For the next few posts I will be uploading interviews with three different ESL teachers. Today here is Mrs. Roshada she teaches freshmen and sophomores at Lathrop high.
Me: As an ESL teacher what is one struggle you find when teaching?
Mrs. Roshada: Sometimes I struggle with the varying levels of English language abilities that I have with my ELD students. I struggle with making sure that I am challenging the students with more English language abilities, and also helping those students with less improve.
Me: How do you support ESL students who may be struggling to grasp new concepts?
Mrs. Roshada: When I find that my students are struggling with a new concept, I continue to teach it using different methods and modalities. For example, I will change the way the concept is presented or change the types of questions I use to assess the understanding of the concept. I will continue modifying my lessons until I feel that the students have grasped it. If they haven’t, I may go back to the lesson before and reteach, as maybe they are missing information from the previous lesson that would assist with the understanding of the new concept.
Me: Can you describe your biggest success in working with ESL students?
Mrs. Roshada: The biggest success I have achieved with my ELD students is gaining their trust. I remember a former ELD student, now fellow teacher, explaining that her most effective ELD teachers in high school first reached the students hearts, and then their minds followed. A lot of times, ELD students feel uncomfortable or self-conscious which will inhibit their success in areas such as speaking in English. I feel that I have been able to gain many of their trust, thus lowering the affective filter in class and allowing for improvement in English.
Me: What is a strategy that works well for you when teaching? Can you explain why this works best?
Mrs. Roshada: I required all students to speak in English, every day in class and for some students that is more difficult than others. I will frontload the questions for those students so that they know they will be asked a specific question and have time to prepare their response. This has lowered their affective filter, and when I feel that the student can handle it, I start to transition them away from having the question ahead of time. I also provide sentence stems for all questions asked in class. I present these to all students, no matter their level of English Language abilities to encourage, full and complete responses to questions.
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