Sunday, March 29, 2009

Community Inquiry Project Details

Community Inquiry Project Question:

How does the English-Spanish language barrier affect student-teacher relationships, particularly with Spanish-speaking students who do not speak English as their first language? What are the implications for classroom learning?

Subsequent Questions:

  • How do language barriers inhibit classroom learning?
    o How does parental involvement (or lack thereof) affect reading, literacy and English language acquisition?
    o What sort of strains do these language barriers place on teachers? (Interviews with ESL and English/History teachers) Within the constraints of NCLB? School-directed objectives?
    o How do these outside factors impact NCLB restrictions?
    o What sort of issues do language barriers place on these students when they are not in their ESL classes and in the general student population?
    Ø Information from Annotated Bibliography
    Ø Interviews with Teachers:

English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher(s) Interview Questions

  • Where do the majority of your students come from?
    o What are the basic student demographics?
  • What is the student-to-teacher ratio?
  • What is their level of English prior to coming to Memorial High School?
    o What is their reading/writing ability in English and Spanish?
  • What is their level of English after attending ESL classes?
  • What sorts of difficulties do your students have in their classes within the general student population?
    o Do they have difficulties in their classes that are taught entirely in English?
    o In which subjects do they have the most difficulty?
    o In what way does the ESL program here supplement those classes?
  • How many of your students are enrolled in the Bilingual program here at Memorial?
    o Can you tell me more about the program?
    o How many students are enrolled in this program?
  • Can you tell me about other ESL/language acquisition programs here at Memorial?
  • How much involvement do you see from the parents of students in the ESL programs?
  • How much involvement do you have with the parents of students in the ESL programs?
    o Are they responsive to the program?
  • Has the ESL program at Memorial been successful?
  • How long does it take a student to pass through the ESL program completely?
    o Do students who have passed through still receive supplemental ESL education?
  • In the last NCLB results, Memorial High School was recognized as one that has not made Adequate Yearly Progress. It has also been classified as “in need of improvement.”
    o To what do you attribute these results?
    o Does the fact that many of the students have Spanish as a prominent language in their lives have anything to do with this?
  • Has Memorial High School faced any NCLB sanctions?
    o Do you think they are due in part to the language barrier?

English Teacher(s) Interview Questions

  • Where do the majority of your students come from?
    o What are the basic student demographics?
  • What is the student-to-teacher ratio?
  • How many of your students are Spanish-speaking?
  • How many of your students speak Spanish at home?
  • Do you think that these students (who speak Spanish at home) have more difficulty learning in English than students who only speak English?
    o If yes, how so?
  • How is their reading/writing ability?
    o Do you feel they encounter any difficulties due to a language barrier?
  • How have these difficulties/language barriers made it more difficult to teach?
  • Have they prompted you to change/alter your curriculum in any way?
    o How so?
  • What do these language barriers do to state-mandated testing results?
  • How has the school performed?
    o To what do you attribute these results?
  • In the last NCLB results, Memorial High School was recognized as one that has not made Adequate Yearly Progress. It has also been classified as “in need of improvement.”
    o To what do you attribute these results?
  • Does the fact that many of the students have Spanish as a prominent language in their lives have anything to do with this?
  • Has Memorial High School faced any NCLB sanctions?
    o Do you think they are due in part to the language barrier?
  • Do any students ever have trouble expressing themselves (verbally or in writing) in English?
    o Do you feel this is due to their language limitations?
  • How involved are the parents of your students in the schoolwork of their children?
  • How many students of Hispanic descent plan to graduate and go on to college?
    o What are the main goals of these students?
  • What do the majority of Memorial students do after high school?
    o Do many of them drop out?
    o Do the goals of these students effect how they perform in class? (Are they apathetic/enthusiastic?)

Student Interview Questions

  • How long have you been a student at Memorial High School?
  • What is your ethnicity?
  • In which subjects do you excel? Why?
  • In which subjects do you perform poorly? Why?

Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Inner-city Teaching and Social Structures

Perhaps the most striking point that comes from reading Unequal Childhoods is that child development comes from the social structures in which children are raised. Their childhood interactions - their ability to organize, their creativity, their views on responsibility, their manner of speech and interaction with authority figures - all help to shape their later-life skills. Economic status (and strain), and thus the opportunities available to them, greatly determines how children will be when they are adults.

Lareau contrasts the upbringings, interactions and extra-curricular activities of children within middle-class, working-class and poor families. Children from middle-class families are taught to interact with adults and to question authority. Because of this, they often cultivate a sense of entitlement. Children from working-class and poor families, however, experience a divide between themselves and authority figures. Much less emphasis is placed on interaction between children and adults. The activities out of school are most likely regarded as mere "child's play," with little importance given to the child's development.

This stark contrast between middle-class families and working-class or poor families is one that I had vague notions about during my own upbringing. Upon reflecting on my middle-class upbringing, I have an understanding of what Lareau details in her book. In my family, much importance was placed on structured extra-curricular activities. My parents oftentimes sacrificed their free time in order to help foster my interests.

Besides touching upon middle-class family life, Lareau also makes a lot of great points about working-class and poor children growing up in urban environments. Many, like the ones mentioned in the book, do face daily difficulties like where to wash clothing or when the next paycheck (or other source of income) will come. It's no wonder that with such economic difficulties, less importance and attention is given to a child's schoolwork. It is understandable that when faced with illness and economic troubles, many families must sacrifice education for mere survival.

This is, perhaps, one fact that is all too prominent in urban schools and one that must never be ignored. As a future teacher, in an urban environment or otherwise, it is critical to remember that students come from vastly different family backgrounds. The experience of teaching in the inner city is as diverse as its students and their cultural structures.
Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Annotated Bibliography

The article I've critiqued for my annotated bibliography can be read in PDF full text here.

1.) Holland, William R. (1960). Language Barrier as an Educational Problem of Spanish-Speaking Children.
Tucson, Arizona: Exceptional Children

Language Barrier as an Educational Problem of Spanish-Speaking Children focuses on efforts to provide educational assistance to Spanish-speaking students. It notes that despite many efforts geared toward improvement Spanish-speaking students, the achievement gap between them and English-speaking students remains a considerable one. Holland later offers insight into the cultural and psychological factors that affect learning and language acquisition among students where English is not their first language. This article ties in directly with the objectives of the research assignment: Finding and understanding the related cultural and community-related factors that either promote or inhibit learning among Spanish-speaking students.

One of the main points Holland attempts to address is how many Spanish-speaking students are “handicapped in later life” because of the public school learning experience and teaching practices. He goes on to discuss the inadequacies of the public school experience toward Spanish-speaking students, and the psychological studies have been geared toward these children.

In the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), study organizers attempted to measure the English, Spanish and bilingual aptitude of Spanish-speaking children in grades 1 through 5. By asking questions in English, and then supplementing them in Spanish when the question was not fully understood, administrators found that more than 40% of the subjects had moderate or serious language barriers. These results, although geographically limited to Tucson, Arizona, are indicative of a large-scale issue apparent in public schools. The study’s results could even project onto similar urban communities with large Hispanic populations.

By far the greatest point Holland makes in his article is that “the utilization of cultural information is indispensible for understanding the educational problems of Spanish-speaking children.” This refers to the fact that students – whether Spanish-speaking or other – are essentially the product of their home environment and culture. Socio-economic status, language spoken at home and attitude toward learning in general all play a major role in forming a student.

These factors, along with the scientific results of language barrier studies, help to show how the learning experience for native Spanish-speaking students is inherently different than their English-language counterparts. It’s an issue that must be recognized in urban schools and for the betterment of public schools as a whole.

