Alexsandria Giovannangelo Blog

For this week’s blog post, I reviewed an article written by Rhonda Barton titled “What the Research Says about Effective Strategies for ELL Students”. I really enjoyed reading through the article, and was intrigued about the different points she made as far as educating L2 learners. In the article, Barton explains California’s “Proposition 227” which creates what they call structured immersion for ELL students, which has students transitioning into the regular English classroom after one year, automatically, regardless of progress. Research is still being done to determine whether or not this is an effective model, however the article points out that so far, the research has demonstrated the need for instruction in areas in two languages (native and English), not just one, and certainly for longer than a year. Therefore, it doesn’t seem as though the initiative is that effective. I can see how this would be true. I think that while allowing students the opportunity to work with their...

Blog Post # 3: This week I explored the article about 10 ways to use modern technology in the ELL classroom. It caught my eye, because of the word “modern”. Just because we are incorporating technology into our classrooms, it does not mean we are using up to date technology that our students are familiar with. I think it’s important for us to try to use up to date technology and features with our students, since they are always (for the most part) up to date themselves. The first suggestion that Zakhareuski makes is the use of cell phone applications with the students. Since most students will have Smart phones, and are fairly skilled with navigating them, these apps are a great way to engage students, help support them, and keep them on the learning app and off Snap Chat. One app they mention is “Grammar Up”. I haven’t explored this app, but the article describes it as an app for practicing grammar skills and keeps track of student progress so they can see what skills they’v...

               This week’s google inbox delivery was extremely helpful in terms of tips and information for using technology when working with English Language Learners. I feel as though this is applicable to me because while I will most likely never teach an ELL class, I may have an L2 learner in my class. At that point, I would need to make sure I know what resources I can use to support them in my class. The article explains the importance of utilizing and combing graphics, video, and audio within the curriculum in order to meet many different learning styles, and to support English language learners. The article explains that research shows that it can take more than five years for the average child to acquire the academic language necessary to succeed in school. Since I never really thought about how long it may take, this was a bit shocking, but it definitely shows that students may need accommodations for years in order to support them. ...

After my first week of alerts, I may need to adjust the alerts that I originally set up due to that fact that I didn’t get that many articles delivered to my inbox. The first article that was delivered was very interesting to read through. It highlighted the University of Wisconsin and how it partnered with a few local school districts to use the $112,000.00 grant that they received to help develop their ESL programs and educate bilingual teachers through a 16 month training program. The project allows 20 teachers to enter the training program. Within the school districts, 1,540 EL students are served, and more than 58 languages are spoken.    I was so intrigued reading this article because I never realized how many grants are out there and available, and how helpful and useful they can be. I was also shocked to hear how many different languages are spoken within the district. I think training programs for teachers are extremely valuable, especially when you take into acc...