Session 7: Supporting MLL by Sarah Sloane

sarahsloane1 — 2024-02-29 00:50:19 UTC

Home Language Culture Report: family interview in the native language that acknowledges the expertise and capital of the family

sarahsloane1 — 2024-02-29 00:51:01 UTC

What is the evidence/promotion in the classroom?

What is the orientation of the diagnostic voice?

Is the counseling culturally competent?

MLLs with dyslexia

2024-03-01 01:00:44 UTC

It can be hard to differentiate between an MLL learning profile and a dyslexic one. It is important to note if students have difficulty reading/writing only in English or also in their native language, since dyslexia will be present in all languages. For MLLs, the number of errors in English should decrease with time; if they don’t, dyslexia should be considered. Students must be to observed and assessed over a long period of time due to English language learning. They also need to have assessments in both languages in order to determine common patterns in language processing. - Liza

Georgia Moses

2024-03-01 02:21:01 UTC

Alba Ortiz shares that the assessment instruments needed to make an accurate identification of disabilities among English Language Learners do not exist. As a result, over-identification occurs. This video was filmed 7 years ago. I wonder if more appropriate assessment tools have been developed or if the understanding among teachers of these learners and how to support them has strengthened since this video was made.

Jasmine S.

2024-03-01 18:56:54 UTC

I thought about this video I saw in my language acquisition class where one of the students who is an ELL was forced to take an exam in English rather than in his home language, and although he was very bright and knew the answers when translating the questions to his home language, he knew that unfortunately he would not pass that exam simply because no accommodations were made to help support the child. More often than we probably realize, children are put into special education programs when as Alba Ortiz says, there is no need for them to be in these programs because challenges don't always stem from disabilities. I wonder how tough that must feel for the child who is put into these programs where the root of the problem is still not addressed, and then they continue to struggle. Children aren't really allowed to advocate for themselves in many instances, and this is a huge one to consider. I hope that one day there is a better approach to identifying what is a disability and what is something other than that, and in turn it will appropriately help the child in their schooling.

Eliza Kissick

2024-03-03 17:21:28 UTC

This video reminded me of my student teaching experience in Lewiston, Maine. Lewiston has a large Somali refuge population, and often these students were automatically placed into special education classes because of their inability to complete the placement exams (which were in English). There was also not much appropriate communication between teachers and parents because of the language difference. This situation feels like a prime example of what Alba Ortiz is discussing. If the parents were interviewed in their native language, and the students were given an appropriate placement examine, I'm sure that many of these students would have been placed in a different setting.

Meghan K

2024-03-05 23:35:23 UTC

I think what she makes clear in this video is that the overrepresentation of ELLs in SPED classrooms, while sometimes assigned for best intentions (providing small class sizes, differentiated teacher instruction, etc.) it is doing more harm than good. Because SPED teachers are not always trained in the language and cultural needs of an ELL student, ELL students are actually being left behind in their potential for learning. Moreover, not all ELL students need special ed services. It is incredibly problematic to conflate ELL services with special ed services and only serves to "widen the gap" as she mentions in the video for ELL students. Additionally, assigning ELL students this label and then continuing to teach them in ways that don't allow them to access their potential can have an affect on their own understanding of themselves as learners as well as the understanding of those around them (teachers, peers, mentors, etc). It is imperative that better tests are developed and used to assess ELL learners for what they need in the classroom; tests that include the option for translanguag-ing and home language use as well as culturally competent and sensitive so as not to provide inappropriate services. I am curious about the current tests taht are used in NY public schools and wonder what kind of oversight there is into the overrepresentation of ELLs in our SPED classrooms.

Maria A

2024-03-06 06:07:04 UTC

Assigning ELL students to SPED classes is massively misguided for the reasons that Ortiz gave (smaller classrooms, individualized attention). SPED teachers are not bilingual instructors, they may not equipped with the tools necessary to teach students whose primary language isn't English. Schools that have the resources might be able to place ELL students in ESL classrooms, but you run into an issue that Ortiz brings up at the end of the video: there sometimes is no escape. ELLs get placed into alternative settings (SPED or ESL) and there's no way for them to reintegrate into a general ed classroom because they are seen as less than, or incapable. A lot of times it takes parents advocating for their children, and if a school has not been culturally responsive/aware, their children might be stuck in a setting that isn't ideal for them.

