Case
Teacher not using proper ESOL accommodations

I am observing in a first grade classroom for an ESOL practicum and noticed that the teacher does not use appropriate ESOL strategies to help the ELL students in her classroom. This school is a high minority area, mostly Spanish and many of the families are low education level migrant worker families, so home support is very low. When I ask the teacher about her ESOL accommodations she explains that many of the teachers do not know how to work with ELL students and that most of them do not have any ESOL training but the school is working on changing that but for the moment they are not equipped to handle the amount of ESOL students and the various levels of English proficiency. As an observer I can see how much these students are missing out on academically and nothing is being done to help them. What can I do to help them?

Posted on: 02/25/18 | Views: 800
Solution #1
Top Solution
Your CT seems very helpless in this situation. Have you tried to offer her ways to help her ESOL students? She knows that you are being trained in this field of education, so she might be receptive to hearing some of your ideas. Also, you could explain to her the different levels of ESOL and this might be able to help her understand each students level and help her be able to look up accommodations for those levels of students. Lastly, I would ask if she wanted help writing a lesson plan so you could show her where accommodations could happen for these students.

Maybe you could try brainstorming with you and your CTs knowledge in teaching and try to find a way to the students. Collaboration can help?

I agree collaboration would be good!

I agree with this solution 100%. If you have the knowledge that the CT needs, you should offer it. You might thank yourself later for doing so.

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Solution #2
I would talk to her more about the lesson and put your input in and see if she uses it.
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Solution #3
Without overstepping any boundaries, you might suggest some accommodations or lesson scaffolding to the cooperating teacher. It sounds as though the CT is struggling with teaching her ELLs and might benefit from hearing some of your ideas. If you have a chance to teach a lesson in the classroom, you can include adaptable accommodations and monitor students' work to see how the accommodations worked or didn't work for the students. This observation will be important to remember in your own classroom of the necessary accommodations and scaffolding that ELLs require when learning subject content in an unfamiliar language.
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Solution #4
I remember when I first started college, ESOL was not even a thing. Sure, we had accommodations for ESOL students, but there were no real rules or procedures in place for us to learn. Perhaps your CT graduated from college with their education degree before the ESOL program was implemented. Soon though, every teacher will have to either re-train and re-certify themselves or learn the ESOL laws and procedures for the first time in order to continue to educate. I would be patient and just keep doing what YOU know to be right. Use this as a learning experience to really throw yourself into the program. If you are in your ESOL practicum you should be doing task reflections every week with lesson plans implemented towards the end, correct? Make sure to go overboard with accommodations and modifications. Might kick up your CT's motivation to learn and implement themselves.
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Solution #5
Make an administrator aware of the problem and it is not observed for the better by the principal or superintendent than you may want to go to the school board with the issue with such a large academic problem.
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Solution #6
It is not good that the teachers feel incapable of instructing ESOL students. With the diverse nature of the student population, ESOL instruction should be taken seriously in the school system.
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Solution #7
What you can do is take note of it and when you become a teacher, make sure you do not repeat those mistakes. Make sure you know what to do for the accommodations and do better for the students.
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