One of the goals of this module is to give you some insight into the
situation of the ESL/LEP students and their situation in the public schools.
Many LEP students are placed directly into content-based courses with little
or no ESL support. They are expected to learn the content area information
along with all the other students who are, of course, English-speaking.
Try to put yourself in the position of a newly enrolled LEP student in
this situation. YOU are that student, and you have just been enrolled
in several content courses that are NOT taught
in your native language. Do the activities below to get an idea of
what your LEP students might experience.
Class: Arabic literature
Instructor: Dr. George El-Hage
Now, answer the question below in the space provided:
1. What is this literary selection about? Write
your response in the box below.
Hmm, that wasn't so easy, was it? Of course, it could be that you are
a visual learner rather than an auditory learner. Perhaps if you
viewed the literary
text, you could answer the question.
2. What information did you glean from reading the text? Write
your response in the box below.
Task:
Ok, let's try another class.
Class: Chinese history.
Instructor: Song Jie
Now, answer the question below in the space provided:
3. What is this historical selection about? Write your
response in the box below.
This is not getting any better, is it? Ok, let's take a look at
this text
and see if it helps.
4. What information did you glean from reading the text? Write
your response in the box below.
Class: Psychology
Instructor: Patricia Martínez de la Vega Mansilla
Now, answer the question below in the space provided:
5. What is this Psychology lecture about? List any ideas
or words that are familiar to you. Write your response in
the box below.
Perhaps this time the visual representation will help.
Take a look at the corresponding
text and see what you can glean from it.
6. Write down any ideas you comprehend from this lecture or,
at the very least, as many cognates as you can find.Write
your response in the box below.
Task:
Well, that was a little easier, wasn't it? But it still wasn't
like understanding everything the teacher was saying, right? Let's
try a completely different content area: Physical Education. Surely
THAT will be easier.
Class: Physical Education
Instructor: Wolfgang Krause
7. What is this instructor trying to teach you? What
does he want you to do?
Class: Physical Education, Take Two
Instructor: Wolfgang Krause
8. Now do you understand what to do? Why?
Every culture has its myths, legends, and stories that are commonly
known to everyone. In the United States, for example, everyone "knows"
that:
George Washington chopped down a cherry tree and then admitted the deed
to his father, setting an example not to lie.
Abe Lincoln walked several miles to return a few cents to a customer, thus
exemplifying his honesty.
Whether or not these stories are true, people can recite them by heart,
make reference (veiled or otherwise) to them and expect to be understood
completely. The historical Chinese text above is an example of this
type of cultural knowledge; everyone in China knows about the origin of
the Duanwu
Festival and will recite the same story. But you probably did
not understand much, if anything, from the recitation or the reading, did
you? This is due to several factors:
unfamiliar vocabulary and language structure
unfamiliar sounds of the language
unfamiliar cultural knowledge
unfamiliar writing system
ESL/LEP students deal with these problems on a daily basis when they are
in content classes. While not all ESL/LEP students are dealing with
a new writing system, they are confronted with the other factors that loom
large in their understanding or lack thereof.
Reflection:
In this simulation,
you are in these classes for credit and a grade, just like your ESL/LEP
students. Keeping this in mind, respond to the following questions:
9.
How did you feel when you could not understand the spoken lecture, the
written text, or the instructions without demonstration? Write
your response in the box below.
10.
What should you keep in mind when preparing lessons in your content area
for all students, including those who are ESL/LEP? Write
your response in the box below.
