Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen my English Language Learner struggle with classwork and commands given throughout the day. Normally, in class she ends up just watching the ones around her and copying their work. Although one could argue that at least she is cognizant of what’s happening around her, if she is unable to understand what context she is copying it might not do any good. During writing time, she normally just draws pictures unrelated to what their focus is on that my CT models with them. My English Language Learner pays attention during the modeling, but it doesn’t seem to help. This struggle occurs during the other subjects as well.

I decided since I knew some simple Spanish words, I would try to support her learning by giving her more individualized help by pairing Spanish terms with English words. During writing one time, the students were to write about location words. I know some location words enough to tell her what to do . After telling her in Spanish what to do, I followed it by saying it in English. She then started drawing a picture that would show location. After seeing what she was drawing, I wrote the sentence for her about the drawing in Spanish first, then underneath it I wrote it in English, making sure to repeat the English sentence. When she saw the English sentence, she was sure to copy it underneath my writing. The last couple of times of being at internship I have been making sure to provide her with necessary support either by pairing English with Spanish or by giving her visuals through images or motions. I’ve actually noticed a noticeable difference in her demeanor while at school. She is much more talkative to me, she laughs all the time, and honestly she brings so much happy energy to the class. She also lights up when I come to help her, and I think my CT and I get at least ten hugs a day from her. Her change in character makes me believe how appreciative she is for me giving her help. Being an English Language Learner in school can be a frustrating and scary thing, but when given appropriate support they feel much more safe and cared for.

These past two semesters, I’ve had English Language Learners in both of my CT’s classes. I have really gotten a whole new perspective from working with these students throughout internship. This new perspective has broadened my passion for helping and teaching children, by igniting a flame. I absolutely love working with these students because the light that comes into their eyes when they understand another language is worth every second of my dedicated time. Additionally, throughout my experience of working with English Language Learners, I have decided to further my education by getting certified in TESOL to be an ESOL resource teacher or even to teach English in another country.