Meagan's Second Language Methodology Blog

Over the course of this semester, I have obtained a greater understanding of what it means to be an English language learner and most importantly what it takes to work with these students. Through the work of this course, I have learned many ways to use effective, meaningful teaching practices in order to provide an enriching learning experience for all students of all abilities. Some of the most useful strategies I have learned can be easily implemented into everyday routines when providing instruction. For many of the students I work with, they are familiar with English, but they are still working towards becoming more advanced in their production of the language whether that is through speaking or even through writing. The most notable technique I have witnessed to be most beneficial is the use of sentence stems. While this may not seem to be the most notable to all, I found the use of sentence stems to be widely beneficial for many reasons. They can be used at almost every grade...

I truly enjoyed working with the teacher I interviewed, and I believe this experience has enriched my understanding of what it means and looks like to work with a class full of English language learners. The teacher I interviewed was able to give me a lot of insight about the challenges of teaching students who are learning to become proficient in English, and he highlighted a few things we have discovered in our texts. One thing I particularly liked that he mentioned was about the use of idioms and cultural references. He said that idioms should be avoided, but if they are used, they need to be explained. I found that this was an important point for him to make because I have experienced several different scenarios where a teacher has used an idiom, and it has left the students confused. Upon reflection, I can think of times where I have used a saying to which I thought was quite common, but in reality it was an idiom or a cultural reference that others could not follow. This i...

In Second Language Acquisition, the course begins with the introduction of the term English language learner (ELL). According to the text used in my SLA 4303 course, an English language learner can be defined as a non-native English speaker who is going through the process of attaining proficiency in English (Wright, 2010, 1). The second language acquisition course uses research to support teaching practices used today. By identifying learners who are ELLs, educators can work to help reach every one of their students and guide them through learning to become proficient in a second language while also learning academic content along the way. Research has proven to impact teaching practices used today through the advances and amendments that have been made to educational practices and programs in schools. A variety of programs and approaches have been created to help reach the needs of varying learners. According to research in Second Language Acquisition, there is a provided domi...

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