Listening - It is a rainy old Saturday, the first day of Autumn here! My kids and husband are taking it in turns to play the Xbox. If I let him, my son (4) would play alllllll day!
Loving - My class has only been at school for 4 weeks now (and only 3 as a class group with me as we keep them all together the first week) and they are just smashing it. I will have to take some pics of some writing and show you - fabulous!
Thinking - my main issue at the moment is one little boy who is a new arrival from Egypt and speaks mainly Arabic to me - which would be great if I could understand him! We are trying to do basic vocab stuff - he can ask to go to the toilet with one word and is very good at following instructions but to me, he seems like an awesome survivor. in saying that I mean, he is good at picking up what is going on around him even though he may not understand. Besides vocab stuff, I would love any suggestions what to do next!
Wanting - well the weather has changed here this week! I am hoping that March will still be warm so I can wear my new gorgeous dresses - one still has tags and I really want to wear it!
????? Can you guess my question?
It is amazing how long my kids can play video games..
ReplyDeleteI never had a student who did not speak any English, but I did become really close friends with a parent from Japan whose son was also in my daughters class. She barely spoke English either and when she asked me to her house for lunch one day, I spent the morning trying to learn a little bit of Japanese. Surprisingly, having lunch with her and her friends was the most exciting lunch date I had had with other gals.. even without being able to undertand each other.
When I invited her over the next week to our house, I was embarrassed by her ability to notice how many Disney movies we owned.. I was about to say, " Yes, our kids watch TV WAY too much", but instead she asked me if she could borrow them.....
I was very excited and every week she would switch out a few movies at a time. After about a month, her son (who was in 2nd grade at the time) started speaking English pretty well. Even my new friends' English had improved. When I told her how impressed I was and how terrible I felt about not learning Japanese quicker, she told me that her and her son were learning English by watching the movies over and over again!! There is a universal language within between the amazing art of Disney movies and you might want to try children's videos your student might relate to to help him learn...
Okay... I am thinking this might be your favorite movie, but there are a TON of great movies out there... It might be the movie you don't like.. tough one. (-;
It was nice visiting your blog!!
Michelle
The 3AM Teacher
Thanks for the great suggestion Michelle :)
DeleteHi Brooke,
ReplyDeleteMy Chris didn't speak a word of English when he started school (his first language is Armenian) and he just picked it up after a few months of being immersed in it at school. His family still spoke Armenian at home, but he learned perfect English and doesn't even have an accent (apart from his Canadian one!). Sorry, no helpful strategies to give you apart from that little story. :)
Lauren
Love, Laughter and Learning in Prep!
Hmm is that your favorite movie?
ReplyDeleteI would love to start wearing summer dresses too! Soon enough... I am going to say, is that your favorite movie?
ReplyDelete-Jaime
Bright Concepts 4 Teachers
I thought something to do with the last movie you saw? So glad your class is going well!
ReplyDeleteAlison
Teaching Maths with Meaning
I think it is your favourite movie. I had an arabic girl last year who spoke very little English, we used lots of visuals in the classroom, timetables etc. The other thing I can suggest is to provide opportunities for play, there is a bit of a Universal language in play, kids seem to be able to communicate their intentions with each other regardless of language. Having English around him all day will help, kids do seem to pick it up faster than we think they will.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Tania
Mrs Poultney's Ponderings
We have several students at our school who speak Arabic. It makes it really hard to communicate. I feel so bad for them, they sometime just have these blank stares that lets you know they have know clue what is being said. As for your question: I am thinking a movie too????
ReplyDeleteJamie
teachingtidbit.blogspot.com
So glad to hear your kiddos are rocking! With your ESL kiddo I would offer tons of visuals with labels, as well as a buddy he/she can work with. Immersion, time and visuals will do wonders. Hang in there. Kiddos learn so much faster than adults. Do you have an ESL teacher that can support you?
ReplyDeleteTania
My Second Sense
Is it your fav movie? Last movie?
ReplyDeletePaula from Paula’s Place and iSURF Maths