Grammar Teaching

In the activity that we did last week, I listed grammar as something that is not one of the most important things in language learning.  However, when looking at it more carefully, it comes down to a lot of questions, and the learner's particular variables.  Some of the things that Brown lists as the variable that determine the importance of grammar include age, proficiency level, educational background, skill, register, and need or use.  I think when I did the activity last week, I was looking at grammar in terms of speaking for survival.  I don't think that perfect grammar is necessary when communicating to a native speaker for directions, however, what about writing?  If an adult is trying to write a professional, formal letter, grammar and vocabulary are extremely important.

So, as I have learned in my other education classes, writing is the hardest of the different language arts subcategories to teach- so how to we teach this to second language learners?  Are the same techniques used in both situations?  Of course it depends on what I stated before: age, proficiency level, educational background, skill, register, and need or use.  

Some of the things that Brown presents to teach grammar include using charts, objects, maps and drawings, dialogues, and written texts.  However, my question is: Say, if I am teaching a general 5th grade classroom with a few English language learners in it (who are all at different levels), how do I give them assignments?  We have talked in class about how to assess the work of L2 learners in different ways, but how do we make assignments for English Language learners who are so far off from the proficiency level of their classmates?

Reading Strategies.

The techniques for teaching reading strategies are something that I learn a lot about in my other classes, and reading is something that all students struggle with- not just second language learners.  Brown says that students need to identify the purpose, learn left to right, top-bottom decoding, learn silent reading techniques for rapid reading, skimming, scanning, mapping/clustering, guessing, vocabulary analysis, distinguish meanings, and process relationships.  I think that a major part in learning to read is motivation, or finding something that interests each particular student the most.  This could also mean, in teaching English as a second language, that the student reads in their primary language.  If a student is having difficulties learning in their L2, it could mean that they never fully learned how to read in their L1.  They may have difficulties getting motivated doing something that they never fully learned in the first place, so by reading in their first language, the student can get motivated to practice their reading skills.

Supporting the first Language

The article by Cary is something that is a big issue in teaching English as another language, which is how to support a student's first language when you don't speak the language.  I thought it was interesting to find that students who are placed in a bilingual program, with first developing a strong foundation for their first language, will out perform students who are placed in ESL classes which are all English.  However, I think that bilingual classes are more of a luxury because I feel like it's rare to get a group of students who all speak the same language, all live in the same area, and that area happens to have a teacher who speaks that language to make a bilingual class.  This is something that is common with Spanish, but can be really difficult for other languages.  The article also talked about parent involvement with the classes, with an emphasis on encouraging the use of primary language at home, such as writing and reading stories.  I think that parent involvement is extremely important when children are in younger grades, and with students whose parents' do not speak English, this can be very difficult for schools and teachers to get those parents involved.  The article mentions oral and written translations in the classroom.  In the article, Dolores learned to say simple things such as "please", "thank you", and "good morning" in a dozen languages, and I think that this is a very simple way to show parents and students that you care and want to help.  Through getting support from a wide variety of bilingual helpers, she was able to make a big difference in her classroom.