Mexican English Language Learners Experience
Danica Finlay (200402114)
Faculty of Education University of Regina
ELNG 326
Professor: Dr. Rubina Khanam
During ELNG 326 I have learned many new things when it comes to teaching English as a second language. Some topics include agency, lesson planning, assessing, and feedback. After gaining knowledge on these topics, as a class we were taught how to instruct grammar and vocab, speaking and listening, reading and writing lessons. This course provided me with the opportunity to apply what I had learned in the lecture setting to teaching Mexican English language Learners on February 22nd and March 22nd.
On February 22nd I was quite nervous to meet the new students as I felt like I had no idea what to expect (even though we had many lectures prior, learning about what to expect). This was my first opportunity to speak to students as a teacher! So although I was nervous, I was also very excited and felt fortunate to have been given the opportunity to get to know and build a connection with students from Mexico that I will be working with later in the semester. From the moment I logged onto zoom I felt so happy! The students were so overjoyed to get to meet us, and this made all my worries and nerves go away. The first group of students I got to meet were very shy, but I think we all were. We each took turns asking each other different questions which I really enjoyed because I got to learn a little bit about Mexico and the school that they go to. One student had technical issues so it was hard for us to communicate with him. After the first group students felt more relaxed and us “teachers” had more of an idea of what kinds of questions we were going to ask and discuss so there were less awkward silences. Many students had a list of questions prepared to ask us, so I was wondering if maybe their instructor had them prepare a list prior to meeting us? Overall I was very impressed with the amount of respect and kindness each student had! After the session I felt like many connections were made, and I cannot wait to meet them again on March 22nd and teach them a lesson!
On March 22nd my partner Gillian and I had the opportunity to teach a speaking and listening lesson to the Mexican English Language Learners that we met last month! Together Gillian and I created an activity and google slide presentation for kids to actively engage in. Our activity was called “show and tell”. Each of us picked an object to the left of our computer screens and shared it with the class. On screen share I had the google slide. Each slide asked a question about the objects. The questions included: “what colour is your object?” “What is the texture?” “What is it used for?” and “is it light or heavy?”
Overall our lesson went over really well with the kids and I think that we all had a really good time! The only thing I would have liked better is if our lesson ran the full length of the time that we had with students. After our activity Gillian and I created a discussion with the students about different pets that we own until it was time for us to switch groups.
The teaching opportunities that we were provided with in this class were amazing and they are experiences I will never forget! Getting to know each student individually and creating connections was inspiring, and I cannot wait to become a teacher in the near future!