During my first and second year placements, I taught in composite classes, and experienced only one or two pupils whose mother tongue was not English. As you would expect in an International school, my Kindergarten class are very multicultural, consisting of children from Ireland, Spain, Bulgaria, France and Poland. For this blog I would like to focus on how my current school copes with the variety of languages within the class and how it is helping me develop the GTCNI Professional Competence 21, p. 37 ‘Teachers will employ strategies that motivate and meet the needs of all pupils, including those with special and additional educational needs and for those not learning in their first language.’ Schools in Northern Ireland are becoming increasingly more multicultural (with a large percentage coming from a Polish background) One of the main reasons I chose to come to Poland was to learn some of the Polish language to help me involve and communicate with these children in my class.
Both of my teachers are fluent in Polish and English, with one who can also speak Spanish (which has been helpful for the Spanish boy who joined the class with no English or Polish). In Kindergarten, it is easier to have new pupils in the class who don’t speak English or Polish, as the children are all learning English from the same level. However, a girl from Bulgaria, who only came a month ago (who can only speak Bulgarian) has been a challenge for the teachers as she finds it hard to understand the directions. It is unrealistic for me to be fluent in every language that comes into my classroom but I have noticed other methods they use with her such as gestures, asking her brother to translate to her at lunch times, as well as meeting regularly with the parents (who speak English) about how they feel she is progressing. However, you can see that it is difficult for both her and for the teachers, as at times it can be difficult to see her get upset due to not being able to understand. As I only teach once a day I try and work with her on a regular basis and have found an improvement in her English through the signs and gestures we have created. Although I have found this experience with her to be beneficial, I worry it would be difficult to find time for this one-to-one teaching in a bigger class with only me as a teacher. My teachers also include the children’s home languages during the lessons e.g. what is an elephant called in Spanish? This helps promote the use of different languages and multiculturalism.
During the last hour of school some of my pupils attend the class, Polish for beginners. When I asked the Polish teacher, Kasia, how she finds teaching the children Polish she explained that only 8% of communication is through speaking and the rest is through your actions, the situation or signs. In her lessons she uses flashcards with pictures, as well as asking them to draw different images and she then translates their drawings into the polish words. This class has been helpful to observe as it has given me some tips on how to help children whose first language isn’t English. I think it will be important for me to set aside some one-to-one time for these pupils in my class so they don’t feel left begin.
Our new topic in school is, ‘Common rhymes and songs from around the world.’ Topics like this are an easy way to promote different languages within the classroom in a fun and motivating way for children. I have added a video of my class singing, ‘There were ten in bed’, which is one of the English songs they are learning. In conclusion, I feel that this experience is helping further develop my understanding of GTCNI Competency 21, by learning how to motivate EAL children through a variety of strategies.
Reference
General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (2006) Teaching: The Reflective Profession: Belfast.
No comments:
Post a Comment