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Learning about the Language Learner and Learning about the Language Learner Labels

Take a second to re-read the title of this post and then try to say it three times very, very fast.  I'm guessing that it didn't exactly trip lightly from your tongue.  Now, imagine a sweet six-year-old child who is being raised in a family  environment that speaks only Spanish.  Can you guess how that kid feels that first day he or she enters an English-speaking public classroom?  That student is probably about as comfortable as you felt trying to say that title three times fast. 


As our first chapter reading pointed out, teaching English learners is a complex, oft-misunderstood undertaking.  Every learner has a unique set of background, social-emotional, and cognitive factors that play into how that child acquires a second language.  Good teachers routinely use differentiation to tailor instruction to individual student's needs.  Similarly, good teachers must recognize and implement practices that support English language development by recognizing each English learner's individuality.

Knowing students well enough to offer all of them experiences and tasks that will improve their learning is a gargantuan feat.  Teachers of English learners must do this with an added language consideration.  Even the vocabulary and acronyms associated with English language learners are complex:  ESL, EFL, ELL, LEP, and LM are just a few that delineate specific categories of English learners.  

So, let's take a moment to appreciate the courage of those students who must adapt to an unfamiliar language.  Let's be mindful that we have teachers eager to take on the complex task of helping these students to succeed.  I know that I truly admire the strength of both, even if I can never say "learning about the language learner and learning about the language learner labels" very fast.

  Chapter 1 and Acronyms

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