I had a great opportunity to interview , Ms.Macadajes , a University of Houston alumni . Ms.Macadejes graduated from U of H 2014 with her bachelor degree in teaching and learning . She is currently working at Pilgrim Academy as a fourth grade ESL reading teacher . She expressed to me ,that she has been teaching for nearly almost three years now at Pilgrim Academy. Pilgrim Academy a school that has a high percentage of bilingual students enroll . She stated that over 90 percent of the students that attend the school is bilingual . She had no choice but to alter her teaching method to suit her learners .Ms.Macadajes share a similar trait as her students. She is also a bilingual individual her own. She grew up and spent majority of her life in the Phillipian. She arrived to the U.S during her late adolescent year right before college.
During the interview , I had chance to understand more about Ms.Macadajes teaching philosophy about working with children that are bilingual . She provided me strategies that she use to attack her learners . She try to motivate her students by using music to capture their attention . She said, using music to teach has been a success so far . She stated, she spent most of the time doing whole group instruction rather than independent work. Her main focus is making sure her students understand the meaning behind each word . She strongly suggested using a lot of model and pictures to build students knowledge .She also described to me , she uses a lot of hand motions and gesture when she teach. According to the video by Stephen Krashen on second language , he discussed the effective way of teaching students to acquire a new language is using hand gesture and models.He also described the importance of comprehension input (Ortega 2013 pg 60).Both things in which my interviewer agreed to be accurate. Ms.Macadajes stated, that some words are easy for her students to make connection because of their L1. One of the pattern she see a lot is grammar issues. L2 learners tend to transfer language as they would to use in their L1 . According to Ortega , “L1 fact may accrue both a disadvantage and an advantage for learning the corresponding area in the L2 ( Ortega 2013 pg 43).
Hey Emmanuel.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching your interview with Ms. Macadajes, I think it’s nice to be at a school with a lot of ELL students. I thought it was really interesting how your teacher uses music to help student learning. I have not heard of that so I found it really nice. I think using music will help the students engage in the learning more. The experiences and interactions, that students go through when learning a L2 is what will help them learn the language better, this includes activities they use to engage the students (Ortega, 2013). I wish when I was learning English I had a teacher who was a little more creative because then I would be more engaged in the material. Overall, I really enjoyed your interview!
Hey Axa ,
DeleteWell thank you , for taking your time to watch my interview with Ms. Macadajes. I have to say Ms.Macadajes is a very unique individual , especially when it comes to movtivating her bilingual students . I'm absoulty beside you , if I had a teacher who was creative like Ms.Macadjes when I was growing up , I definitely will be motivated to learn the new language too. I believe music can motivate anyone to do anything. For example , majority of us use music to motivate us during workout. Before the semester end , I will make sure I observe her classroom and tell you more about my experience.
Emmanuel, it was great watching your interview because Ms. Macadejas works with a population that is 90% bilingual! It is interesting to hear that she comes from a Filipino background as well. In my interview, I also expanded on the idea of “comprehensible input" as well (Ortega, 2013, p. 60). When formulating my own opinion while watching your interview as well, I do believe that focusing on comprehensible input is the best way to teach English language learners. The reason being is that even Ms. Macadejas speaks about understanding the meaning behind each word. When there is understanding or a personal connection being made, it really resonates with the students. Having them simply repeat you and forcing them to talk is not the most efficient way of teaching English language learners. After interviewing Ms. Macadejas and reading about comprehensible input, do you think that this is the best approach when teaching in your experience?
ReplyDeleteHey Shelly ,
DeleteI know right , comprehensible input is very important when it comes to learning a new language . I believe that once a person understand the meaning behind something , it does not only resonate with them , but also allow them to express it to others . I think as educators it's our duty to make sure students understand what they are learning rather than just teaching them things they can not truly comprehend. That's why I'm strong believer of comprehensible input . I hope I answer your question . Once again , thanks for sparing your free time on my blog .
Hello Emmanuel!
ReplyDeleteI like that in your interview your teacher talked about motivating students with music. That is an interesting, but effective way in teaching, and I was wondering what her methods in doing so were. According to Ortega (2011), motivation refers to the desire to initiate L2 learning and one’s effort to continue (p. 168). Students are motivated by different things and also have different levels of motivation that may range from high to little or none. I like that the teacher you interviewed said that she tries to help students understand the meaning behind each word and that she uses models and pictures to help students visually and kinesthetically.
Thanks for sharing!
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DeleteHey Jennie ,
DeleteI'm glad that you enjoyed watching my interview with Ms.Macadajes . I had a wonderful time when I interviewed her and I also learned some new knowledge about working with bilingual students . I'm convinced that motivation can have huge benefit towards L2 learners. I was wondering , how you do you plan to motivate your students in the future ?
Hello Emmanuel, thank you for sharing this insightful video interview with your teacher colleague. There were multiple activities and modifications in her classroom that contributed to a positive learning experience for her esl students. She knew that her students enjoyed music so she tried to incorporate that into the class and hand more interactive hands on activities to keep them motivated. That also included students working with classmates so they can communicate with each other to share opinions and ideas over what they are learning while at the same time exercise the use of their second language. The text states that “the theory of a social motivation for chameleonic colour repertoires, experience must be understood as radically social. It must be theorized as lived and contested experience, always unfinished and never fully predictable, and always contingent on the situated context of human relational activity” (Ortega).
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2011). Understanding second language acquisition. London and New York: Routledge.
Hello Bryan ,
DeleteYes I agree with you that social interaction can be benefit for students who learning the new language . I believe that there are also some cons with social interaction sometimes too. Some learners are introvert , how can you motivate those students to work with peers ?
Hey Keyerra ,
ReplyDeleteThanks for viewing my blog and watching my interview with Ms.Macadejes. I know right , don't we all love music . Yes , Stephen Krashen's idea about comprehensible input is definitely accurate. We all learn language the same way . I don't think just language but anything we do in this world . When we understand the meaning behind something than it's easier for us to make connection. That's why I believe all teacher should use models , hand gestures , and pictures to make connection with all of their student's not just bilingual individuals .
Nice interview, a few of Ms. Macadejess strategies she use in her classroom included reading and talking a lot. I believe those strategies are very important to language learning. Rowland (2014) states that a factor in acquiring a language depends on how much you hear of that language, the more the better, the less the worse. Reading alone I believe is the best way to help children develop word mastery and grammatical understanding, which form the basis for not only learning how to read, but also language learning. I think with reading, you are preparing them to be expert language users, and indirectly you are going to facilitate their learning to read.
ReplyDeleteHello Emmanuel,
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to think that Ms. Macadejes has needed to change her teaching strategies to the fact that she has such a large population of ESL students. I would imagine that her teaching the "regular" students would be a byproduct of how she teaches the ELLs. I like that she uses the simple idea of speaking in her classroom. I know that Rowland spoke to how important it is for an ELL to hear the L2. Having the students practice speaking what they hear is also crucial for their development of the L2. I think that this strategy is beneficial to a classroom no matter how many ESL students a teacher may have.