English Learners in School

With the influx of students arriving from various islands and other places, our schools are populated with multi-ethnic groups from non-speakers to different levels of English proficiency.  As a result, Guam Department of Education has instilled programs such as Language Other Than English (LOTE), English As A Second Language (ESL) to assist students in learning English to meet academic requirements and content standards in the schools (Guam Department of Education website, Programs).  

Speaking from my personal experience, when as a child entering school, I was not a proficient English speaker. Chamorro was my first language and I only knew basic words in English to communicate what I wanted, which of course was my favorite food and other needs. I learned English in school from a program that I went to daily for half an hour.  It was very frustrating at that time because it was delivered electronically and above all it was boring and monotonous. I slept through the whole program.  Consequently, I have no idea how I survived my English speaking experience.  

However, being an educator in the public schools, observing students in ESL classrooms, I noticed that they are enjoying their language learning experiences because ESL educators are making it very interesting and enjoyable by applying best practices and strategies in teaching L2 learners, unlike my experiences when I was a child entering school and learning a second language.

Jan 31.

As I reflect, I have decided that this first week was frustrating because of the lack of textbook.  I plan my time and organize my schedule.  So when things go not as planned, I tend to feel not so happy.  Tomorrow will be a better day.


Thank you all for being so positive and accommodating with this whole textbook issue.  My book order has been placed and will be happy to share my text with anyone once it comes in.


HAPPY FRIDAY to YOU!

Getting to Know You

Getting to Know You

Getting to Know You is an interesting and fun activity for kids. I used to do this activity for the first day of the school year. Instead of having a silent class for the first day, it turns out to be a noisy with learning class. I know young ones will really enjoy doing this activity. To tell you the truth, working on this activity is not that fun for me compares to the young ones. The kids won’t mind sharing every single thing they know about. For us adults, it will not that fun as the kids because we are more personal. I notice that for some kids, it is hard to reveal something about themselves. I don’t know if this is culture or just part of the kid’s life. For us teachers, we have to be more careful doing this activity with our ESL students as we know culture is also play an important role in the child’s learning. We can be more careful about what kind of questions we are going to put on our activity.  

This is a partially online course which will be making it hard on us to get to know each other well. I am happy we are doing this activity in this class so it gives us chances to know each other. I want to know each and everyone of you as I will know my partner. I can’t wait to see the end product of our project so that way we can learn something about each and every one of us. 

We can do it!

I have to admit that this week was little stressful for me. When I found out on Monday that bookstore didn't have the text book for this course I freaked out. I freaked out more when I heard that I would have to order the text book online. I have learned in the past not to trust amazon.com anymore but I didn't have any choice. I bought my book online only to find out a day later that whoever I bought the book from didn't have any tracking number for the book. I hope that my book gets here by next month so that I can start on my reaction papers. 

Even thought this week was little stressful for me I was happy to finished my short interview with my wonderful partner Katrina Baza. Katrina and I did our short interviews "Getting to know You" using word document and emailed it to one another. We shared some fun and interesting things with each other in our short interviews. I am super excited to learn more about Katrina. I know that this is going to be a fun and exciting project. 

With that being said, I found this picture on google.com and I want to share with you all. I understand that everyone has a busy and tight schedule. As educators, we have to constantly remind ourselves to think positive and that we all can do it. We are here to better ourselves so that we can help our students reach beyond their potentials and to becoming better prepared for the challenges we both face now and in years to come. Let us keep in mind that "We can do it!" You have a have great weekend and be safe! 

Day 2 Reflection: Serendipity

I am reflecting now on my last two posts and will make a commitment to entitle my reflections with words that begin with the letter "S" for the rest of this semester.

It was an interesting second week, in which I got to witness everyone in our class collaborating with each other in order to solve a problem.  I saw that with the textbook snafu and was impressed with the entire class, including Dr. Rivera, to work together and help out.  I'm just super thankful that we got each other's back. :)  Thanks, everyone!

Image Source: Serendipity

Textbook: Reading, Writing, and Learning in ESL

Hi ladies!
Since everyone does not have the textbook and we have to share Mark's book, who ever is going to pick up the book from him please kindly do us a favor. Please scan and email Chapter 1 to us. If not, please kindly make copies and let us know how much it is. Thank you so much!

