Blog Entry 3 - Mr. Lee Interview




For this interview, I had the pleasure of getting to know Mr. Lee. Mr. Lee is a teacher with Fort Bend ISD for 6 years now.

 Click here to experience my interview with Mr. Lee. 
Reflection

 I figured being an ESL teacher took a special kind of teacher, but I did not fully realize until conducting this interview with Mr. Lee, just how much went into being an ESL teacher. Mr. Lee is teaching his sixth year as an ESL certified teacher in Fort Bend.  Teachers who teacher more than one language have to have the patience with their students, it takes them a little longer than a student who teaches English only.
It is imperative that an ESL teacher ensures the students have complete understanding of the material being taught. There are many different kinds of tests: diagnostic, placement, achievement, and aptitude to name a few. Mr. Lee uses the oral assessment mainly. According to Brown & Lee, assessing speaking skills in the classroom has one clear advantage over assessing listening: speech is observable, recordable, and measurable. It is imperative that there is just as much responsibility on the student and their families as on the teacher to make sure the student has the best educational year. 
Mr. Lee plays a major role with ESL students.  He participates with in class support as well as pulling students for a more small group feel. He feels as though the in class support is supportive so that the students do not miss any important instructional time, he prefers the pull out method. Mr. Lee prefers the one on one small group so that he has a higher chance of accomplishment and understanding with the students.

According to Mr. Lee, both methods are important and beneficial for different students. Each student is different and needs different instructional methods. This was also discussed in our class. Personally, I see the benefits of both methods, but I would prefer the in class support so no important materials are missed. 

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 28, 2017 at 9:27 AM

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  2. UnknownOctober 28, 2017 at 9:28 AM

    Hello Jessica! I really enjoyed reading your blog and watching your video. I completely agree that teaching as an ESL teacher takes a special kind of person. Mr. Lee made great points about what it takes to be a teacher. You must be passionate and Mr. Lee sounds like he truly does believe in his craft as an educator. Mr. Lee also talked a lot about the Oral and Listening skills in students. In the textbook, “Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy” Brown and Lee write that Speaking and Listening skills go hand and hand. It is important not to miss out on integrating both skills. “Skills in producing language are often imitated through comprehension” (Brown and Lee, 2015, pg. 357-358). Also in the textbook, “Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy” Brown and Lee write that assessing speaking skills in the classroom has one clear advantage over assessing listening: speech is observable, recordable, and measurable”. (Brown and Lee, 2015, pg. 384) I really enjoyed listening to you talk with Mr. Lee’s experiences as an educator and what it takes to make a great one. Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. UnknownNovember 5, 2017 at 9:41 PM

      Desiree,
      That is an interesting point you made about assessing speaking in the classroom versus listening only. The fact that it is measurable will tell alot about content understanding. I never thought about that. According to Brown & Lee, if a teacher is focusing on speaking goals, listening goals can naturally coincide and the two skills can reinforce each other (Brown & Lee, 2015. pg 357-358). I think both techniques can be extremely beneficial to a student who needs all the extra support they can receive.

      Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman

      Delete
  3. UnknownOctober 29, 2017 at 9:05 AM

    I really like how although Mr. Lee has to implement the pull-out method, he pulls them out in small groups so that students do not feel alone and they can learn from their peers as well. It was interesting to learn about the different types of assessment and I think that oral assessment can really assess where ELL learners are at in their learning.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownNovember 5, 2017 at 10:02 PM

      Shelly,
      Personally, I do not think the oral assessment is the most beneficial. Listening to an assessment will only be beneficial to students who are not able to read the english language well. Although, an oral assessment would be beneficial if a student was not able to write or understand the English language. According to Brown & Lee, assessing speaking skills in the classroom has a major advantage over assessing listening: speech is observable, recordable, and measurable (Brown & Lee, 201. p. 384). I think they both have their advantages.

      Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman

      Delete
  4. UnknownOctober 29, 2017 at 7:35 PM

    Hello Jessica! I enjoyed listening to your interview and all of the strategies that Mr. Lee incorporates in his ESL instruction. Most of our classmates including myself, have interviewed their ESL certified mentor teacher and I appreciate you seeking out an interventionist to get their perspective from a support side of the ESL program. Mr. Lee discussed that the schools approach is more of an inclusion based program and that students will be pulled out in extreme circumstances to where the student needs additional support. Mr. Lee discussed the differences in an ESL classroom vs a non-ESL classroom which was interesting to learn about. He stated that in an ESL classroom you would see more modeling, visuals, a slower pace of instructions and content material compared to a traditional classroom. The most emphasis in an ESL classroom is the content areas of reading, writing and developing oral language. Once students master these, they will continue to grow in all content areas. Finally, the goal of proficiency is what the whole point of ESL programs are. Brown (2015), explains that sometimes students hit a plateau while learning L2 but if you continue to set goals such as “listening and speaking and reading and writing”, your students will continue to progress to the next level of proficiency, hopefully ending in mastery.

    Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownNovember 5, 2017 at 10:03 PM

      During my interview, I found it really interesting the differences in the ESL classroom vs the non ESL. The amount of visuals, the modeling more and the slower pace are all necessary things to help a student that is really struggling excel with a second language. Personally, I think all teachers should incorporate some kind of bilingualism in their classrooms even if it is just something like a poster. "self made posters, charts and magazines resent old fashioned, but are surprisingly effective teaching aides (Brown & Lee, 2015. p 234.)

      Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.

      Delete
  5. UnknownNovember 4, 2017 at 8:53 PM

    Hi Jessica!
    It was interesting to hear how the person you interviewed told how his classroom would be different from a regular content classroom. His strategies included more oral strategies and it helped having visual aids around his class. I also liked how he discussed that it helps having a dedicated team to support the ELL students and their progress.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownNovember 5, 2017 at 10:07 PM

      Jennie,

      I thought it was interesting how Mr. Lee had a dedicated team to support his eLL students. Having the extra support allows for Mr. Lee to not focus so much on the students that need the extra help because he has the extra support within his room. this ensures his other students are being focused on with the main material as those are that need the extra support.

      Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.


      Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.

      Delete
  6. UnknownNovember 5, 2017 at 5:49 PM

    Hi Jessica! I really enjoyed your interview with Mr. Lee. One thing that I first noticed was the he said that he offered the pull-out method for students who really struggled. I really liked how he stated that because I believe that having the students be fully immersed in the classroom is key. At the same time, for students that are struggling to keep up having them be pulled out to get that one on one time is super beneficial as well.

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