Chapter one starts by introducing us to English Language Learners (ELL) and the people who teach them. English Language Learners are "English Learners who are learning English as a nonnative speaker." (Diaz-Rico,2008) They are learning English as an additional second language. In this chapter we see how teaching English is more than just teaching a language--it's about teachers learning different cultures, beliefes, and social status.
I found this chapter interesting because I have always considered ELL classes to essentially teach the English Language. I never thought about how a teacher has to be educated and compassionate towards a child's primary language and culture. In teaching special education I have always seen the need for compassion and understanding. We teach by making modifications to meet our student's needs in a classroom environment. I never realized that ELL students need the same compassion and modifications in a classroom environment.
Teaching ELL students comes with a lot of challenges. Teachers need to motivate students and understand the cultured in which the they come from. Then and only then, can they provide a structured curriculum. In this chapter I liked the statement, " One learns from mistakes and when teaching English learners, many more errors are possible then in monoculture settings. But they will be fascinating errors."(Diaz-Rico,2008) I found this statement universal; representing any students . As a teachers we make mistakes and we learn from those mistakes. Often it is our mistakes that help us become better teachers. Teaching ELL students is challenging and rewarding and takes a special type of teacher. The website TESOL, (http://www.tesol.org/) can answer questions and give you ideas about teaching ELL studetns.
