapt to changing priorities, and excellent oral and written communications skills.  

References

https://careers.unicef.org/sap/bc/webdynpro/sap/hrrcf_a_posting_apply?PARAM=cG9zdF9pbnN0X2d1aWQ9NTFGQTk4OUU3MkEyNEFGNkUxMDAwMDAwOUU3MTBGMEYmY2FuZF90eXBlPUVYVA%3d%3d&sap-client=100&sap-language=EN&sap-accessibility=X

http://www.savethechildren.net/jobs/job-details/613

https://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH12/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=FHI&cws=1&rid=3194

Jobs and Roles in the ECE Community: National / Federal Level

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) currently has two job openings.  The positions which NCTE is seeking to be filled are an Administrator Liasion and Senior Developer, Strategic Marketing.

The qualifications required for the Administrator Liasion position are:

• Having experience as a literacy educator at high school and college level.
• Bachelor’s degree in English, Education, or Business-related field.
• Experience working in an administrative role with a non-profit membership organization, a learned/scholarly society, or publisher/entertainment media company targeting high school or college educators.
• Experience in orienting and supporting volunteer group leaders, documenting decisions, or interpreting governance policies.
• Experience designing presentations, articles, or invitational messages for teachers based on interpretation of research trends or audience feedback.
• Experience and expertise working in a social network environment for professional purposes.
• Functioning as a consistent contributor and effective decision-maker in a collaborative, goal-focused, team-centered work environment.  

The skills and experience needed for the Senior Developer, Strategic Marketing position are:

• Having a Bachelor's degree in a related field
• Experience as a senior marketing professional in a not-for-profit organization. 
• A proven track record in membership and revenue growth. 
• Strong analytical, writing, and communication skills.
• Ability to establish and maintain, and adhere to budgets.
• Ability to maintain effective relationships with management, employees, and the general public. 
• A deep understanding of NCTE's mission.
• The ability to travel. 
• Expertise with using the full range of promotional media. 

The National Council of Teachers of English appealed to me because of their core values and their recognition of bilingual and bi-cultural education as basic components of the English Language Arts field.  Their core values include writing, literature, Integrated Language Arts, diversity, knowledgeable and caring teachers, advocacy, and public education.
 
Neither of these job opportunities interest me.  I have no experience with teaching at a high school or college level.  Nor do I have experience with marketing.

 
The Teachers of English of Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International Association does not have any job opportunities available.  TESOL International Association is mostly ran by member volunteers.  However, TESOL International Association provides many resources to help one find a job in the English of Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) field. 

The TESOL International Association appealed to me because of their mission to advance professional expertise in English language teaching and learning for speakers of other languages worldwide. 



Currently, the U.S. Department of Education: Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) does not have any job opportunities available at this time. 

It was the Office of English Language Acquisition's mission that appealed to me.  Their mission states that they "provide national leadership to help ensure that English language learners and immigrant students attain English proficiency and achieve academically" (OELA, 2013).  




References

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oela/index.html

http://www.ncte.org/jobs

http://www.tesol.org/about-tesol/association-governance/mission-and-values

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

It was difficult for me to locate local organizations or communities of practice (CoP) which appealed to me.  However, it was easier for me to locate state organizations or communities of practice.  The organizations / communities of practice that I found were the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, and Advocates for Children and Youth. 


These organizations appealed to me because they are in the state in which I teach in, promote meaningful educational opportunities and experiences, promote and improve programs and policies, and support Maryland’s children and families to live a life free of discrimination.  

Currently, Advocates for Children and Youth does not have any job opportunities available at this time.  I could not locate any available job openings with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform. The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland has two job openings at this time.  The current positions are a Development Associate and Public Policy Associate. However, neither these jobs appeal to me. 

http://www.acy.org/articlenav.php?id=8

 

http://www.aclu-md.org/about

http://www.acorn.org/

Reflecting on Learning

It is hard to believe we are at the conclusion of yet another course.  This course has helped me gaining a deeper understanding of the strategies available for working diverse children.  My most passionate hope for my future as an early childhood professional and for the children and families for whom I work with is to provide a safe, secure, supportive learning community. 






 

I would also like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to all of my colleagues.  I have enjoyed working with you all and appreciate
all of your help and support throughout the last eight weeks.  I wish you all the best of luck on your continued journey as an anti-bias educator!