2.) Sepulveda, Betty R. (1973). The Language Barrier and its Effect on Learning.
Denver, Colorado, USA: Elementary English.

http://csaweb112v.csa.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/ids70/view_record.php?id=2&recnum=20&log=from_res&SID=mvk6luko9i8g8smk9ioq6mpuq2&mark_id=search%3A2%3A0%2C0%2C22

This article spans the historical significance and present problems caused by the English-Spanish language barrier that exists in American Schools. While touching on environmental factors, like socioeconomic status and English-language formation on the streets, it offers insight into the implications for the school learning environment. It gives suggestions as to lessen the language gap and enhance correct English language acquisition among underprivileged children. The Language Barrier and its Effect on Learning fits in perfectly with planned research about the language barrier in urban school systems. It also offers critiques of current English-language acquisition practices and suggests various solutions to them.

3.) Reese, Leslie; Thompson, Sylvia Linan; Goldenberg, Claude. (2008). Variability in Community Characteristics and Spanish-Speaking Children's Home Language and Literacy Opportunities.
United States: Routledge, Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=34230560&site=ehost-live

Based on the research collected from 14 communities in California and Texas, this article seeks to find the language and literacy resources that are available to Spanish-speaking students. It focuses largely on the children’s home life, their language practices there and their exposure to print materials in English and Spanish. It also goes on to discuss the assumptions that many teachers possess when considering access to print materials. In the poor urban environment, the sometimes inability to access developmental reading materials is apparent. The article is notable for its focus on the Spanish-speaking communities and families as huge factors in the student’s learning process.

4.) Salazar, Maria del Carmen. (2008). English or Nothing: The Impact of Rigid Language Policies on the Inclusion of Humanizing Practices in a High School ESL Program.
Denver, Colorado, USA: Equity & Excellence in Education.

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=33325195&site=ehost-live

This article focuses mainly on the English as a Second Language programs in high schools. In a case study it was found that ESL teachers who had more leniencies and fewer adherences to rigid language policies were able to foster a more open and “humanizing” relationship with their students. This relationship, in turn, created a better learning environment for their students who ultimately performed better academically. There is a great contrast between this and ESL teachers who adhered strictly to language policies. The results of this study show that students with a better relationship with their teachers perform better academically, which is just what I aim to research in my community and school inquiry.

5.) Davis, Eden. (2006). Unhappy Parents of Limited English Proficiency Students: What Can They Really Do?
United States: Journal of Law & Education

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=20567961&site=ehost-live

http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/4075864-1.html

In this article, Davis addresses the implications of the No Child Left Behind Act on students who have limited English proficiency (LEP) and the limitations parental right to address their concerns. While pointing out the difficulties No Child Left Behind has had on LEP students, it also addresses the other government programs aimed at improving language acquisition. It offers suggestions to help these LEP students overcome the language barrier that exists in their schools. Not only is this article beneficial to research about school-related language difficulties among Spanish-speaking students, but it also addresses the government stipulations that affect all U.S. public schools.
Posted by at No comments:

Monday, March 16, 2009

Another Community Inquiry Project Question

As a former ESL teacher in Spain, I have become very sensitive to the realities of language acquisition. As I have now returned to the U.S. and plan to teach here, I am thinking about the difficulties that many students may face if English is not their first language. When talking about urban American school environments, one of the top concerns is the language barrier among students and teachers. The following question is one of great interest to me:

How does the language divide/barrier effect student-teacher relationships, particularly with Spanish-speaking students who do not speak English as their first language?

I would like to address how the language barrier may inhibit classroom learning in the U.S. I would also like to explore the programs/efforts that have gone into effect in the schools to combat this language divide. Subesquently, how much money goes into these programs/efforts? What have the results of these programs/efforts been?

In West New York, census data states that 78.7% of its residents are Hispanic. My stepmother works in West New York public schools and tells me that the amount of students who cannot speak English is a major concern. I would like to futher explore this dynamic and hopefully discover the implications for urban education as a whole.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)