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Hey everyone I'm Michaela Raftery and I am a Fellow at an elementary in Topsfield working in Special Education classroom with 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. I do not have any ELL students at this school, but I have worked with many ELL students in the past.

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Hi, my name is Katie Burke and I am completing a Fellowship for my Master's in Special Education. I am working in a co-taught 5th grade classroom in Newburyport where I am the teaching assistant. For my undergrad, I studied Elementary and Special Eduction. Although I am not currently working with any ELL students, I have had a lot of experience in the past working with English Language Learners. The impact of language mastery on learning is significant. Students are constantly being asked to read, write, speak and more not only to learn more but also to demonstrate current level of knowledge. It is extremely important for students in America to know and understand English because in order to communicate what you know you have to be able to understand what is being asked and how to convey the knowledge. This is a challenge for ELL students because with a language barrier, it becomes more difficult to assess knowledge across the content areas and help the student learn. In addition to not being able to communicate what students know it also becomes a challenge for the teacher to get their thoughts across and to teach the students. Some other issues that might impair students ability to access the materials are learning disabilities and although students who are ELL often get mislabeled as learning disabled, some ELL students have learning differences that need special instruction.

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Hello! My name is Maggie Boyce and I am currently completing my masters degree in Moderate Disabilities as part of my 5th year program at Endicott. I am working in a private preschool in West Roxbury as a co-teacher in the 2-3 year old classroom. I have 13 students, (only 3 girls and 10 boys!) two of them are half day and four students have a 4 day week. In my class I am excited to have one ELL student. He just turned 3 this week and speaks exclusively Chinese at home, where he lives with Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and his older brother who is an alumni of our school. Luckily, with his brother we have been able to encourage strategies at home with the family to implement as the older brother came to our school with just two English words: Hello and No. My boy currently struggles socially and emotionally in our class. He is very shy and refuses to engage in any new experiences. He has a hard time playing in small groups because he struggles to understand fully what they are saying. However he has recently began asking friends to play one on one! Another good thing is that we just switched from Spanish to Chinese as a special once a week. This class has DRASTICALLY improved my boy's confidence in the classroom because other friends have adopted phrases like "ni hao", hello, and "zao shang hoa", good morning. He smiles so much more and is making great gains socially! Fortunately, we are very impressed with his language acquisition and academic skills. He has a very strong memory and is able to use new words he learns in conversation. He also has excellent math skills and is developing his early literacy skills. Overall, my co teacher and I are very impressed with his progress so far. I am looking forward to continuing to learn ways to support him and future students.

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Hi, my name is Theresa Keenan. I am currently completing my masters in moderate disabilities through the Endicott's Fellows program. I am working in a first grade classroom as a special education co-teacher. In the past, I have had limited experience with ELLs, yet in my new role, I have one ELL student in my class, and I work with a third grade student in a pull out as well. The student in my class is new to the district and started school after his peers. We are having trouble connecting with him and his family due to a language barrier. I am finding my first grade friend is having a really hard time due to his limited language skills. As the article mentions, “most, students having trouble with foreign language acquisition have phonological deficits in their first language” (Schwarz, 2019). First graders are still so young, they have not fully developed their first language yet either. My first grade friend needs frequent and specific support throughout the day. The school I am working at has moved toward a co-teaching approach, so I am in the classroom for most of the day and available to give him specific instruction to meet his needs. This student may have some underlying difficulties, yet the impact of language mastery can really be seen when looking at his math. Although while I am teaching him math, he seems to not understand what I am saying, when he is using the IPad he is making significant gains. We use an online program called ST Math were the students are learning math without any spoken language or language displayed on the screen. I have seen the progress he has made with this program, and I am interested to learn more about ways that I can help teach him language, while also making sure he is understanding the content in other subject areas.

