An interesting article about ways to successfully teach English to immigrant children. And some of the challenges. DP
Overcoming language barriers more difficult in smaller districts
By Jessica Harding, Gazette Reporter
dailygazette.com: When Evelyn Diaz, 8, raised her hand in class to read the directions to a question, she stopped when she reached the word “ate.”
Diaz, a second-grader at Pleasant Valley Elementary School, speaks fluent Spanish, but still struggled with English, which is why she was enrolled in Drew Coffey’s English as a Second Language class.
Coffey, undeterred by the girl’s inability to read the three-letter word, took the opportunity to educate the six other students in his class on the correct pronunciation of the word “ate.”
He wrote “late,” “gate” and “rate” on the blackboard, which the children had no trouble pronouncing. After being told to drop the first sound, Coffey went around the classroom successfully soliciting each student to pronounce the word “ate.”
Coffey, who teaches ESL for elementary school students, has been with the Schenectady School District for 10 years. While he would take a job anywhere, he said, he’s glad to be teaching in a large district.
“This is a tenured position, which is rare in most districts, and we have a lot of opportunities for professional development,” he said.
There are more than 25 different languages spoken by children in the Schenectady City School District. Most of Coffey’s second-graders speak Spanish as their native language, but he did have one student from Guyana.
Coffey isn’t allowed to speak any language in his classroom other than English so that he doesn’t leave out any students. Instead he uses pictures, games and even puppets to teach.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
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