This is a current trend happening here in Brandon and surrounding area. This is definitely something we should be ready for as a teacher. Therefore, I decided to go the West cast presentation: “I can’t understand you, Can You understand me?” The other reason why I went is because I can relate to that statement or at least I used too, as an immigrant. With my husband, we have been living near Wawanesa since 1996 and we have seen Brandon’s population changed quite a bit. It is nice to go to Brandon and see all different kind of ethnicity and hear different language. It is pretty common now when we go shopping with my family in Brandon that somebody stops us and ask: “Vous parlez francais?” because they heard us talking. The last person we met was from the French island L’Ile Maurice. He told us about his immigration and that he was now working for Maple Leaf. He said he was lucky enough that he had some bases in English that he could communicate but it is not the case of every person. We laughed together because he explains the shock that he had with the Manitoban winter. We had been in his shoes and we knew how he felt. There are other families who immigrate to Brandon to find better lives here without knowing much of English. I feel for them because it is frustrating when you have to communicate. Therefore, when the children go to school and do not know any English: it is a challenge. It is becoming a problem for that student, but also for the teachers and the other students in the class. The presentation was introduced by a Hispanic lady that gave us instruction in Spanish to make a craft. It was pretty obvious that she wanted us to feel the way an EAL students feel in regular class. They explain during the session there are 4 general stages for adaptation but all children do not go through those 4 stages. The first one is “euphoria”, the student is excited about the new culture and everything is beautiful. This stage is great because no matter what happen, you focus only on the positive! The 2nd stage is called “culture shock” where it could lead to hostility; the student is not so happy anymore and it is a difficult time. The 3rd one is “anomie”, a balance stage where some identity crisis could rise. This stage is hard because you are not sure anymore of who you are. The final stage is “assimilation or adaptation” where the student becomes self-confident.
As teachers, we have to help those students to go through those stages as smooth as possible and help them to feel good in this new country. Our role is to include them in the classroom so there are few strategies and tools we can use to make them feel more comfortable: give them a tour of the school and have lots of visual in the classroom but also in the school. We should use as much as we can crafts, manipulative, songs, games, use big hand gesture and speak slowly with clear instruction. We have to learn about their cultural events and organize with their parents and relatives some events and acknowledge them into our teaching. Also, we have to prepare the other students and get them ready to welcome EAL students and reflect on their emotions. There is another thing we can do that I found really interesting: have an “emergency kit”. When you see that the student feels down, have some books in his language, something he can relate too, some puzzle, some books from his country to ease his pain and make him feel a bit closer to home. I think this is definitely something to have in a classroom with EAL students.
There is a program called a Tiny twist to English that seems like a good program to use with EAL students. Overall, I think we need to provide them with a safe classroom environment where they feel welcome and feel safe to say that they did not understand. It is important that they feel that they are not dumb, they are just learning another language. Foreign population is predicted to double or triple in the next few years. Therefore we have to be ready for them!
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