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Hi everyone! My name is Sarah Donovan and I am currently completing the Fifth Year Fellowship at Endicott. For this fellowship, I am working as a kindergarten aid at a small school in Topsfield. During my undergraduate experience, I studied Elementary Education and graduated with both an elementary license and a moderate disabilities license. This year is my first year working in a kindergarten class which is very different than what I have been used to in the past! Each day I have found myself to enjoy working in kindergarten more and more and am excited to see what the rest of this school year has in store! While there are no ELL students in my classroom, I have worked with many ELL students in the past and understand the impact that language mastery can have on learning. In our schools, learning revolves around language in multiple forms. Students each day are asked to speak, listen, read, and write when taking in new learning and demonstrating their new understandings. Without a mastery of language, students are faced with a large barrier not only in their ability to learn, but to also demonstrate what they know accurately and effectively. This is something that I feel is a challenge for ELL students for many reasons. When students struggle with language, they are faced with another barrier when trying to access the curriculum. As mentioned by Schwarz, the pressure from a lack of mastery can create other issues such as anxiety in the classroom. As educators, it is important for us to understand ELL students will need extra support until they are able to master the language. As mentioned in the reading, approaches such as the Orton-Gillingham approach or other multi sensory approaches are just some of the tools teachers can use to help support their ELL students in the classroom. I am looking forward to learning more about how to support ELL students in the classroom over the next few weeks in this course!

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Hi everyone! My name is Becca Hardenstine and I am currently completing a Fellowship for my Master's in Special Education. I am teaching at Cove Elementary school in Beverly and my current placement is in an integrated first grade classroom. I have been blessed to work with an amazing team of co-teachers and I feel as though I have already learned so much from them both. Unfortunately, in this classroom I am not working with any students who are classified as ELLs (rather, I am filling the role of a 1:1 aide for a student with ASD). Nonetheless, I have had past experiences with sheltered English immersion (I have taken an undergraduate class on the topic and I completed a practicum in a first grade ELL classroom). Despite the fact that I do not currently work with any ELLs, I am excited to have the opportunity to learn more about this important topic in education. In terms of the article, Learning Disabilities and Foreign Language Learning, I wish that I had the chance to read about these strategies years ago before I taught my practicum course. At the time I was a sophomore in college with minimal experience in the classroom. I vividly remember the blank stares that I received after teaching a lesson about character traits that was a total flop. Because I lacked a background in SEI, I did not use picture anchor charts, I barely differentiated the work, and the skill that I was working on misinformed. Though that year I grew as a professional, I wish that I had been better prepared. Reflecting back on my own experience trying to learn a foreign language, it makes sense to me that if a child has trouble in terms of phonological awareness; they will struggle with overall language acquisition. Personally, I love using an Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching the foundations of reading, so I was happy to read that this approach has shown to be effective when teaching students with learning disabilities a new language. Using strategies and practices that incorporate many forms of learning (auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, etc.) is crucial. However, doing so can be difficult due to limit resources, prep time or even training. In order for students to thrive in other subjects such as science, social studies, or math; they must have a foundation in language (whether it is spoken or
written)

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Hello everyone, my name is Morgan St. Pierre and I am currently completing a Fellowship in Topsfield, MA as I work towards my Master’s in Special Education. I am currently working between co-taught classrooms in First and Second grade providing special education services, I am also working as an interventionist with a second grade RTI reading group. I graduated Endicott with my initial licenses in Elementary and special education. This is my first experience with the co-taught inclusion model and I have loved the entire experience so far working closely with both the general education and special education teachers within the room to establish routines and adjust my role to fit the need of the students in the rooms. I am not currently working with any ELL students in the two classrooms I primarily spend my time in but I have experience working with a variety of ELL students in the past. I am interested to continue to expand my knowledge of the needs of ELL students as an opportunity to best support any future students I encounter. Foreign language learning is profoundly impacted by learning disabilities as they impact a variety of aspects in a child’s learning. Students with learning disabilities often have increased levels of anxiety, hindered motivation or poor communication habits. Students who have a typical learning profile but are ELL have similar issues associated with their learning of English. Therefore, if you consider the fact that ELL students who also have learning disabilities are dealing with essentially double the emotional turmoil and stress associated with learning it is clear why language mastery is so a difficult to achieve. In considering this topic I am reminded of one of my first grade students that while not considered ELL based on her WIDA testing her parents both speak another language at home and in addition to her learning disabilities she has been profoundly impacted on her language proficiency.

