Application Activity Report

Due by End of Week, see Calendar

Expectations

The fourth level of learning is application.

This assignment is the highest learning-level assignment and is accomplished by actually applying a concept from the course in your life or practicum. To complete this assignment:

Submissions will be graded according to the following criteria:

Remember this activity involves finding a concept and applying it in your everyday or volunteer experiences. You must actually do something; thinking about it is not sufficient. You must change your behavior and document its impact. This assignment is best completed by trying to apply a concept for 2-3 weeks and over several attempts in several settings. Do not procrastinate starting these projects. Application activities need to be submitted every four weeks (Lessons 4, 8, and 12).

Example of a well-written application activity report

Application: Helping English Language Learners

What is the concept that I am applying?       

For this application, I tried to apply as many techniques from the reading the reading and videos on helping English language learners as possible as I tutored my international students. Because this section focused heavily on techniques, I utilized the ideas of many different one-liners in order to do this application. Some examples of one liners I used are as follows: “Increasing wait time, using visuals, and being conscious of the vocabulary we use are all ways to help ELLs [English-Language Learners].”  I also used the idea that we need to simplify sentence structures and repeat sentences verbatim before trying to rephrase in order to help ELLs. Finally, I used the idea that ELLs need us to slow down our speech, clearly enunciate, use visuals and demonstrations, connect to student experiences, and use supplementary materials. I used all of these ideas to help two international students I tutor. One of the students is from Brazil and has been in the United States since September, and the other student is from Mexico and has been in the United States for 7 years.

What did I actually do? (Specifically)

There were many things that I did for this application. First, I went to great lengths to slow down my speech both when I was talking to my students and when I was reading with them. One of my students, Livia, and I are reading the book Sarah Plain and Tall together during our tutoring sessions. When we started, she told me, in not so many words, that she was intimidated to read around me because I am so fluent. I just laughed it off originally, but the next day I did everything in my power to read at about half the rate that I normally read at. I thought this would be an easy task, but it definitely was far from easy because I am so used to reading at a faster pace. 

Another thing that I did was that I made sure to enunciate and select words carefully. The only other time that I have pronounced my “t”s and “ing”s so clearly is when I was performing in a choir concert. I made sure that my students could clearly hear each phoneme in the words I spoke. I also made sure to use words they would understand. If I felt I had used a word that my students didn’t understand, I would ask them if they knew what the word meant and then try my best to define the word.

Along with the above items, I made sure to give my students corrective feedback by repeating their sentences using the correct form of grammar. I found myself doing it almost the majority of the time with Livia. Normally, I would just repeat the word that she got wrong, but this time I made a concerted effort to rephrase the entire sentence. Both of my students really seemed to react favorably to the correction. Livia would listen to the feedback, repeat the word, and then say “oh thank you.” 

I also tried for this application to use visuals to give added meaning to the words I spoke. Most of the time, I would just do my best to draw pictures. In my last lesson with Livia, though, we would Google pictures of the words we came across in the book that she had never heard of before.

Along with everything, I made a real effort to increase my wait time after asking questions and even after saying a sentence. I found that this really helped my students to process the information more thoroughly. There were several times where I would wait, and Livia would eventually get a look on her face that told me the “light bulb” went off in her head.

Lastly, I used Livia’s own questions to teach explicit language concepts. While we were reading our book during one of our tutoring sessions, Livia asked me lots of questions about the “ed” ending on words and how she was supposed to know when to pronounce it in which way. For our next lesson, I looked up the rules for that particular concept and taught it to her. I taught the rule and then gave her some time for guided practice. Then when we read the next chapter in the book, I made sure that I enunciated the pronunciation of the “ed” sound at the end of words. 

What impact did this have on me?

I think that this had a great impact on me. I learned that teaching in a SIOP style doesn’t take a lot, but it does take a very concentrated effort on the part of the teacher. None of the things I did were difficult, but it did force me to constantly be thinking about the type of language I was using. It was also enlightening because it gave me a glimpse of how it might feel to be learning another language. When I would read so slowly I kind of felt self-conscious that other people would hear how slow I was reading. As a result, I would read much quieter, so only my student could hear me. I quickly realized that Livia would do the same exact thing when she was not confident in her ability to communicate the language. It was a small glimpse into what it must be like for my students who struggle to read in a new language.

It was also impactful because it made me aware of how much of the language I use my ELL students don’t actually understand. As I was more conscious about the words I used and tried to define words I could tell my students didn’t understand, I realized just how many times my students would say they didn’t understand the word. It made me really want to modify my language, so that my students could better understand.

What impact did this have on others?

I know that in the last two weeks that I have been implementing these different techniques, my students have grown more than they normally would have. After teaching the “ed” ending explicitly and pointing it out in the reading, I noticed a drastic change in the way that Livia pronounced her words. Every technique I implemented helped my students to improve over time. As I gave constructive feedback by rephrasing my student’s sentences, they were able to fix their mistakes in that sentence and in any other sentence they said later on in the lesson. 

How does this relate to this class and becoming a teacher/parent/other?

With the number of English language learners on the rise in the United States, there is a high possibility that I will have at least one ESL [English as a Second Language] student in my classroom each year. I now feel that I have the ability to create an environment conducive for them to learn the new language and the specific content of our lessons. I am really excited about this application because it really was simple in theory. I didn’t have to remember every single technique, I just had to think of what the student was going through and what I through and what I felt would be the best way to help them. These techniques are going to be great to help my students learn the language more fully and to have a greater sense of belonging in the classroom. English language learners are increasing, and this application gives me hope that my skills to help them can increase right along with them.