Review of Mini Conference
Review- What did you learn?
The
panel discussion with some of the translators from our school system was a very
informative and eye opening experience. I learned many interesting things about
the languages and cultures that were shared by these women.
Vesna
Vujinovic, the Bosnian translator, spoke a lot about the war in her country in
the early 1990s and how it still affects the people today. Different things
like sirens and alarms can still cause her to worry. Many of the people from
her country are considered gypsies and they are a very free spirited group. Ms.
Vujinovic shared that many of the Bosnian parents want schools to call home and
say something positive. They do not react well to only hearing negative things
and it is very disappointing to them when it happens. These parents are also
very uncomfortable helping at school because of the language barrier. We need
to teach them how to help and become more involved.
Beatriz
Uribe, the Spanish translator, started her discussion by describing the
difference between the words Hispanic and Latino. A person is considered
Hispanic because they speak Spanish and they are Latino if they are from Latin
America. Not all Hispanic people are Latino. This was very interesting to learn
as I was unsure of the difference between the two. Ms. Uribe spoke a lot about
how teachers need to get to know their students to learn which ones have
support at home and which ones do not.. A lot of our students live with family
members because one parent or both have been deported. This is a big fear in
her culture. Another interesting thing is that the use of technology is a big
issue. A lot of these parents do not know how to use computers. We need to make
sure the schools can still provide paper copies for things. The schools also
need to still accept cash as many of these parents do not have credit cards.
EunSook
Lee, the Korean translator, started her discussion by sharing the meaning
behind her name. Korean names all have meaning and are made up of their family
name and a given name. The Korean culture does not use middle names and often
times they will fill out school paper work incorrectly to fill in the ‘middle
name’ blank. Ms. Lee shared how parents do not understand the events at
American Schools. In Korea, children are under a lot of pressure to do well in
school and often have after school tutoring. They do not go to school for fun
events. It was also very interesting to learn about Goose families. This is
when mothers and children come to the United States for school while the
fathers remain in Korea to work. Sometimes the children come without their
parents and stay with relatives. I also learned that internet translators do
not work well with this language and that any written communication needs to be
printed. Parents also do not start communication with teachers. The teachers
need to reach out to them.
Yisu
Brasel, the Chinese translator, shared that her culture had a lot of
similarities with the Korean culture in terms of school. The Chinese students
also have a lot of pressure on them from home. She shared the differences
between our two languages and how it can make it hard for Chinese children to
write correctly. The Chinese language does not have tenses and it also does not
have different words for he, she, and it. We need to teach these students
specific rules so they understand.
The
final presenter was Lan Schlecht, the Vietnamese translator. Ms. Schlecht spoke
about how “Asian” is not a race or culture but a continent. We often say the
word Asian to describe people and we need to be more specific because they are
all different. The Vietnamese wear their traditional costumes everywhere. When
they are wearing this clothing, they must be a representation of their best
self in it. Many Vietnamese children and parents have difficulties adjusting to
the clothing of the American culture.
Reflect- What did it mean to you?
All of
the information presented by this group of women was very interesting. It
helped me to gain a little bit of understanding about the differences that
these families experience when they come to the United States. It also helps me
realize that I need to become more aware of the differences between myself and
the students in my classroom. I might have to explain things differently for my
ELL students or even change teaching styles and lesson ideas. I also learned
that if I ever have a question about a student or a translation concern that I
can call any of these translators to help. They seem very willing to help make
communication easier for everyone.
Refine- How will you use the information in
your classroom?
I
learned many things from the panel discussion with the translators. Some of the
things I already knew and some I did not. For example, I learned that you are
not supposed to write the names of Korean children in red because it is
associated with blood. I do not use red pen often in my classroom and now I will
make sure that I do not use it at all. That is a mistake that I do not want to
make. I also learned that a lot of the events we have at our schools are
confusing to the parents of our ELL students. The students come from cultures
where school is a place they go to work. Pajama days, fun runs, and hat days do
not occur where they come from. I want to make sure that I help my students and
their parents understand these events. During conferences this week, I plan to
make sure my parents understand how our school uses choice cards and what our
upcoming pajama day is for. Hopefully taking the time to explain these events
and procedures will help them understand and be able to participate.
Yisu
Brasel, the Chinese translator, spoke a lot about the Chinese language and how
it translates to English. When working with the Chinese students in my
classroom, I have noticed that they struggled with grammar. Hearing Ms. Brasel
describe how the Chinese language does not have tenses, was very informative. I
also learned that these students often put adverbs in between the subject and
predicate in their written work. Based on this knowledge, I need to make sure
that I am teaching these students the specific rules we have when writing. I
also need to make sure that when we are editing their writing, I show them how
to fix these errors. This will help these students learn to write and even
speak English more correctly.
The last
thing I want to focus on involves getting to know the home life of my students
better. I learned that a lot of our Spanish speaking students do not have a lot
of academic support at home. Their parents often work multiple jobs which
prevent them from being home and a lot of these parents also do not have much
education themselves. Knowing which children have support and which ones do not
can help me when assigning homework. I need to make sure that the assignments
are appropriate so that the students can complete them without support. I also
want to try and differentiate some of my homework assignments. For example, if
I am sending home a reading comprehension page, I can send one level for my
higher readers and one for some of my lower readers. Not all assignments need
to be exactly the same. They just need to focus on the same skill. All of these
strategies I have discussed will help me to become a better teacher. It also
will allow me to better support my ELL students and their parents.
References
Brasel, Y., Lee, E., Schlecht, L., Uribe, B., Vuinovic,
V. “Panel Discussion.” 12-13 ESOL
Endorsement Mini-Conferenc. Suwanee.
29 September 2012.
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