ABBY MARKERT

Ray School is a world language magnet school. As a result we have many ELL students within the elementary school. In my class I have 2 students from China, 2 students from Korea, and 2 students that speak Spanish at home but are fluent in English. One of the students from China just moved to Chicago and speaks very little English. This same student according to her birthday should be in kindergarten. When my MT approached the principal with this information they tried to move her to kindergarten but her parents refused as she had kindergarten in China. This student is not a disruption to class by any means but is much younger than the others and it is noticeable. Part of that could also be a language and culture barrier. My MT has been teaching at Ray for about 12 years and has had many students from China so she is use to working with ELL students. One method that she has found useful for the beginning of school is pairing her with the other student from China that speaks both languages to help acclimate her to this new school. The two girls sit next to each other at their assigned seats and this was designed to help break the language barrier. Recently however we have been noticing that Jane is almost too comfortable with Sarah and therefore is losing the need to learn English or progress as a first grader. When it comes to any assignment in class Jane is either looking at Sarah’s work or asking Sarah questions in Chinese. This was ok for the first week of school but it is becoming a problem because Jane will not speak to anyone else in the class including my MT and myself. As a result we have decided to move Jane to a new seat in the classroom. My MT believes that by moving her it will force her to try and learn and speak English as well as force her to do her own work. I agree that this will be beneficial for Jane as well as Sarah. I think it is important not only in terms of learning the language but also socially that Jane is forced to make new friends and step out of her comfort zone. I have only been able to see Jane in her new seat for one day but I think that this will be effective. The one-day I did notice her trying a little harder to speak English and was asking more questions to My MT and myself. I will be interested to see how the next few weeks play out and if there is any further improvement on Jane’s part. I also am wondering what other ways we can help scaffold Jane’s learning and help guide her with the language. My MT always makes sure Jane answers questions like “What color paper do you want?” Jane would try to just grab it or point to it, but my MT makes her say the color even if she has to repeat after her. I think this method is also useful because it is forcing Jane to speak even when it is more comforting not to. I also wonder how Jane’s age is going to play a factor into learning the material since she is young and an ELL. I will be watching for any improvements and noticing more about her learning in this “new” environment.