I have worked as an educational support professional for 5 years. As I
begin this initial licensure program, I feel most excited about gaining the
background of knowledge and skills that will help me best serve students in the
classroom as their teacher. Reading through these initial materials, I learned
more specific information about disciplinary reading, and my role in it as a
content area teacher. As a future language teacher, I feel especially connected
to the concept of the interdisciplinary necessity of reading comprehension.
Reading skills and second language skills are similar in that they open up a
whole new world to students, not just in language classes but in the
application of language to other topics. I see this as a potentially strong
motivating factor if a teacher is able to make the connection for a student
between the skill and its practical use in their life.
I appreciate the focus
on motivation and engagement in Module 1 Reading: “(d) and
a focus on motivation and engagement which acknowledges that it is just as
important that students choose to engage with reading because they feel
confident and have personally relevant goals for reading as it is that they
know how to read texts in various content areas.” This is a
tribute to the importance of the inner voice of the student. To be successful
in new learning, a student needs the ability to engage with their own thoughts
and personal reflections, as well as engaging with their outside environment
& social interactions in the classroom. At the risk of sounding too
abstract, the inner voice is where students tell themselves the “stories of
themselves,” about who they are and who they can become. As teachers, we can
support positive self-determination stories in our students, building their
self-trust in their capacity for learning.
The Standards in Foreign Language
Education document established the importance of connections: “Just as
reading cannot be limited to a particular segment of the school day, so too can
foreign language build upon the knowledge that students acquire in other
subject areas … as [students] become more proficient users of the target language,
they can seek out materials of interest to them, analyze the content, compare
it to information available in their own language, and assess the linguistic
and cultural differences.” I think this concept is equally important as we
think about the structures of reading. An interdisciplinary approach helps make
language, or reading, relevant for
students. It’s a two-way street: if teachers can attach real-world meaning to
classroom experiences, students can more easily connect their classroom experiences
to the world that surrounds them when they go home. Blurring the lines between
“home time” and “school time” creates a mental continuum, so that students can
more successfully navigate their diverse worlds. I think this is true for
interdisciplinary reading practices in diverse classroom settings and content
areas as well.
For me, the above two points regarding confidence and connections
speak to the teaching practice of building strong relationships. It is
important to me to create a space of trust between myself as the teacher and
each of my students. I am interested in continuing to explore how to build
trusting relationships with students that support their success through best
practices – practices that help students build the confidence to support
themselves, and to ask for help as they do so.
Hi Julia! First of all I have to say I love the name of your blog—both the fact that it’s in French (see, you’re already a foreign language teacher!) and the explanation about it. I totally agree about the feeling of “knowing it when you see it,” and when things just “click.” That’s the moment that makes our jobs as teachers worth the struggle, right?
ReplyDeleteI also like the distinction you draw between simply encouraging our students, and creating “positive self-determination stories in our students, building their self-trust in their capacity for learning.” Because in the end, it doesn’t matter if a teacher says “Yes, you can.” What really matters is that the student thinks “Yes, I can.” I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on that as it relates to foreign language education, and what concrete steps teachers can take to foster that “Yes I can” inner voice in terms of second language acquisition.
I saw your blog and clicked on it thinking, “Who is this person with an awesome blog title?” Of course, it was you! I wanted to read your thoughts on this week’s content because you always make good connections between the social and academic spheres of learning.
ReplyDeleteThe Second Languages and Cultures cohort combines ESL and foreign language teaching, grouping both under the umbrella of second language acquisition. While there are many differences between the two, I’m interested in how the standards for native-speakers learning a foreign language can be useful for teaching English Language Learners as well.
I love your idea of a “mental continuum” that works to break down a siloed understanding of school time, home time, language time, reading time, etc. Great connection between language learning and reading! Echoing the quote in your blog, it’s easy for students to only read or practice language in certain environments i.e. French class or English class. This year, I really want to focus on how to create interest in a subject that transcends the classroom.
As someone who’s exclusively studying ESL education, I enjoy the opportunity to read the ideas of someone who is training for both ESL and foreign language teaching. Thank you for your insights Julia!
First of all, I really love your description and recognition of the inner voice of the student. I think that too often in our discussions of education and being effective educators we forget to give space and place to students so that they can, as you said, “engage with their own thoughts.” I think that this speaks also to our society as a whole. In the United States specifically I think we see a huge focus on moving quickly, getting things done, and interacting with the external world. There is not a great deal of time or energy devoted to reflection on all of the myriad inputs that we receive throughout the day nor on how the world we interact with relates to our own “stories of [ourselves].” I think that you pinpointed exactly how this manifests itself in education and how we need to bring this understanding and space for reflection and connection into the classroom in a very elegant way.
ReplyDelete(Also, I love the title!)
I agreed completely with the self-confidence that comes with knowing how to read for ELLs. I wrote about the importance of that skill in my blog, also. This is especially important for SLIFEs because most of them have never had (or have had very little) experience with reading text. The issue that happens in schools right now is that there are many instances of teachers assuming they know how to read and are reading a text to learn. That really ties into your "whole new world" statement because learning to read truly does open the door to a new world and a new way of processing information.
ReplyDeleteThe connection and trust you mention is essential to successful time in the classroom, I feel. Rapport is so important when it comes to students growing in school. If the teacher lacks rapport, a student has less motivation to speak out and maybe expound upon personal thoughts or information. This is much more important (I believe) in a second-language classroom because it is difficult to explain your opinions in one's native language, and doing so is even more difficult in a second.
Nice blog post!