Student-Teacher Relationship while Learning a New Language

 “In such a context, the students will surely bring texts and artifacts and use language the teacher does not know, and they will be able to read, interpret, and compose text the teacher cannot read” (40). This quote stuck out to me because this shows that students can also help the teacher learn while the student is also learning. This helps the teacher show the students that they want to learn more about their home language while the teacher is teaching the students their second or third language. This can also show that the teacher respects the students, and their knowledge about their home language. This can also show that the teacher cares about the students, and the teacher wants to help them learn and grow as a person. As teachers, our main goal is to have our students succeed. While we are helping them succeed, we develop relationships with them. The relationship is very important to students because it shows them that teachers really care about them and want them to do better in life. Also, showing the students that we want to learn more that can help them become a better student, they will want to hopefully push themselves to do more. Having that relationship will also help when students are struggling, but they do not want to come for help or anything. The teacher would be able to see when the student is struggling to know when they can help. Since, every student is going to struggle while trying to learn a new language; plus any student will struggle just learning one language.

Comments

  1. Maddie SouthernOctober 21, 2021 at 11:59 AM

    Melanie, that is a very important quote that I think all teachers should hear. It goes off of the idea of "casting students as experts and teachers as co-teachers". This dynamic allows for everyone, students and the teacher, to learn about their classmates. This will not only create a community where students few welcomed but it also empowers the students to be proud of who they are. When a student feels confident and proud, they will enjoy coming to class and learning. Going along with this, the teacher should allow Ebs to use their home language as a resource. Speaking another language should not be a negative thing. In fact using a home language will help EB's learn a new language more easily because they can use their prior knowledge to solve problems and make personal connections. It is important for teachers to create strong relationships with each one of their students. If the teacher can understand the interests, strengths, and weaknesses of each student he/she will be able to tailor the lessons to the needs of the children. This can be shown through the topics of the lessons or through the organization of the room. One practice that I think is very beneficial is placing EBs with the same home language in pairs so they can have in depth conversations in their home language and then share their thoughts with the rest of the group in English. A translingual classroom can be achieved by understanding these ideas and more so by listening to your students.

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