Lizette D

2024-03-06 18:48:53 UTC

Alba Ortiz stated that often times, they do not have the proper resources to assess students, however they still place many students in special education. This includes students who don't have a learning disability which causes overrepresentation and further learning loss. This interview reminded me of when I work at a Chinese American preschool which had dual language available. The languages spoken were Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. However, they wanted the children to be strong English speakers when they entered public school, so Mandarin/Cantonese were only spoken as needed. Many of the children were Mandarin/Cantonese dominant speakers unless they had older siblings (their English would be better). The lead teachers were multilingual except for me, so I had an assistant teacher who spoke mainly Mandarin with very little English. They fired her before our students began the Brigance Testing and my class did not have a Mandarin/Cantonese speaker to administer the test. When I had to administer the Brigance Test to my students I had a good sense of their abilities, however, I knew they were supposed to be tested in the language that was their strongest. The school did not provide me with another staff member to administer the test in Mandarin/Cantonese for those students who this was their dominant language. This led to many of my students scoring low on the Bringance Test when I knew they knew more than what the test said. When schools are more concerned with what MLL students can accomplish in English while failing to acknowledge and grow their strengths in their native language it misrepresents the child in ways that creates a larger learning gap for them.

Ariella H

2024-03-07 03:22:21 UTC

The statement "special education can become a dumping ground for students" is really telling of how dangerous the overrepresentation of ELL students in SPED. While ideally, we want to believe that all SPED classes are designed just right to uplift the students who have different needs, in reality, I think there are many times when students who are simply misunderstood, from a different cultural background, or not connecting with their educational environment will be referred to such as a mean of saying that the way they are is not enough. I think of how often immigrant students will be automatically placed in a SPED class instead of using various resources to understand the student in their culture and language, and then will often be considered a SPED student for the majority of their educational career, when it might not be what they need. This actually happened to a family member of mine when they first came to this country. They were considered highly functioning at home but here, they automatically got placed in a class that didnt serve her or challenge her the way she needed, mostly because she was struggling to learn english.

2024-03-07 13:23:13 UTC

I thought it was incredibly important that Alba Ortiz brought up the fact that even when assessments are given in Spanish (for Spanish speakers) they may not be culturally or linguistically relevant. There is this idea that all Spanish is the same and that could not be farther from the truth. It brings to mind all of the students who may be capable of passing but due to their lack of understanding or not being exposed to the mainstream Spanish that is chosen as a representation for us they don't pass and it leads to another incredibly important point that special education can often become a dumping ground. Throughout my time in the educational field I have never fully considered that even when these students are given assessments in their native languages, they still may not fully understand it and because of this, it's not taken into consideration how smart a child may be in other areas. - Alondra

Avery Verona

2024-03-07 22:01:31 UTC

While watching this video it reminded me about how instrumental it is to meet a student that may be struggling halfway. What I mean by this is that if as an educator you are noticing your students who are ELL are struggling to keep up you can take measures that allow that student to feel comfortable and supported. This is why it is so important as educators to be culturally responsive because students may be having difficulty for a multitude of reasons such as linguistic, cultural, and educational opportunity, but instead are labeled as needing special education. As an educator we must look at the whole picture and not just label students because it can cause even more problems for the child.

Mariana E.

2024-03-08 01:58:39 UTC

I find this video very profound and also very heartbreakingly succinct. She put to words what I have found in my teaching career working with recent immigrants and English Language Learners. So many educators I have worked with are experts in "interrupted formal education," particularly in the neighborhoods and particular schools with long-time understanding of this. When I worked with sixth graders in one particular middle school in a neighborhood of many recent immigrants, many had not been in school since 2nd or 3rd grade awaiting immigration. So we adapted to their needs. I've learned so much from the teachers I've worked with, and their expertise and commitment to fully meeting a student where they are at and supporting them in all ways possible. I recall that example of the girl who was diagnosed as I think "mentally incompetent" because as a Spanish speaker she was given a test fully in English in 1970 - how often, tragically and wrongly often, are those "instruments [that] are inappropriate" still in place in many places today.

Taylor Brown

2024-03-09 03:21:39 UTC

This video reminded me of Pam Jones Language Acquisition class that really went in depth about the importance of accessibility and understanding of cultures and home languages. While you may have translators and tests in other languages, often things such as dialects, and individual cultures aren't considered and they are just generalized as one ie. (ex. the idea that Spanish is the same across the board in all Spanish speaking countries). Alba Ortiz noted that many times schools don't have access to appropriate "instruments."

When I taught at a charter school, I read with a boy whose family is from Trinidad and Tobago (where my family is from) and he was listed as having a learning disability and speech impediment during his F&P's when done with an instructor. Having the child in my class and noticing that (in my opinion) he had neither of those things, I asked if I could conduct his F&P myself and see if I came up with the same findings. What I found was that every mistake he was listed for, words that they believed he said incorrectly, he was saying them correct. The problem wasn't his speech but that no one knew how to recognize his accent. At the end of my assessment with him, I found none of those errors that were previously there. It made me wonder what would have happened if I didn't question his results and he had been moved out of his reading group which was the step the school was about to take. There is often little conversation between schools and families about linguistics, home languages, culture, etc when in fact all of that information is important to properly help the student in their academic studies.