Response 2 of the classmate’s posts
You will respond to two of your classmates’ posts by Sunday at 11:59PM. Your replies must be at least 100 words each. You should use the first person. The format should be “I think… In my opinion, he/she, I agree with you that…”
Classmate 1n 23, 2019: 2024 – Online Assignment Homework Writing Help Service By Expert Research Writers 8:29 P
1.Application – How do you see you could apply or have applied the concept in your assessments?
There many good factors in chapter 5 can applied for assessments, when it comes to referring a student to special education. For example, Rhodes, Ochoa and Ortiz (2005) point out that many factors need to be considered when a second-languages learner is brought before the referral team. These factors include general educational background history, preschool experiences, many variable associated with schooling, student performance, and considerations pertaining to language, family, and culture (p.83).
The use of interpreters in the assessment process and school-based practice, I could apply this concept in my assessment: an interpreter who has these skills and training: Neutrality and confidentially, adherence to ethical guidelines, understanding terms, procedures, and rational of the assessment process, cultural and linguistic expertise and Knowledge of critical issues (Rhodes et al, 2005, P.94-95).
2. Agree or disagree – Do you agree with the reading? You can critique, problematize, question, or discuss the readings.
I agree with the reading. I have gained a lot of knowledge form this week reading. There are some ideas in chapter 5 which I really like. For example, Rhodes mentions that student’s languages and culture should be valued. I completely agree and I think when student’s language and culture are valued, the student will feel more confident and welcome in classroom. Moreover, in chapter 6, pages 97&98, (Figueroa 1990b; Langdon, 1985; Lopez 1992) provide very good suggestions when using an interpreter and all of them are very important, to me especially this one: Speak naturally and clearly in brief but complete statement. Do not expect the interpreter to be able to accurately convey lengthy statements. Likewise, do not expect the interpreter to finish your thoughts or ideas for you.
Other Reflection Prompts (respond to at least one of the following in your post for a total of 100 words)
Observation of self and/or others
Traditionally, linguistic minority students score lower than native English speaking students on standardized assessments (Abedi & Lord, 2001), are more likely to drop out of high school (Watt & Roessingh, 1994), and are less likely to participate in higher education (Klein, Bugarin, Beltranena, &McArthur, 2004), (Callahan, 2009. P.3). I have worked couple different jobs since I came to America and have observed others at a workplace, a lot of my non-native English speakers coworkers who I worked or are working with either dropped out of high school or didn’t participate in higher education.
Classmate 2: Application
This week’s chapters prompted me to think about the ways in which I have worked with prereferral teams and interpreters in my role as a teacher. I found that I have had very little involvement with each. In my previous teaching positions I had very little interaction with EL students. However, at my current school, there are many EL students in my classes. I have yet to work with a prereferral team for one of these students but I found form 5.1 to be a really exhaustive list of important factors to consider. It made me curious as to how often all these aspects are considered thoroughly when a student is referred.
Agree / Disagree
Chapter six addressed the use of interpreters in the assessment process. Throughout the chapter, the authors stressed the fact that interpreting, especially in this context, is a complex and important process, but one that is not always given proper attention. I agree with the authors’ viewpoints that it is crucial to select an interpreter that is capable of translating not only the words of the conversation, but the meaning and the cultural context as well. I agree that too often schools are unable to find suitable interpreters and must make do with one that is less than prepared for the job. This can cause issues for both the school, the student and the family. I appreciated how the authors gave specific details, skills, and a checklist to guide teachers and administrators in understanding the role of a translator.
Observation of Self or Others
The readings this week caused me to think about the interactions I have had with those on our prereferral teams and in our ESL department. Our ESL department communicates regularly with the staff regarding assessment, awareness of cultural differences, and to check in with at-risk students. I think that without that kind of guidance from knowledgeable ESL teachers, it would be very difficult for classroom teachers to understand the needs of their EL students. It made me very thankful that I have such an informed team to go to. These chapters really demonstrated to me the importance to seeing the whole picture of a students’ linguistic and cultural background.
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Reply to Karen Might
I appreciate the post of Karen on the concepts that could be learned from chapter 5. This includes the use of the factors that should be assessed before considering students for special education. The factors include background history, student performance, and family among others. These factors have the ability to impact on the assessments and learning process of the English second language learners. In addition, I learned about the use of the interpreters within the assessment process. The interpreters were expected to have better skills. The post had good examples and discussion on the concepts.
I agree with her argument that the reading was good with proper suggestions on how to learn about the impact of culture and language on student’s performance. Her observation was authentic and reliable in reference to the topic of educating non-English language speaking learners. It shows her understanding of the reading and the implementation of the concepts in real-life school practice.
Reply to Emily Craft
I think the post is relevant in identifying the key concepts that can be applied by a teacher. The desire to work among prereferral teams and interpreters would help in promoting interactions with the EL students. The post gives personal opinion and examples that helps to reinforce the use of the various concepts in improving teaching. However, I think that the post should have provided more detailed information on how the concepts would impact on the learning of the non-English language speaking students.
Largely, I support her idea that schools are usually unable to get suitable interpreters to assist in their teaching of the culturally diverse learners. I also believe her observation were honest and helpful. Her work in the ESL department with the prereferral teams is a good experience for understanding how to communicate with other staffs on matters of assessment and promoting awareness on cultural differences.