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Hi everyone! My name is Alicia Williams. I am completing my Fellowship while working towards my masters in Moderate Disabilities. I am currently working in a low cog/behavior program servicing kindergarten and first grade students. I have a co-teacher and we have two paras. Between the four of us, we service 7 students in 3 different classrooms.  I am currently working with a new student that just came to our school from Peru.  She is in kindergarten and has down syndrome.  She speaks no English and we are not 100% sure of her language abilities in her native language (Spanish) seeing as she doesn’t verbalize much besides saying no, bye bye, and hi.   We are currently speaking to her in English, Spanish, and Sign Language.  We are trying to flood her with as much language as possible and make as many connections to her native language as well.  According to Schwarz, not just ELL students but any students learning a foreign language face major anxiety in regards to the learning process. A new language can be extremely intimidating.  Being at such a young age and adding in the fact that she has down syndrome makes learning a new language that much trickier as well. We are currently beginning testing and while doing so, we  have been trying to determine if she struggles because of a learning disability or a language barrier. Seeing as we aren’t sure what her native language skills are, we aren’t sure what we are working with for a base.  I am interested in learning more throughout this course in how to distinguish between a disability and language barrier for ELL students.   Although I have taken an SEI class in undergrad, I’m excited for new leaning and to be able to directly apply it to my students, especially since it is so relevant to one of my current students.

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Hi! My name is Emma Tierney and I am part of the Fellows Program, so I am working full time at a middle school in Boxford while earning my master's in Special Education.

My background is in Art Education, as I completed all of my internships and student teaching in art classrooms during my time in undergrad. I was able to see the difference with ELL (and other) students within an art classroom where there wasn’t always direct use of language to demonstrate their learning.

I see language as a sort of building block of learning. Not only do we need to be able to read and write to learn, we also need to use language to demonstrate our learning. This can become an issue for ELL students. They may have plenty of knowledge and ability, but just may not be able to demonstrate that because of their level of mastery in English.

Another issue that might impair ELL’s ability to access learning is anxiety. It’s reasonable that anyone who is trying to speak a language that is not their native language may be uncomfortable. Anxiety can impair performance at any level. Anxiety in foreign language can also affect non ELLs as well.

The article mentioned how for many students, foreign language classes can trigger problems from learning disabilities that they thought they had overcome. This can be extremely difficult for them, but it is still possible for these students to learn a new language with different approaches such as a stronger emphasis on phonics instructions and simply adapting the course for LD students with modifications such as reducing the syllabus to the essential elements, slowing the pace of instruction quite considerably, reducing the vocabulary demand, providing constant review and incorporating as much visual/tactile/kinesthetic (i.e. multisensory) stimulation and support as possible

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Hello all! My name is Haley Pierson and I am completing the Fifth Year Program in Moderate Disabilities. Currently I am working as a part-time preschool teacher in a Montessori setting, which is a bit out of my comfort zone but I have been learning so much along the way. I do not have any ELL students in my class, but I do have a student that struggles with language and have had ELL students in past experiences. Language mastery is an incredibly important part of learning because reading, writing, speaking, and listening are skills used in daily life and across academic disciplines. When a student struggles with language acquisition, specifically in the context of learning a second language, there are typically phonological issues in the primary language that contribute to the learning difficulties. As stated in the article, these issues can occur within language production, encoding, decoding, and understanding language. Not only do ELL students with disabilities struggle phonologically, but as the article noted, anxiety occurs as students realize they are failing to learn the new language (Schwarz, 1997). As stress builds, students can lose confidence in their ability. I think ELL students with disabilities face not only a phonological deficit, but a battle within themselves to stay positive. With a teacher that uses the correct multisensory techniques, language acquisition can and will happen, but not without its challenges.

Happy Halloween!

