Learning Plan Teaching the Emergent Bilingual
The population of bilingual students in schools has significantly increased over the past five years because of the migration of people from different regions in search of a better life in foreign developed countries. One of the most common populations of bilingual students in schools is emergent bilinguals. Emergent bilinguals continue developing their home language as they learn another language. This population of learners has varying levels of proficiency in oral language and literacy in English and their native language. I have also observed that the main challenges encountered by bilingual children include pronunciation problems and challenges with sight words, such as words with the long E. Therefore, it is important for teachers to create a learning environment that accommodates the different literacy and proficiency levels. Emergent bilinguals also require practicing to understand the proper pronunciation of words and avoid accents that could interfere with their pronunciation. Teachers should also ensure that the students interact among themselves and with the teachers to enable them to develop fluency in speaking English. Teachers must also help emergent bilinguals decode messages and connect to the learner’s schema while developing language development and reading skills so that the students can understand what they read, make meaning of it, and apply it in different contexts.
My main goal in teaching emergent bilinguals is to create a conducive environment for the learners to express themselves and develop their vocabulary. Therefore, I will begin by introducing read-aloud lessons, where each student reads a specific section of a book aloud while the other students listen. Reading aloud will be essential in determining whether emergent bilingual students’ pronunciation is improving and whether their accent could hinder their ability to develop language proficiency. I will also emphasize the words that most learners have difficulty pronouncing. The words will be presented in pictures that all learners are familiar with. I will also encourage learners to make a connection between the words I teach and their experiences and build background knowledge by linking the words to the student’s neighbourhood or something they are familiar with. I will also use the children’s home language in language practice and instructional speech by informing the students of the English words that represent common words in their home language. I will also encourage students to use their home language when interacting with each other outside the classroom to help them develop their home language.
Involving the children’s families is an important part of the learning process for emergent bilinguals. The first step in involving the families will be assigning each child the task of creating a family tree. This activity will ensure that students interact and work with their family members as a team because the children need to consult with their families to determine who to add to the family tree. Each student will then explain to the other students in the classroom whom each name in the family tree represents. The aim of sharing the family tree information with other classmates will be to help students develop the confidence to speak in front of the other students and promote the use of vocabulary for enhanced language development. Families will also be involved in understanding the child’s home language. For instance, the children’s parents and guardians will be interviewed to determine the child’s home language and their proficiency in the language. The child’s level of proficiency in their home language will then be used to determine the most effective strategy to promote proficiency. One of the strategies that will be used to help the emergent bilinguals learn their home language will be pre-reading bilingual books before the lesson and then rereading the books with the students in the classroom while pointing out key vocabulary in English and using gestures and pictures to help the learners understand the meaning of the words.
Although I have developed a basic understanding of the English language and major vocabulary used in day-to-day conversations, I intend to continue learning until I am proficient in oral and written English communication. My learning plan will include instructional, environmental, and family support, as indicated in the table below.
Instructional Support | Environmental Support | Family Support |
Read Aloud: Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Walters, and Brooke A. Allen
· Contains vivid and appealing art that can help readers understand the story and learn new words. · Layered and accessible storyline to help readers with different levels of English proficiency understand the storyline. · Link the experiences of the characters in the book with the students’ experiences.
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Multilingual Ecology
Visuals · Display a photo of an object representing the vocabulary introduced during the week. Labels · Label the pictures of different objects representing the vocabulary introduced during the week. Rhymes and songs · Sing songs containing the vocabulary introduced during the week. |
Involve parents in creating the family tree.
Encourage parents to teach their children songs that can help them learn new vocabulary and how to use the words in a sentence. |
Small Group Activities
· Draw photos of the objects representing the new vocabulary introduced during the week. · Making models of the objects representing the new vocabulary introduced during the week. |
Displaying photos of the family tree to help children understand the family unit. | Families share photos of family gatherings or meetings and any other photo demonstrating family interactions.
Parents talk to children about the differences between different types of families. |
Sensory Activities
· Create models of the objects representing the vocabulary introduced during the week. · Color objects based on the colors introduced during the week.
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Add the Our Families book to the list of books students will read each week.
Read the Our Families book twice a week (Monday and Friday) |
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Math
Counting the objects representing the vocabulary introduced during the week |
Table 1 above indicates that each form of support will include various activities that will aid in language development. Instructional support will include reading aloud, small group, sensory, and math activities. The students will read Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Walters, and Brooke A. Allen in reading aloud. One of the reasons why the book has been selected is because the book contains vivid and appealing art that can help readers understand the story and learn new words. The book also has a layered and accessible storyline to help readers with different levels of English proficiency understand the storyline. The reading-aloud sessions will also include linking the experiences of the characters in the book with the student’s experiences. Linking the experiences will be essential in helping the students understand the different vocabulary in the book and how to use the vocabulary in different contexts. Small group activities will include drawing photos of the objects representing the new vocabulary introduced during the week and making models of the objects. These activities will allow the students to interact and develop conversations that will help them develop their vocabulary. The students will also be encouraged to speak their home language during the group interactions to enhance language development. Sensory activities will include creating models of the objects representing the vocabulary introduced during the week and coloring objects based on the colors introduced during the week. The aim of these activities will be to increase knowledge retention by helping students remember different vocabulary. Children will also participate in match activities, such as counting the objects representing the vocabulary introduced during the week to help them understand numerical vocabulary.
Subsequently, environmental support will include multilingual ecology, such as visuals, labels, rhymes, and songs. The children will be asked to display a photo of an object representing the vocabulary introduced during the week, label the pictures of different objects representing the vocabulary introduced during the week, and sing songs containing the vocabulary introduced during the week. Environmental support will also include displaying family tree photos to help children understand the family unit. Family support will include activities that increase family involvement in the child’s learning. One of the activities will be involving parents in creating the family tree. All children will create a family tree with the help of their parents or guardians and inform the teacher about the family members involved in creating it. The second activity is encouraging parents to teach their children songs that can help them learn new vocabulary and how to use it in a sentence. Children will also share photos of their family gatherings or meetings and any other photo demonstrating family interactions. Parents will also be required to talk to children about the differences between different types of families. Another activity in the family support segment will be adding the Our Families book to the list of books students will read each week. The children will then read the book twice a week to help them understand the concept of a family.
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Question
Learning Plan: Teaching the Emergent Bilingual
Supporting the Emergent Bilingual What do you know now? What will you do?
How will children’s home languages be used in your instructional speech and language practice?
How will you involve the child’s family? Describe a specific learning plan that will guide your goals.
4 to 5 Pages