ESL Teacher Reflection #3

Although there are no ELL students in my placement, I am learning a lot about adaptations and changes for students with different needs.  There are a few students in my class that are considered special needs or ADHD and have a hard time staying focused and on task.  I spend a lot of time working with these students one-on-one and trying to find ways that I can help them with the task at hand to make it easier for them to understand or to complete. 

Getting this type of practice will go a long way in helping me with my own teaching, and learning how to work better with ELL students.  Some of the strategies I implement and come up with while working with these other students can translate over to the ELL students I may have in my class someday and possibly work for them too.  I know that the strategies and adaptations I use won’t work perfectly with ELL students just because they work with these special needs students, but most of these strategies have a lot of the same ideas and themes behind them.  Even just getting the practice of having to adapt a lesson or provide extra help is something that will go a long way in my teacher development.

I have already been able to implement some of ideas we have talked about in class, such as repeating directions, speaking slower, having students work with a partner, and using pictures or models to demonstrate the task.  Having this opportunity to work with these kids is letting me practice how to speak to and work with students who need extra help and have different needs than most of the rest of the students in the class.  Even though I am not getting the chance to work specifically with ELL students, I am using the opportunities I do have to become a better ELL teacher, as well as develop my overall teaching ability to accommodate all students.