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Hi everyone! My name is Kennedy Quirk and I am currently completing my fifth year Master's program in Moderate Disabilities. I am currently a Special Education Teacher's Assistant working in a Kindergarten classroom with twins. I do not have any ELL's in my classroom this year, however, I have worked with ELL students in the past, one of which was observed carefully to determine if they may have had a disability. As explained in the article, students who have difficulties with learning a new language have a lack of phonological awareness. This is an integral part of language as it is the ability to manipulate and understand the fundamental units of language. This impacts students' abilities to speak, comprehend, write, and/ or read within the language they are learning. With these challenges, students have difficulties learning new concepts and skills. As stated by Schwarz, to best assist these students, teachers must take the time to examine what areas of language students are more fluent in such as speaking, reading, and writing, as well as take the time to work on phonological skills within the students' native language. Although it may not be as noticeable, if students have phonological challenges in English, or when learning other new languages, chances are they have the same challenges within their native language. By focussing on their native language, students will be better equipped to learn the same skills within the new language. Not all teachers, however, may be able to reach these needs. Teachers and schools are expected to be flexible with ELL students who have disabilities in order to provide the services they require. But because of the specific needs of this group of students, teachers may not be qualified to teach these students, or have the resources needed to meet their needs. This, overall, prevents students from learning as well. As cases such as these arise, more teachers and schools should become more prepared to teach these students within their school.

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Hello! My name is Maddie Young and I am completing the Fellowship program for my Masters in Disabilities (PreK-8). I am currently working as a first grade special education teacher in an elementary school. But, I also do pull out reading for grades 2 and 3 as well. I do not work with any students who are ELLs. I do have background in ELLs as I am endorsed in Sheltered English Immersion. The article highlights the importance of a child understanding the foundational skills in his or her native language. This is interesting, but makes complete sense. Before a child can begin to learn these skills and or how to read in a different language other than their native language, problems will arise in their decoding, encoding, and phonological and phonemic awareness. As an educator it is important to notice whether or not your ELLs have those foundational skills in their native language before expecting them to do so in their foreign language.

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Hi everyone! My name is Kelly Thompson and I am completing the fellowship program to obtain my masters degree in Moderate Disabilities (preK-8). I am working as a paraprofessional/support staff in an integrated preschool classroom. Three of my students are ELLs. We continue to take new students throughout the year, therefore the number of ELLs could possibly increase. Language mastery allows for a more successful approach to learning. Without mastery of the English language, ELL students are more apt to find difficulty in appropriately accessing the content equal to their peers. It can be easy for them to become confused with new content, as they get caught up in the logistics of the language. If they don't understand the English language to the point of mastery, they are going to have more trouble succeeding.

ELL students are impacted in numerous ways. Not only are these students struggling with the language barrier, but also the background knowledge they may lack. These students come from cultures that may be immensely different from ours. Therefore, when learning new concepts they may have more trouble when it comes time to activate prior knowledge or connect to new material in certain ways. According to Schwarz, not just ELL students but any students learning a foreign language face major anxiety in regards to the learning process. A new language can be extremely intimidating, vague, and perplexing. For an ELL, coming into a classroom of other students who can speak English fluently can be a daunting experience, causing them to feel left out. It's imperative that the teacher is well-prepared to have him/her in their classroom and to make the transition as welcoming and smooth as possible. From there, the teacher must create a learning environment built with strategies and tools for the student to succeed.

I'm eager to begin this course as the topic is extremely current and relevant. As schools become more diverse, educators must be readily prepared and equipped to support these students in succeeding academically and socially.

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Hi everyone! My name is Sabrina Frahlich and I am a part of the Fellowship program working towards my Masters in Special Ed: Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8). My placement is in a 3rd grade classroom and though I have students with learning disabilities, I do not have any ELL students.
The article highlights the importance of foundational language skills, such as phonological awareness, in the native language. A lack thereof can inhibit a student from fully being able to access the curriculum and learn. If a student has poor decoding, phonological, and comprehending skills in their native language, it is likely that those deficits will carry over into learning a new language. It is important that educators are able to identify learning disabilities within ELL students in order to appropriately accommodate for student needs. I believe this also serves as an issue however, when educators are not properly trained on ELLs/ learning disability accommodations. Teachers who lack resources, knowledge, and time cannot properly identify a students needs to support them in their learning. ELL students may also feel anxious and frustrated with language demands that could also impact their ability to fully learn.

Though I've taken SEI courses during undergrad, I am excited to learn specifically how to design lessons and supports for students who are ELLs and have a disability.

