Philosophy Statement

Hilary Dingman
EDUC 5513 B
Darlene Whitehouse-Sheehan
March 1, 2018
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Introduction
As a teacher, I plan on creating a safe and relaxed classroom environment for my ELLs to

learn. As well as supporting my students during instruction, I will also create assessments where

in which my ELLs will be able to accurately demonstrate their understanding. My ultimate goal,

however, as a teacher of ELLs is to support them so that they can experience success and growth

within the classroom setting.

Welcoming ELLs
When considering possible classroom dynamics, there is a large chance that the ELLs that I

will have in my classroom will have a much different cultural and linguistic background than me

and the rest of the class. On top of having to learn a completely new language, these ELLs will

also need to find their footing in a very unfamiliar setting. For most ELLs, they will have little

to no sense of the language, rules, routines, or expected behavior when arriving to class on the

first day. With that being said, I will do my best to help the students feel comfortable in this

unfamiliar setting, by creating a welcoming classroom environment. Some of the things that I

will do in my classroom are:

 Learn how to properly pronounce students’ names.

 Create and post classroom rules and schedules using visuals.
 Assign a peer partner who speaks their native language.
 Embrace their culture and their language.
 Use materials related to their culture.
 Make time for one-on-one assistance.
Making a welcoming classroom environment for our ELLs is so important, as the quicker they

feel comfortable, the sooner that they will begin to learn. It will also be crucial, that I build a

positive rapport with the students’ family. I will do my best to demonstrate my utmost respect

for their culture and include them in every aspect of the school community.
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Teaching ELLs
When discussing vocabulary, grammatical functions, written work, and or conversation I feel

that ELL students require:

 Large quantities of exposure to the language.

 Opportunities for purposeful talk with the language.
 Practice using that language.
 Explicit instruction using the language.
 Feedback about their use of the language.
I will accomplish this by providing my students with ample amounts of time to practice and

develop these forms of language, in a low stakes environment. I completely agree with Stephen

Krashen, that in order for ELL students to acquire comprehensible input their affective filter

must be lowered. If students are experiencing low motivation, low self-esteem, and debilitating

anxiety they will not be able to reach their academic potential within my classroom. Again, this

is why creating a welcoming and supportive classroom will be so important when teaching

ELLs.

Additionally, I will also need to ensure that I provide my students with meaningful and

authentic learning experiences, that fall within their zone of proximal development. Len

Vygotsky’s theory of the zone of proximal development, is the range of tasks that a student can

carry out with the assistance of a teacher, but not yet on their own. Therefore, it is essential that I

ensure that my students are working at the higher end of their abilities, and that I provide the

appropriate scaffolds for them to do so. With regards to scaffolding, I intend on tapping into my

students’ prior knowledge, pre-teaching vocabulary, and using visual aids. If possible, I will also

clarify any key concepts in the students’ first language.

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Assessing ELLs
With regards to assessment, I plan on assessing my ELLs in an equitable fashion. Having

said that, in order to make assessment fair I will first need to provide my ELL students with their

language and content objectives in a language that they can understand. In addition to providing

the objectives in student-friendly language, I will also use visuals to support their understanding

of these learning goals. On top of that, I will also provide my students with samples of the work

that I will expect them to produce and will model any aspect of the activity that I feel needs

further clarification. Apart from setting up my students for success, I also envision myself

relying heavily on informal assessments, in order to identify my students’ specific needs and

how I can best meet these.

I hope to use a number of performance-based assessments, when assessing my ELLs

language proficiency and academic achievement. I believe that my ELLs will have an easier time

demonstrating their knowledge, as they will be able to complete tasks that simulate real-life

applications. Some of the assessment tools that I wish to use in my classroom are oral reports,

presentations, demonstrations, written assignments, and portfolios. I will establish clear criteria

for these assessment activities, which will evaluate both the process and the product.

As I mentioned above, I also plan on using portfolios in order to track my ELLs growth

throughout the year. I will use these portfolios to assess my students’ performance and progress

over time, and where they are at with regards to achieving their specific curricular objectives.

My hope is that my ELL students may also wish to view their portfolios, so that they can track

their own personal growth. From here I will help my ELL students to create their own goals,

based off of what they have achieved thus far. Contrary to just providing an achievement score, I
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hope that this visible representation of their own success and improvement will help them to stay

motivated throughout the year.

It will also be important that I still assess my ELLs content knowledge, even if they are

just starting to learn the English language. Just because their language is not fully developed,

does not mean that they do not deserve some form of progress report. I feel that there are many

scaffolding strategies that teachers can use, in order to assist ELL students in successfully

meeting their personal content standards. For instance, I will allow my students to demonstrate

their understanding through alternative means. Rather than always expressing their answers

through written work or verbal communications, I will accept projects, drawings, and graphic

organizers as a representation of their content knowledge. Ultimately, when creating appropriate

scaffolds for my ELL learners, I will need to keep in mind their English language proficiency

level, their individual strengths and needs, and also the demands of the particular lesson. I truly

believe that if I provide my ELLs with the appropriate support, they will be able to meet their

desired goals.

Conclusion
I believe that I can be an effective ELL teacher if I first create a safe and comfortable

classroom environment for my students. I will achieve this by keeping my students’ needs in

mind, and by creating a classroom dynamic were differences are valued, and various cultures and

languages are celebrated. I will also work at being responsive towards my students’ strengths,

interests, weaknesses, and needs in order to see them succeed both academically and socially.

While I have put a great deal of thought in what I can do in order to support ELLs in my

classroom, I will continue to seek out best practices and ways that I can improve as a teacher.
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References

Coelho, E. (2016). Adding English: A Guide to Teaching in Multilingual Classrooms. Toronto:

University of Toronto Press.

Haynes, J. (2014, August 14). Creating a Welcoming Classroom Environment for Pre-K–5 ELs.
Retrieved February 25, 2018, from http://blog.tesol.org/creating-a-welcoming-classroom-
environment-for-pre-k-5-els/

Mitchell, C. (2016, November 02). A Primer on Helping Immigrant Students Feel Welcome in
School. Retrieved February 25, 2018, from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-
language/2016/11/a_primer_on_helping_immigrant_.html

Rhodes, R. L., Ochoa, S. H., & Ortiz, S. O. (2005). Assessing Culturally and Linguistically
Diverse Students: A Practical Guide. New York: Guilford Press.

Tharp, R., Estrada, P., Stoll Dalton, S., & Yamauchi, L. (2000). Teaching transformed.
Achieving excellence, fairness, inclusion, and harmony. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.