Response to Chapter Eight: " English Language Learners in the Classroom"

Chapter Eight of Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice is written in a question and answer format with experts Cindy Mata Aguilar, Danling Fu, Carlo Jago providing information on how to best teach English Language Learners (ELL) in the classroom. The editors begin the chapter by asking about the similarities and differences in teaching native English speakers and ELLs.Dangling replies that ELLs "often need more specific instruction in language skills and more systematic help in developing their English proficiency...which should be separate from concept or content learning" (2007). While I had understood the need for these students to receive separate more specialized instruction, I had always thought it would be most beneficial for their instruction to be woven in with the material. While this is true in many cases, there are times in which additional separate instruction needs to be included so students can fully comprehend and use English effectively. On the same topic Aguilar states the first step to holding ELLs to the same standards is to first assess their reading and writing ability in their native language, as the more literate they are in their native language, the better equipped they are to learn English. Danling concludes this initial discussion stating that teachers need to "respect them [ELLs] as intelligent individuals [and] allow the, to bring their home language into their classroom learning until they can use English for learning and communication" (2007). This section  provided the reader with a basic outline of ELLs needs and how to best meet them in the classroom. As the chapter continued Aguilar, Danling, and Jao expounded on these general principles illustrating ways for teachers to instruct ELL students.
Perhaps one of the most meaningful things in the chapter for me was Danling's comment that the "primary language acts as a scaffold to the second language. Removing the primary language means removing the scaffold" (2007). This passage really spoke to me as my personal teaching philosophy relies heavily on this method of learning. However, growing up I was indoctrinated with the idea that accommodating ELLs was as "Our ancestors had to teach themselves how to speak English. So why should we accommodate those too lazy learn now?" I have often times had a hard time reconciling this idea with my philosophy of education, as I believe everybody deserves a chance to learn and often times this requires a little extra teacher attention. By linking this issue to my belief in scaffolding Danling really reinforced the idea of ELL instruction for me on a personal level.
On the broader scale, numerous methods of instruction were outlined in the chapter focused on how to best include ELLs in the classroom. The two methods I found to be most easily applicable were the issuing of a language survey at the beginning of class to see where the student is  linguistically, as well as, offering extra time for ELLs to collect their thoughts. The latter can be achieved by having all students respond to discussion question in writing, then share their answers with the  class. This enables the ELL to practice what they are going to say in front of the class and will help boost confidence when interacting with the entire class. These two methods are easily applicable in any classroom and enable ELLs to feel more at ease in the their classroom environment, enabling them to learn at a quicker rate.
Chapter eight provided great detailed insight into the world of ELL through the questioning of several experts in the field. This enabled the reader to fully grasp and comprehend some basic strategies in teaching and interacting with ELLs.