My minor is TESOL so this semester I am taking two different LLT classes as well as TE 494 which is a field placement and seminar working with ESL students. I don't have much experience working with non native speakers but I am excited to learn about ways to help them.
Previously, I tutored a boy going into second grade in the summer in reading. His native language was Spanish and was frequently used in his home when having conversations with his parents. While working with him, I discovered that he had trouble recognizing sight words that were appropriate for his grade level which then caused him to struggle reading fluently. Being that this was my first experience working with an ESL student and not having a lot of knowledge of strategies/methods to help him, I felt unsure how to go about helping him. Despite this though, at the end of our sessions, he did make progress and felt more confident about reading. However, I think if I had taken the classes I am currently now, I could have been much more effective in helping him.
Because of this experience and my interest in working with ESL students, I am excited about not only learning ways in which I could be a more effective and helpful teacher to these students but to actually have the opportunity to be in a classroom with ESL students this semester observing the teacher and working one on one with an ESL student. I hope by gaining more experience and knowledge about working with ESL students that I become a better teacher and have more confidence working with them.
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