I would first like to say that Mrs.
Carbone is a wonderful teacher. I’ve seen her teach and her passion and
determination to connect with all of her students and meet them where they are
is something that should be recognized. Next, I would like to discuss the
differences in the ELLs that the interviewee mentioned. Mrs. Carbone mentioned
that her Arabic-speaking ELLs tend to struggle more when it comes to their second
language. She identifies them as “beginning”, and the WIDA Consortium describes
students at this level to have the ability to “Sort pictures, objects,
according to oral instructions; Follow two-step oral directions; match
information from oral descriptions to objects/illustrations; Describe pictures,
events, objects, people; Restate facts; Locate and classify information; Make
lists; and Produce drawings” (Wright, 2015). Based on the interviewee’s
description of those students, I would agree that they are at this level.
Wright states that in order for ELLs to
use written and oral language to meet standards, “…all teachers must develop a
foundational understanding of language and language use”(Wright, 2015). Mrs.
Carbone demonstrates an understanding of language and language use when she is
able to identify the subsystems of language that her students struggle with the
most. When discussing struggles, the interviewee also mentions that her Arabic
students struggle with semantics—specifically homonyms, or “words that have two
or more different meanings”—and derivational morphology which “addresses word
formation…the way words are derived from other words...” (Wright, 2015). Recognizing that not all of her ELLs
struggle with their second language in the same way helps Carbone adjust her
teaching and make accommodations for her ELLs.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research,
Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
