Question

Hello, in my class I need to do an interview with a teacher who has worked with dual-language learners. So can someone help me with those questions?

1. What is your experience working with dual-language learners?

2. What advice would you give to a new teacher learning to work with children who have a home language other than English?

3. In what ways do you use the classroom environment to support children's language acquisition?

4. What are some teaching strategies you use to support bilingual children in your classroom?

5. Do you gather information from families to support bilingual children in your classroom? If so, what do you do?

6. How do you communicate student progress to other staff and families?
7. If the students only speak home languages how do you communicate with them?

Answer 1

I used to be a dual language learner :)

1) Answer this one from your own experience

2) Do everything slowly and clearly, and repeat as many times as needed. This will go a long way.

3) Encourage participation even if students are wrong, after all, making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn. Also, you can hang posters of important topics and steps. Occasionally, reward students for doing well by either not giving homework, or giving some extra credit points.

4) Repeat things a lot to emphasize their importance. Be patient, and do things slowly. Try to relate to their cultures and backgrounds, this will make them engage more and become more interested.

5) I don't think that this is very necessary.

6) Sending a weekly or a monthly letter or an email in both languages to the families to show the student's progress and what they learned, and how much they have improved since the beginning.

7) I strongly recomment getting a teacher aid that speaks both languages. Moreover, pictures of things are a great way to make people understand. Also, some sign language and gestures would help.

I hope this helps!