Mallory Olian (002)
This article focused on features 10-12 of the SIOP model. Each feature highlights an important aspect of a SIOP classroom and provides meaningful ways of encouraging productive learning in a classroom. For the most part, I believe that this article did a good job articulately what makes an effective classroom, but am a little disappointed that they weren’t more explicit in their descriptions. It’s difficult to describe the ideal classroom while knowing that in reality, no one’s classroom will be the way that an article describes. For this reason, I wish this article (along with a multitude of others) did a better job explicitly stating how to go about fixing situations that do not turn out as anticipated or expected.
Away from my opinion however, I do not think the article had significant points and helpful information. First, it must be clear that the meaning of comprehensible input is “to make the message understandable.” According to the article, teachers can only be successful by relaying the message thoroughly and effectively to their students if they understand that students have unique linguistic needs and ways of learning information.
In order to be the most effective teacher according to the SIOP model, a teacher should follow features 10-12.
Feature 10 describes “speech appropriate for students’ proficiency level.” In this section, the author talks about the importance of slow, yet fluid speech. It is important to note that although the author states that the teacher should speak slowly, they also mention that, regardless of the level students are at in their language acquisition, it is important for a teacher to speak realistically and not become too false in the way the teacher/the language sounds. The author later mentions how as students become more and more proficient in the language, it is important for the teacher to become more fluent in their speaking of the language as well. This strategy of upgrading speech to match the speech of your student not only makes the student feel like they are being effective and speaking in a way that is realistic, but also challenges them to speak to their highest abilities.
Likewise, and apart from just speaking slowly, the author provides meaningful ways of creating language and speech patterns that will allow the students the most success. The author mentions how idioms are the hardest and last thing students learn because they cannot be translated directly. For this reason, they should be avoided. Another way to achieve more fluid speech would be to use cognates and create relationships between the L1 and the L2. When a student can recognize the similarities between their native language and their second language they are much more likely to retain the information and use it correctly.
Feature 11 is called “clear explanation of academic tasks” and in my opinion seemed to be the most obvious but often forgotten of the SIOP features. In it, speaking clearly and creating directions are the most the most important factors for students to be successful. Apparently, teachers often forget to create step-by-step instructions that are simple enough to follow along and they lose their students. If teachers want students to be able to participate and learn the information they must demonstrate what they want and provide examples. Especially in writing, students must be shown what they are to do and must be given ample opportunities to practice the new information and topic.
The last feature, feature 12, offers “a variety of techniques for making content concepts clear.” Although the author mentions many, they do not seem to “think outside the box” in terms of new ways of approaching ELL learning. Just like previous articles we have read, they suggest using gestures and graphic organizers, providing a model for the students to follow, repeating words over and over and in a variety of ways. The one new suggestion I found particularly interesting was the use of technology. I agree, that if don’t correctly technology can be an important tool for bridging the gap between first and second language acquisition. It is just important for teachers to not rely on technology to “bail them out” of situations but to use it as a side-bar to a daily routine or lesson.
Task:
Which of the teacher scenarios described at the bottom of the article about Mrs. Castillo, Mr. Dillon and Mr. Lew, did you find the most practical for your own teaching? How would you use what they did/didn’t do in their classrooms in your own? Would you change anything? What would you keep?
Also, based on your own experiences learning a second/foreign language, do you think that the features mentioned in this article about comprehensible input are necessary? If so, how would you use some of the examples from the article and each feature in your own classroom? Would you change anything?
Among the three teaching scenarios, Mr. Lew was, of course, the most effective in the area of comprehensible input. I agree, however, that his classroom was an idealization and incorporating all of the techniques that Mr. Lew employed in his lesson is easier said than done. One aspect of Mr. Lew’s lesson that I certainly hope to integrate into my own teaching is his “clear explanation of academic tasks.” Instructions are such an essential component of a lesson, but I think that their importance is often downplayed within the bigger picture of the lesson content. The SIOP model really stresses the importance of written, step-by-step instructions and teacher demonstrations of the expected task. This seems like such a simple modification that would, no doubt, benefit all students -- both native English speakers and second language learners.
ReplyDeleteIn my own language learning experience, I think that comprehensible input is 100% necessary. I always appreciated it when teachers spoke slower and with vocabulary that was appropriate for my level. I also think it is fairly easy for teachers to rephrase sentences and use synonyms for words that students are unfamiliar with – and incredibly helpful to the students. In my opinion, coming up with new ways to explain a concept is something that all teachers ought to be able to do. Rarely do all students understand material the first time it is taught to them and (good) teachers are able to explain the same material in several different ways to accommodate all students.
I greatly appreciated all of the examples in this article, whether it was an example of what to do or what not to do. I don't find the content to be particularly helpful as I am going to be a secondary education language teacher, however I found Mr. Lew's lesson to be the most interesting, effective, and considerate of EL students. He paid the closest attention to his speech and made sure that it was comprehensible for his EL students as well as made sure that the students were clear on the instructions, and when they weren't, he used another way to help clarify them. I would definately write out the instructions for the project like he did in my own classroom. That helps students regardless of whether they are ELs or not because it gives them something to refer back to.
