Getting to Know Your Students

Why is it a mistake to group all English as Second Learners together?

It is not a good idea to group all ESL students together for multiple reasons. First of all, making the assumption that they are all the same because they are all trying to learn English simply seems ridiculous. All kindergarten students are also learning English but they are not all the same either. Teachers should be aware of where the students are from. There are a lot of people who speak Spanish who maybe couldn't understand what someone else that is speaking Spanish is trying to say because they are from different parts of the world. It's just like when you go to a different state and they have different slang terms like the difference between a "shopping cart" and a "buggy". If you went to another state and said "buggy" people might not know what you are talking about. The same with pepperoni rolls, pop (or soda), etc. We all speak English but don't always know what each other are talking about. It talks specifically in the article about a Spanish speaking student from Texas and Honduras. 

Also, teachers need to be aware of what age each student began learning English. I think about this as being like the accelerated reading program. Basically, you ask the students to read based on their reading experiences. Not all students who are learning English as a second language are on the same level. Some students may know a couple English words while others can speak in English but simply struggle in writing it. Also, what is the quality of the language they knew before they began learning English. Was their language Latin based or not at all? 

Lastly, but important, is what are their learning experiences in prior grades or cultures? Have the students ever been in a learning institution or have they always been home schooled or schooled at all? The students must be taught accordingly. If they aren't used to being institutionalized then we may have to coach them through group work, individual work, etc.

What is a virtual backpack and how does it relate to Funds of Knowledge?

Pat Thompsom came up this idea of a "virtual backpack" which is basically just a term to coin the things that the children already have learned at home, with their friends, and in other institutions they may belong to such as church, neighborhoods, clubs, etc. These are experiences that maybe won't be seen in the classroom, things that the teachers is probably going to have to reach for to find; such as working for the parents outside of school, like Than, or an understanding of surf clothing, like Alex.

These are much like Moll's Funds of Knowledge because both are the expereiences that the child has whether in school or outside of school. They are both ideas that teachers need to grab ahold of to teach each and every student to the best of his or her ability.

Related Resource: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bWU238PymM&feature=related

Resource List: 

(2010). Esl struggle and straties. (2010). [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bWU238PymM&feature=related