English Language Learning

Personally, I am extremely interested in teaching ELL's and look forward to all of the challenges and rewards that come along with it.  I admire people who are bilingual and as an English major, I understand how difficult the language can be.  I have been taking Spanish classes since I was in the 6th grade.  Interestingly, we always did a lot more writing than speaking in Spanish.  From the reading, it seemed like it is actually common for ELL's to do little to no writing, and mostly focus on simple reading and speaking exercises.  Because of the emphasis I had on writing, I feel much more confident writing in Spanish than I do speaking it.

With all of that being said, I love Fu's approach to teaching writing to ELL's.  It is unconventional, when you consider that most of the research and assumptions say ELL's should strive to think in English rather than their native language, and that their writing should reflect that.  I much prefer the concept of allowing students to write in a more scaffolded way, where they are able to write entirely in their native language, then with code-switching, then with inter-language, and finally in standard English.  I think that this approach is the epitome of the growth mindset.  Instead of focusing on students' deficits in the English language, you are able to embrace all of the advanced speaking, listening and writing skills they already possess in their native language (what he calls "funds of knowledge").  Instead of being labeled as "behind" or "bad" students, they are celebrated for being learners with the privilege of knowing and learning two languages.

I really liked the idea that it is okay for people to think in their native language.  The example he gave of the two teachers' writing was a clear indicator that allowing students to think in their native language produces stronger, more genuine writing, because you aren't limited to only the language you are proficient in.  It also saves student from the humiliation of being pulled aside to work on extremely low level activities and allows them to learn the same higher level content as their peers.


I think that the artifactual literacy would work really well with ELLs.  I am sure that many ELL students have artifacts from their native countries, or even from the US, that could help teachers gain insight into their culture.  It also relates to the idea of multiple literacies, which is important when you have a classroom of students who are not all at the same level of traditional English literacy.