Anna Gallagher

EDUC 401 I
March 6, 2015

Final Reflection

This quarter, I tutored at Sandpoint Elementary School, a small K-5 school located in

Northeast Seattle. Sandpoint Elementary has a diverse student population. About a third of

Sandpoints students are from the wealthy Hawthorne Heights neighborhood. Another third live

in the nearby Radford Court Apartments as their parents are graduate students at the University

of Washington. The final third of students live in the Solid Ground Housing program for

formerly homeless families. Consequently, students come to Sandpoint with a wide range of

previous schooling experiences and English language abilities. At Sandpoint, I worked in Catch

Up Cafe, Sandpoints lunchtime homework help center, and in a second grade classroom.

At the beginning of this quarter, I knew very little about English Language Learners or

how best to tutor this population of students. I worried that I could not serve as an effective tutor

to ELL students if I didnt know their native language. I wondered what a typical school day

looks like for an ELL student and when and how ELL students receive English language

instruction. I wondered if language instruction cut into a students instructional time in math and

other key subject areas. I wanted to find out what social challenges ELL students face when they

have limited English proficiency and, consequently, difficulty communicating with their peers. I

was curious what resources schools provide to the families of ELL students. I wondered if

schools expect families to learn English with their child. I came into this seminar hoping to

answer some of these questions and learn some unique teaching strategies that aid ELL students
and specifically ways that tutors can support ELL students in forming healthy social connections

with their peers.

This quarter I have learned many teaching strategies to assist ELL students develop

academically, socially, and emotionally. First, I have learned, it is important that teachers ensure

that they do not make any assumptions about their ELL students. They must get to know this

student and like any other student, identify his/her strengths and weaknesses. A students

conversational English ability could be quite different from their academic English ability.

Teachers must set high expectations of ELL students, just as they should for all their students.

Teachers should create a safe and welcoming environment within their classroom. This can be

accomplished by setting firm policies that everyone in class is respectful to their peers, the

teacher, and any guests. The teacher can make all her students feel more welcome simply by

smiling more, a gesture that translates across all languages and cultures. Teachers should be

careful about using nonverbal gestures because they may not be understood by all students to

mean what was intended. Teachers can also help ELL students by creating a classroom routine.

This predictability helps students understand what they should be doing and provides some

comfort. Seating ELL students in the front of the class is yet another easy way teachers can aid

ELL students. Teachers also might consider assigning ELL students a classroom buddy. This

buddy can serve as a resource when the ELL student has questions and the teacher is unavailable.

There are several teaching strategies a teacher can employ to help ELL students. First

teachers must give clear, detailed instructions. Teachers should always model the activity before

asking students to perform the task. Teachers can also use visual aides to communicate directions

or lessons. Teachers can create Study Guides that detail the main points of a lesson so that
ELL students know what they should be paying attention to and are not overwhelmed by the

level of information. Similarly, if students are reading, the teacher can highlight important

phrases or parts of a story so ELL students know where to focus their attention. Teachers can

also incorporate non-verbal expression into their lessons by adding activities involving art,

music, and dancing.

Another significant thing I have learned this quarter is that there is great value in learning

two languages at once in respect to a childs brain development and acceptance of cultural

differences. Furthermore, learning another language will not delay a childs English speaking

ability if both languages are properly supported. Teachers can help their students achieve

mastery in both their native language and English regardless of whether they speak the childs

native language. Teachers can ask students to write their first draft of an assignment in their

native language and then translate it to English for their final draft. This demonstrates that the

teacher sees value in both of the students languages. Teachers can also make students feel more

welcome and valued by learning a few key phrases in their students native language such as

hello, goodbye, and thank you.

