Memo 5: Taking Stock and Making Sense!

With just a week left, I am nearing the end of my research. I’d have to say that this journey was a lot more intimidating from the start as opposed to the finish. At first,  I threw this assignment into the “stress and no gain” pile of schoolwork. Simply, it’s the pile that I would complete just to hand it in on time and get the grade… (too honest?) However, I prejudged too easily. During this journey, I was fearful of being able to get in contact with any primary sources but with the help of Professor Collins and willing participants at CCRI, be it professors or students, I really think I have more than enough to “sum up” my own insight of my research. Not only did I learn a lot about ELL’s- I also learned about ESL students. I haven’t just learned about ELL students as a whole, but I feel the need to mention that this journey shattered own biases because I’ve learned that each culture and native language comes with it its own unique difficulties and challenges when it comes to writing in English. Before this research, I never realized that I assumed that one ELL’s struggle is identical to the next ELL student. Each language outside of English has its own rules. To name a few, there are a variety of difficulties in which  Chinese speaking, Spanish speaking, and Portuguese speaking approach the English language and each language offers different challenges. I learned that English Language Learners of the Asian culture have trouble with articles because it doesn’t exist in their own language where as Spanish-speaking students are inclined to have trouble with prepositions,  yet this is only the surface of what I have discovered. I’m not so much frustrated as I am curious and passionate to learn more about ELL students.  Although my secondary sources touch on the cognitive processes of the ELL when faced with an English writing prompt, it is through my primary sources that I actually have had the chance to gain an insight on understanding the student. Primary research is more personal and it is what has driven my curiosity to understand the English Language Learner as opposed to solely researching and learning through academic journals. Yes, secondary sources provide a great foundation but the part of the project that I felt most nervous about ended up becoming the most enjoyable and fulfilling. Although this is just the memo of making sense of my research, I can see that I am able to just naturally express all that I’ve learned without having to flip through notes or strain to remember certain information. I am confident about all that I’ve learned but I don’t necessarily think I have a specific “answer” to my journey, there really isn’t a “the end”. Maybe I’ll discover that when I’m intertwining my secondary and primary sources, but instead of a single “strategy” in guiding the English Language Learner, my main focus was to learn about them and hope to understand them. I still believe that I have much more to learn as a future teacher but the insight I’ve gained only makes me more excited to teach my future ELL students. 

Memo #4: Making meaning of interviews and/or classroom observation

So far, I’ve had one solid interview. I was hoping to interview the CCRI Writing Center Professor before this memo but no such luck. I was, however, able to interview one of his English Language Learning students. Priscila* is a 31 year old CCRI student who moved from Brazil to Pawtucket, Rhode Island when she was 21. Hearing of her story, she was able to answer many questions for me without her even realizing it. I learned that her way of learning English wasn’t through her ESL classes (although she does admit that it did apply a helpful foundation) but she stressed the importance of environment. She explained to me that during her ESL night classes at CCRI her first years of living in America, the main reason why she wasn’t progressing with her English speaking over the course of five years was because as soon as she’d leave ESL class, she would arrive home and turn on a “novella” (a Brazilian soap opera).  When she took her ESL “level test” to see which level of English speaking she was at, on a scale of one to six, Priscila was at a two. This frustrated her very much, so she took it upon herself to start carrying around a Portuguese to English dictionary to translate every word of hers, and when she would arrive home she would turn to American news. In the cognitive process for the ELL, she was able to give me some insight. Priscila explained to me that the first two years of her arrival in America, everything was about translation. After ten years experience, however, she informed me that she would not only reflect in English but also dream in English. Although ESL classes was a good starting foundation for her, she told me that singing in English and surrounding herself in a English speaking environment helped with her communication. She  still tries hard but is now able to apply difficult words in her conversation and is inspired by her professor that I will have the chance to interview on Thursday. Hopefully I’ll gain an even broader understanding!