It is important to keep the Mother language when teaching students with more than one language.
In the United States alone there are so many languages that represent so many cultures and it 's what makes this country so great. Language is/represents their culture.
I learned that it is important as well to realize that even first language English speakers may not have a highly developed academic language proficiency. This is something for instructors to focus on for all students, regardless of their linguistic background.
Diversity and inclusion of students is very important.
Just because someone is learning ESL or as a new language, we cannot assume where they are in the process and how it is/will affect their learning. We need to learn more about these students on a personal level and give them the time and resources that can help them succeed.
Allowing a student to utilize their mother tongue will increase understanding and help the student develop connections between the language they already know and English. Then inability to understand or speak a language does not equate to literacy.
The student's native language begins in their homes.
I really enjoyed this section. I never thought that much about how allowing an ESL student to access his or her mother language could aid in learning English. When I have studied Spanish (very little), I was always connecting the base of Spanish words with the base of English words. Both often had Latin parallels. Even as I communicate with my brother and his friends whose mother language is American Sign Language (ASL), it is obvious how logically ASL aligns with English.
One factor in teaching nursing is that in the United States, the NCLEX is given in English. While we faculty should respect the bilingual or multilingual students in our program, the student still needs prepared to take the licensing exam in English.
This section brings to the forefront, concepts that many take for granted but in fact, need to embrace as a core value.
Everyone has a voice and wants to be heard
i learned what mother tongue is
Comment on Shane Apperley's post: We can't equate ESL or ELL students with learning another language and taking your course is struggling and the English speaking language is not struggling with the content in your class.
Language and literacy are interdependent, and each student deserves opportunities to increase their competency in all aspects of both.
The importance of allowing access to the students' mother tongue to aid in learning new languages such as English.
This section explained how language is the form and literacy is the use or the uses of that form. Language is a way of communicating ideas of feelings by sounds, gestures, etc. Literacy refers to the ability to use the language .
The spoken word is necessary to illustrate culture.
It is important to remember that language skills do not necessarily reflect literacy. I have 3 nephews who are bilingual and when learning English were embarrassed when they got words wrong because people thought they weren't very smart. I strive to ensure ESL and ELL students are recognized and never embarrassed in my classroom.
Understanding that the "mother tongue" for bilingual/multilingual students plays an important role in their successful learning in English. As the instructor it is important to recognize this and also to assist students who may need additional language resources to be successful in your course.
to me, language as a reflection of culture means using someone's verbal and/or written communication to understand more about the individual's culture.
It also should be noted that receptive language develops first, and expressive language will tend to lag, so a student may understand more than they can express verbally (or in writing which is a literacy skill).
