Process Flowchart to Identify and Help Struggling Students in a Korean EFL Girl's Middle School Classroom by emily balamut

Observation of Struggling Students #2: Lack of ability to do classwork

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 00:01:25 UTC

When tasked with an assignment during class, She cannot complete her classwork
She doesn’t do the worksheets in class
Her work has lots of errors
Or she relies on peers to get her work finished

Second Step - Distinguish if the student is struggling because of a language need or a learning disability

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 00:04:24 UTC

In America, English language learners seem to be diagnosed quite often with a learning disability because the teacher might not be able to differentiate between a language need and a disability. I can't say this is the case in Korea since the learners are learning English as a foreign language. They are in their own home environment of Korea and have a specialized classroom for English instruction.

So, after noticing and observing the struggling student in my class, more in depth investigation is necessary. Since I am a co-teacher to a Korean English teacher, the first thing I should do is check with my Korean English co-teacher who is always in the classroom with me. Does she notice the same thing? Does she have any more insight about the student's diagnostic scores?

The student might already be in the special education (SE) program at my school. If this is the case, then they are already receiving the support they need and most likely would not continue to attend my class, choosing instead to stay in the special education classroom. Generally, the guest English teacher English class is too difficult for students with learning disabilities and they have a choice to not attend.

However, if a student is struggling in the English as a foreign language classroom, it is really important to realize the difference between a language need and a learning disability and make sure a student isn't being overlooked as a student with a learning disability.

Fourth step: LANGUAGE NEED IDENTIFICATION

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 00:23:24 UTC

If the student is NOT struggling in all or most other subject areas and seems to only be struggling in English and possibly Korean class, then the student is most likely experiencing a language need.

Language needs will show up in different ways in the classroom:
- The student uses language transfers between Korean and English.
- The student mixes up lexical, grammatical, and syntactical structures of Korean and English.
- The student struggles to remember vocabulary or grammatical patterns.
These are all normal when students are learning a new language and should not be considered a learning disability.

Fourth Step: LEARNING DISABILITY IDENTIFICATION

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 00:32:46 UTC

If the student is struggling in all other subject areas or has behaviors indicative of a learning disability, then the student could potentially have an undiagnosed learning disability. In Korea, at times, students slip through the system due to the idea that no child should be kept behind a grade. It does happen that some students get passed through grades without the proper diagnoses or even disagreement on diagnoses.

After conferring with other teachers and noticing that the student is in fact struggling in all content areas, then the school would contact the parents and ask for more data about the student's home life. Has the parent noticed anything? Is the behavior or drop in academic achievement recent or has the student been struggling for awhile?

The school can ask the parents to have the student be tested at an outside facility which specializes in testing for learning disabilities.

Photo Source

PART 1: IDENTIFICATION AND DIFFERENTIATION OF A STUDENT STRUGGLING WITH A LANGUAGE NEED OR A LEARNING DISABILITY

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 00:37:22 UTC

PART 2: HELPING STRUGGLING STUDENTS IN MY CLASSROOM

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 00:39:13 UTC

Observation of Struggling Students #1: Behavior during class

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 00:47:01 UTC

The student consistently does not participate during the lesson
She looks around blankly
She can't ask questions and seemingly doesn't understand what’s happening in class
She appears stressed or overwhelmed during class
She is withdrawn from class activities and can't or won't work with her partner or group during our practice time

Observation of Struggling Students #3: Assessment and Testing

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 00:51:49 UTC

The student has poor test scores
- she consistently scores below average
- doesn’t improve as the year progresses
- she usually has the same issues and same mistakes with each test/assessment

(Source for the Observation of Struggling Students #1-3)

First Step: Noticing and Subsequent Observation of Struggling Students

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 00:55:32 UTC

Referral to Special Education process in Korea

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 01:12:15 UTC

If the student in my classroom is thought to have a learning disability, they will be screened for eligibility to join the special education program at my school. The process to refer a student to a special education program in Korea begins when the caregiver or school principal requests the diagnostic tests from the student's early education. Since I teach in middle school, it would be their elementary diagnostic tests. With the caregiver's agreement, the student can then be referred to a Special Education Support Center which will administer additional diagnostic tests. After the testing, the principal will then have the results and can conclude whether or not the student should be enrolled in the special education program.

How to help struggling students in my classroom

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 01:33:44 UTC

Keep a classroom routine
Use differentiated instruction** See image above
- Using flexible classroom arrangements
- Building on student's strengths
- Using student interests to raise motivation and enjoyment
- Scaffolding worksheets and classwork in which students need to turn in
Provide extra support during the lesson
- Asking the Korean co-teacher to translate more directly and asking for student understanding
- Having Korean translations on my PPTS
- Asking higher level students to direct students during group activities or games
Use clear language that is appropriate for the middle school learning level
Provide a lot of visual aids and modeling when giving directions
Provide extra time for those students who struggle

Third step: Confer with other teachers

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 02:15:54 UTC

After confirming the student is not already in the SE program, the next thing I should do is confer with the student's other teachers: a learning disability will show developmental delay in other subject areas and not just in the language classroom. This is the most important step - Do the other teachers agree and notice that the student is struggling in all subjects?

Consent to testing or referral for special education is rejected by caregivers

emilybalamut — 2024-05-05 02:29:08 UTC

If the parent or caregiver does not give consent to learning disability testing, then, unfortunately, the school cannot intervene on the student's behalf. If this is the case, then, the student should be supported in other ways by the teachers in the classroom as discussed in the "How to help my struggling students in my classroom" post.