How an Understanding of language Help Pinpoint and Address Issues

 

Task A: Vihn has difficulty pronouncing th Does he have a speech impediment? Speech sounds are learned at different ages. If they are not pronounced properly within a normal timeframe, it is considered a disorder. Vihn’s difficulty producing the th sound is an articulation disorder. A teacher familiar with languages can pinpoint this issue by addressing early intervention methods. Gathering background data on the student’s culture will be helpful. A conference with parents along with a speech pathologist should take place. According to Alaraifi et al. (2014), “families of individuals with articulation disorders would benefit from counseling on the significance of known risk factors and the importance of early intervention” (p.6).

            Task B: Chanyoung always leaves off the final s when she reads. I’ve told her a million times that plural words end with an s. Why is she refusing to read the word correctly? On a final consonant, Koreans do not allow that breath of air out of their mouth. A teacher differentiating learning disabilities from language difficulties can help pinpoint the issues and address them in an appropriate manner.

            Task C: Rosa always switches words around in the sentence, saying and writing things like “car red” instead of “red car”. Is she dyslexic? No, Rosa may be Hispanic which would make sense in her language. The adjective typically follows the noun in the Spanish language. Word reversals are not always a sign of dyslexia. Non-dyslexic children may temporarily switch words in their early years. An understanding of the Spanish language can help the teacher target the issue at hand. There are other languages that operate similarly.

            Task D: Suling always mixes up the gender-specific pronouns, calling girls “he” or “him” and boys “she” or “her”. I keep correcting her, but she just doesn’t get it. And if she calls me “Mrs.” Wright one more time I’m going to scream! Can’t she tell the difference between boys and girls? Should I refer her to special education? No, according to research (Being Non-Binary in a Language without Gendered Pronouns – Estonian, 2018) we can determine that

Genderless languages: Chinese, Estonian, Finnish, and other languages don’t categorize any nouns as feminine or masculine and use the same word for he or she in regard to humans. For people who don’t identify along the gender binary, these grammatical differences can be significant. 

An understanding of various languages and cultural background can help the teacher determine the issues and address them appropriately. Some students may be apart of an LGBTQ community and may practice gender neutrality. Thus, they may struggle to identify with themselves and others.

            Task E: Reading time was over and students were supposed to put their books away and start working on their math worksheets. But Thanawan just kept right on reading. I said to her, “Why are you still reading instead of doing your math?” She smiled and said, “Oh, because I’m not finish yet,” and she just kept on reading. Why did she disobey me so rudely? Thanawan may have not intentionally reacted rudely. An understanding of languages and her former school can help the teacher identify the concern. First, according to (Ferlazzo, 2020), do not make assumptions about your ELL students, such as, “an EL student is lazy, obstinate, or unintelligent because they’re not raising their hand in class, they speak in another language to peers, or they don’t complete their work.” This type of behavior may have been tolerated in her former school. Thanawan will need to adjust to new school norms.

            Task F: During student oral presentations on sea mammals, William, one of my African American students, begins: “I gonna aks you a question. Why have whales blow holes? Wales gotta have blowholes because dey be breathin’ oxygen just like all da udder mammals.” I just don’t understand why William speaks such poor English. Understanding the African American Vernacular English can help the teacher identify the student’s choice of words and address the issue in a suitable manner. As defined in the Britannica, African American Vernacular English (AAVE), formerly Black English Vernacular (BEV), dialect of American English spoken by a large proportion of African Americans.

            Task G: My principal just bought us a great software program that drills ELLs in English. If they get 30 drills in a row right, they get rewarded with a little animation where a bunny pops out of the tree and does a little dance. The box the software came in says the students will be speaking English in 3 or 4 weeks. Does this mean our ELLs will be ready for the poetry analysis unit we’re starting next month? No, according to (Robertson, 2017), “As students' comfort level increases, it will be possible to begin more in-depth conversations about different poetry forms, meaning, and language.” An understanding of English Language Proficiency Level 4

can help the teacher pinpoint the issue. Students may demonstrate acceptable comprehension: higher order language, persuades, evaluates, and are exposed to advanced literature studies.

            Task H: RoDay quickly finished her math and spelling worksheets. And she seemed to do just fine reading along with the other students when we did a choral reading of a story from our reading basal. But unlike the other students, she has done barely any work writing an alternative ending to the story. Why is she refusing to do an assignment that should be fun? An understanding of language development can help the teacher identify the issue. According to the English Language Proficiency standards, RoDay may be a level 3 with limited vocabulary development, comprehension of texts, and spoken English. Possibly a level 4, student continues to acquire reading and writing skills in content areas needed to achieve grade level expectations with assistance. Writing an alternative ending could be challenging for her and she may need assistance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

ALARAIFI, J. A., KAMAL, S. M., QA, D. W. N., & HAJ-TAS, M. A. (2014). Family History in

            Patients Who Present with Functional Articulation Disorders. Education, 135(1), 1–8.

Being Non-Binary in a Language Without Gendered Pronouns – Estonian. (2018, March 20). Deep Baltic. https://deepbaltic.com/2018/03/20/being-non-binary-in-a-language-without-gendered-pronouns-estonian/#:~:text=Genderless%20languages%3A%20Chinese%2C%20Estonian%2C

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ebonics

Ferlazzo, L. (2020, November 3). Don’t Make Assumptions About Your ELL Students. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-dont-make-assumptions-about-your-ell-students/2020/11

Robertson, K. (2017, April 12). Introducing and Reading Poetry with English Language Learners. Colorín Colorado; Colorín Colorado. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/introducing-and-reading-poetry-english-language-learners