ReplyDeleteIn my own experience as a language learner, I do find the features mentioned in the article to be necessary and very useful. Use of speech is very important! For example: While I was studying abroad in Ecuador, I was taking several Spanish classes that were set up for foreigners trying to learn Spanish. One of my professors did a great job of speaking slowly, enunciating, and repeating words and phrases to make sure that we understood her. If we stared back at her with a blank face, she would explicitely ask us what we were confused about. In contrast, I had another professor who rarely slowed down or changed his speech to help us and on top of that, his accent was very hard to understand. I struggled a lot in that class just to grasp what was going on. Figuring out what the homework was every day was a nightmare! I usually had to go up to him after class and clarify it because I was so confused.
In my own classroom, I'm planning on writing the homework assignments or instructions on the board every day, just to help out my students. Most of the time, seeing it and hearing it is more helpful than just hearing it. If that isn't enough, I would allow enough time in class to give a demonstration or example of what I want them to do. Obviously it would be a lot of work to try and do a group project like the one in Mr. Lew's classroom every day, however I am hoping to incorporate activities such as that one on a regular basis just to keep the students engaged.
For my own teaching I think Mr. Lew’s method was great, but maybe not practical for every teacher. There was a lot of patience and time consumption demonstrated by Mr. Lew that some teachers may forget to do or get frustrated while trying. I would attempt to model my class after his and probably wouldn’t change anything. What I liked about it was that he was very thorough with explaining and introducing the topic demonstrated by the orange and orange peel, vocabulary, and objective. He moved at a pace many of the students were comfortable with, which is one of the features of SIOP, because all but one group understood the experiment. I really liked how he had another group explain to the confused group what to do, furthering communication within the lesson. Also he was very thorough with directions orally and written which was helpful for the students I think. There wasn’t much I could think of to change or add to this lesson. I would again, model my classroom after his. However I do wonder if he speeds up his speech to a normal/fast level and scaffolds later once the students become more proficient.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that the features mentioned in this article are necessary. Repetition is vital because like the old saying goes it takes 3 times to read something and remember it. So, in this case vocabulary and repetition go hand and hand in retaining information, overall comprehending. Creating a step by step lesson that is not only a good speaking/comprehensible pace, but also uses the appropriate level of the L2 the students are working with. This is difficult I could imagine because teachers are used to moving at a fast pace given that their students know English therefore I think this is very important. Lastly since we are in this technology filled world, may as well use it to our best advantage. Using tapes, videos, gestures and graphic organizers, etc, will keep students interested yet help them at the same time. A teacher might now be able to help each and every student all at once or be with those students 24/7, so technology would be a great step towards ELL learning/teaching.
I would like to imagine my future classroom being a lot like Mr. Lew's classroom, but I think I'll (at least at first) make a lot a little mistakes like Mrs. Castillo. I thought everything about Mr. Lew's teaching was amazing. I also think it's a bit of an ideal. Since I am a native english speaker I'm aware I'm likely to slip into speaking quickly and using complex language students may not understand. One thing from Mrs. Castillo's teaching that I have previously used when working with ELL students was the format of read, identify new words, define new words, but I always followed that with a check for understanding. I hope that I someday can teach in a school that allows me to be as hands on a teacher as Mr. Lew.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience as a second language learner I see most of the points mentioned in the article as very important. I know that my Japanese teachers keep in mind my proficiency level while still challenging me, scaffold my learning with a mix of English and Japanese, and use gestures/pictures/videos to help me learn. I think most of the points mentioned would ideally have a place in my future classroom. There are a few issues though. Mainly with feature 10. In a modern classroom chances are students are at varied proficiency levels. A teacher would have trouble keeping language simple enough for beginners while still challenging more fluent students. Another point is that with the variety of languages spoken in schools, it would be very hard for a teacher to master the many first languages of the students, this means it would be hard for teachers to use the student's first language to help them further grasp English.
I liked Mr. Lew the best too. He really knew what he was doing and made sure every student understood the lesson, keeping in mind that some students spoke English as a second language. His lesson would probably work the best for me. I would also like to note that his demonstration would also keep my interest.
ReplyDeleteI like that he was thorough in explaining the lesson and really making sure that everyone was in the right place. I would love to be a teacher like that and just be able to naturally keep those things in mind. That's something that really makes a good teacher.
I also thought he had a really creative lab that would keep my interest any day. It sounded kind of fun!
Although I think Mr. Lew had the best lesson and paid the most attention to his students, Mrs. Castillo was good too. Although she confused some of the students for a while, she did recognize what she was doing in the end. So I think Mrs. Castillo would be a good match for me too.
However, Mr. Dillon's class just sounds boring and mundane. It's seriously no wonder those kids don't do their homework. Mr. Dillon did not even give a demonstration or give much care to how he was giving the lesson like Mr. Lew and Mrs. Castillo, so I'm thinking the students were probably not paying much attention. His lesson just seemed half-done.
I think Mr. Lew did an excellent job and doesn't really need to change anything about his lesson! All I really recommend to Mrs. Castillo is that she works on paying attention more to her speech (even though she's already doing pretty okay!) and give more of an interesting lesson with more activities.
How ever... Mr. Dillon just needs a lot of work. He is not an ideal teacher.
I think the lessons in the chapters are really helpful to see how the features are implemented effectively or not. But we should always keep in mind that every teacher has good and not so great days, just like students.
ReplyDelete