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Hi! My name is Leila. Professor Davison, you should know by now that it is pronounced lie-lah :) I am completing my masters in Moderate Disabilities in the Fellowship program. I am working at an elementary school as a teaching assistant, working with students who have social and emotional disabilities. While there are not many ELL students in the classrooms that I work in, there are a few. According to Schwarz, most learners who have a hard time learning a foreign language have problems with phonological awareness. When a child has difficulty mastering phonological awareness and manipulating different sounds they likely have difficulty producing the language they need for basic comprehension. If a student does not have mastery of language they are going to have difficulty learning and comprehending new things. This is a challenge for ELL students because not only do they need to have mastery of language in one language, but two. ELL students often hear one language at home and English at school which can become confusing as they try to apply the rules of each language in the moment. I am currently working with a first grade boy who is new to the school and is an ELL. He struggles in a few areas and we have been trying to determine if he struggles because of a learning disability or a language barrier. I am interested in learning more throughout this course in how to distinguish between a disability and language barrier for ELL students.

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Hi everyone! My name is Ysabelle Errico and I am currently completing the Endicott Teaching Fellows program while earning my master's degree in special education. In my undergraduate program, I participated in a course related to ELL students, however, I do not have any ELLs in my fourth grade class this year. It is clear from the article that language mastery is a predictor of success in several academic areas, one in particular being the acquisition of a second language. If students do not possess strong decoding or encoding skills in their native language, it is proven that they will encounter significant difficulty when developing such skills in another language. This is a challenge for ELLs as many may lack such foundational language skills, such as  phonological and phonemic awareness, in their native language, negatively impacting their ability to access the English Language they are attempting to learn. Other issues that may impact an EL's ability to access language and acquire mastery includes the limited English language knowledge of family members whom the student spends the most time with outside of school, limited knowledge of the student's native language on the part of the teacher, or having a LD that may or may not be diagnosed. The question a disability presents a challenge to educators who do not want to identify a child as learning disabled too soon, as their language acquisition difficulties derive from a lack decoding and encoding knowledge, but also do not want to allow a student to go unidentified when they are struggling due to a true LD. With the increase of ELLs in US school systems, it is important that teachers are educated on the process of identifying learning disabled ELs as well as how to adjust curriculum to address the needs of EL students. This article was very helpful in offering potential solutions to these issues.

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Hi everyone, my name is Katherine Keller and I am currently getting my Masters in SPED (5-12). I have many freshmen ELL students this year and I am finding at the high school level it is challenging in making sure the students are understanding the material. The fact that the class is biology doesn't help either as there are so many terms that they need to know. The article says that these students may have phonological deficits in the first language which impact their ability to understand the second language. At the high school level, it is not really possible to work on phonological skills even in ELL classes where the students are trying to read books and prepare for MCAS. It is a challenge to find the time for the students to really work on their skills. Now that these kids are living in the US, they are going to need English and be able to write it and speak it. I think there needs to be changes in the curriculum and more opportunities for these kids to practice their language skills and not just be stuck in a math class because they have to be. We are not preparing these students for the real world if they cannot read and write at their age level and be college/workforce ready.

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Hello - Lots of famliar faces conjured up by the names on the list... welcome.
Make sure that you read the idonline article prior to responding to the prompt.   You may have personal experiences from your classroom about this issue...

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Hi! My name is Jennifer Anderson and I am part of the fellowship program, completing my Masters in Special Education, Moderate Disabilities (preK-8). I am currently working in a special education classroom, providing pull-out and push-in services for students with ASD in grades K-3. I work primarily with two students, providing support as a paraprofessional throughout the day. I currently do not have any ELL students. However, I did complete an SEI course during my undergraduate experience. Schwarz explains that most learners experiencing difficulty with foreign language acquisition struggle with phonological awareness. They struggle to identify and manipulate basic sounds. This is often due to deficits in native language. This creates an inability to reach mastery of a language. Without mastery of the language, it is near impossible to learn new skills and absorb new information. This is because language skills are so necessary to succeed in our educational system. It is unfortunate that many schools lack the resources and professionals to appropriately teach these students. As Schwarz explains, students often have to rely on the willingness of the teacher to be "inventive and flexible." This is so difficult for all parties involved, and ultimately puts these ELL students with an LD at an even greater deficit. I am looking forward to learning how to best serve these students in an effective way.