The main challenge I faced this quarter was trying to get an ELL student I was working

with to feel more comfortable speaking English. Each week, we would work together for about

an hour and she would read out loud to me. She was quite a good reader but anytime I asked her

a question (about the book, her dog, etc.), she wouldnt respond or would only offer a one-word

reply. At first I didnt know how to address this problem and would eventually suggest an

answer to each of my questions (sometimes she would nod in agreement). However as we

progressed in the seminar, I developed strategies to help this student feel more comfortable and
open up. The most effective strategy was that I asked this student to teach me how to say hello

and goodbye in her native language, Chinese. After this, I would greet her each week in

Chinese and she seemed to really appreciate the effort I was making. I was also able to find out

that she had a dog, so I would ask her each week how her dog was doing. This demonstrated that

I listened to what she had to say and valued what went on in her life. By the end of the quarter,

after using these various relationship-building strategies, she was more comfortable speaking in

English with me.

While I was largely able to overcome this obstacle, there are a few things I was unable to

accomplish this quarter tutoring. I wish I could have inspired more students to attend Catch Up

Cafe when they had work that needed doing or knew they could benefit from practicing their

reading. I worked with one Kindergarten student who struggled in reading. He seemed to enjoy

reading with me during lunch and when he would see me, he would always say Youre here! Ill

come read with you. Yet he rarely did. One way I think I could have addressed this problem

would have been by giving him a little piece of paper when I would see him with a picture of a

book or child reading. Then after he got his lunch, he would have a reminder that he should come

to Catch Up Cafe to read. Another solution might have been to speak with his teacher so she

could implant reminders throughout the day that at lunch time he should come to Catch Up Cafe

to read. A last solution might have been to develop a star chart for this student so that each time

he would come to read, he could earn a star for his chart. Perhaps after every five stars, he could

earn a prize (ie. bookmark, pencil, small toy). As I continue to tutor at Sandpoint Elementary

next quarter, I hope I can work with this student again and try these various strategies to inspire

him to practice reading.

difference in the lives of the students I work with. The time I have spent tutoring this quarter has

only reaffirmed my love of teaching and inspired me to pursue a career in the education field. In

the future I hope to become an Elementary School teacher and, eventually, a principal. When I

am in these roles, I hope I remember that tutors are in schools not only to help students but

educators too. In order for a tutor to help a school community, he/she must be given proper

guidance in regards to what the school culture is and what teachers expectations are for the

tutor. As a teacher, I hope to encourage my tutors to give me feedback about my teaching

strategies and whether or not they think the children they are working with are receptive to these

strategies. Tutors often times get the unique opportunity to work one-on-one with a child,

sometimes over a sustained period. Teachers should communicate with tutors about what they

observe in their tutoring sessions with students and should ask for frequent updates on the

students progress. As a future principal, I hope that I make all tutors feel welcome and valued in

my school community. I hope that even with a hectic schedule, I will take the time to say hello

and thank you to every tutor that walks through the school doors. I think that if tutors, teachers,

and principals followed these suggestions, schools would prosper, tutors would feel they are

performing meaningful work, and the schools volunteer base would continue to grow in size and

capacity.

After completing this seminar and observing the education of ELL students at Sandpoint

Elementary, I have several recommendations for classroom teachers to more effectively teach

ELL students. First, I would advise teachers to get to know their ELL students. Simply because

they cannot write English doesnt mean they cannot read English and just because they choose
not to speak English doesnt mean that they dont understand it. Teachers must spend time

developing a relationship with ELL students to learn their strengths and weaknesses. While it is

difficult for teachers to find the time to do this, it is critical. I would also encourage teachers to

avoid pulling ELL students out of the general classroom setting whenever possible. When ELL

students do need to be taken out of the general education classroom to work with a tutor, for

example, I would encourage teachers to ask tutors to work with a small group that includes the

ELL student. In my experience, the ELL student I worked with could read English quite well

(perhaps one to two grade levels beneath her peers). What she struggled with most, was speaking

English with her peers. I think that if I could have worked with her in a small group setting, with

two to three other students, I could have started a dialogue between the students which would

have helped her develop socially. Finally, I would advise teachers to pair up any new students

(regardless of whether they are ELL students or not) with a classroom buddy who can

demonstrate classroom routines and serve as a friend to the new student. This buddy should be

carefully selected by the teacher as a student who is friendly, social, and well-aware of classroom

policies.

I observed many amazing teachers and tutors this quarter and know that ELL students are

being well served at Sandpoint Elementary.