Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Progress Report
I think that I have followed my Practicum Plan pretty well so far over the course of this semester. My main goal for this semester was to become more confident in teaching ESL students. I was very, very unsure of myself when this semester began because I had never been around students who are not fluent in English. I was not sure what they were capable of and what types of learning strategies help them succeed. I have tried my hardest to dive into the lessons, but I still feel like at times the students have no idea what I am talking about. I need to learn how to use simpler words when I explain activities. My mentor teacher has explained to me that they students learn best through acting out words and drawing pictures. I have been trying out those methods over the last couple of weeks. I already taught my small group lesson and I hope that I actually did it correctly. I taught a multicultural lesson involving counting money. I have been lucky because my PDS is very close to my house and I haven't experienced any snow days so far ( crossing my fingers!). I know I will continue to learn more and more about ESL classroom because I still feel like I have so many more aspects of the program to figure out!
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Allie,
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine working with kids who don't use English as their native language. But it sounds like you're using multicultural lessons to reach your students and their interests. Thats a great way to build a relationship with them. When I started working with students in my PDS who had special learning needs, I had to learn how to use smaller words when i teach too. Luckily for me, the students are older and can usually understand what i'm saying without needing a drawing or acting. Just think of how much you're benefiting from this experience and how helpful it will be for future placements.