Linguistic Diversity

         Today Cory led the discussion from "Voices of Diversity" on linguistic diversity. His introduction to the discussion was spoken purely in Spanish. Based on his gestures and very minimal knowledge of the language, I was able to  determine that he was giving directions.  No one at my table was proficient in Spanish and we all sought out understanding from one another.  I tried to pick out words from what he was saying that could align with similar sounding words in English to make sense of the introduction. I was led astray though when he said a Spanish word that I thought was family, but was familiar. His introduction left me confused.
           It turned out that he was asking us to get out a sheet of paper and a writing utensil or a computer. The moral I took from this introduction is that a teacher cannot assume his students are making understanding of what he is saying. It is the teachers responsibility to assess understanding and reexplain as necessary. Cory reexplained the directions in English, a format the class was more familiar with. He assessed our understanding with the 'thumbometer", and accommodated to those of us who misunderstood. Teachers need to choose words and gestures carefully when working with English Language Learners. Because they can easily become confused,  common expressions that can be misunderstood should be avoided in the presence of an ELL.
            Unfortunately, through my dozens of hours of observing and assisting teachers at Bothwell Middle School and Marquette Senior High School, I have had no first-hand experiences working with students who speak anything but English at home.  And unfortunately, because the Preble trip was cancelled, I again have missed such an opportunity.  I do however remember building houses with a man named Jesus who spoke very little English. My father was his boss and I was his co-worker. Communication was almost entirely delivered through modelling processes. In the classroom, high-quality models would make the world of a difference for a student who struggles with the language that the lesson is being taught in.