Getting Ready to Know All of You

I have begun working on the "Getting to Know You" assignment with my amazing partner, Beauty.  We communicated our questions via Microsoft Word over the internet.  We have also sent each other some pictures of ourselves, our families, and other aspects of our lives.  There are so many interesting things I have learned about Beauty by doing this assignment and I am looking forward to getting to know the rest of you.

Due to the problems with attaining the book, I'd like to thank Mr. Mark Pacheco for lending us his copy.  I will be placing my order with Amazon today.  Hopefully, it will come in on time.

My anxiety levels are low at this time.  I decided to get things done ahead of time so I won't have to stress out around the due date.  I would really like to work on my time management skills this semester.

I hope you are all having a nice week!

Image Source: http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSmI-5TDbWSAarTU6I20ZuSw06b9Lrfi6vqrwf3UjU6o-Ms9oOQhg:www.saturnroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Meet-New-People.jpg

Greetings, my fellows!  It was nice meeting you all including our professor Dr. Rivera.

Just for the first day, I am already overwhelmed. I took classes under Dr. Rivera for the past year and I’m thinking that this class would have no different than the others. My prediction is right. I am excited to take this class under her and at the same time feel overwhelmed. I don’t know what I am feeling right now. I can’t imagine the first day of class when I first had her. For those of you, first timers to take her, to tell you the truth, I am extremely overwhelmed and scared than you think. For this semester, I still overwhelmed and scare but at least I have the experience of having her once makes me feels much lighter.

Following our calendar of events for this class is a big help for us. Speaking of experience, I suggest that we all have to strictly follow the calendar of events. It is better to go beyond than to be behind the schedule on our calendar.

Believing in yourself and Dr. Rivera would help us through the semester. I stumbled many times during the time I took classes under her but I still rise and walk through her helps. She has the heart to care and help her students if she understands the students' situation and problems. 

Thoughts of "Linguistically Diverse"

When I think about the course title "Inclusion of Linguistically Diverse Students" I can not help but feel that being in this class is a blessing because I will be experiencing working first hand with a multi-cultural diverse group.  We are indeed going to learn from one another the richness of our cultural background as well as sharing our knowledge with one another and from that, apply it to our linguistically diverse students in our classroom.

I already feel good vibes.  I am also aware we have a lot of work ahead, however, I am positive somewhere in between there will be some fun and memorable times.

First Day of Class

I was very excited to attend class today. I was glad to see some of my TESOL friends and meet new people. I was looking forward to class especially I heard lot of great things about Dr. Rivera. 

However, as we went over the syllabus and calendar, I felt overwhelmed with the amount of work we need to do for this class. I was stressed at the beginning and thought maybe taking three classes this semester is too much for me to handle. 

Nevertheless, as I continue to reflect after class I know we can do it. It’s going to be a busy semester but it will be fun and exciting experience for everyone. It’s going to be another great opportunity for us to learn and grow. :)

New Beginnings

Greetings, fellow classmates!  It was nice meeting some of you and getting reacquainted with the rest of you.

I guess we all concur that we felt a little overwhelmed when we first read the course requirements today.  Who wouldn't be overwhelmed?  The responsibilities of juggling a full-time teaching career, family, and social life is enough to exhaust anyone.  When you throw in a full graduate course load on top of all those things, it's easy to feel in over your head.  At least we can feel overwhelmed together.

I have no doubt that all the assignments will help me become a better teacher.  I appreciate that the assignments were mapped out on a calendar.  It helps me to stay organized.  I also like the fact that this course is partially an online course.  I live about an hour away from the University of Guam, so the drive is pretty tiresome in itself.  The class forum on Moodle helps keep me on my toes, as does the blog.  I enjoy reviewing work done by classmates.

With that said, I wish you all a wonderful weekend.  Here's to a great semester!

Image Source: http://www.janellepineau.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/determination-today-leads-to-success-tomorrow.png

First Day Reflection

Today in class was so exciting and fun. I got to meet old friends I lost contact with since my undergrad years. I also got to see my new friends that made since I started this TESOL program. I was nervous but excited all at the same time. As we went over the class Syllabus and the Calender of Event, I was not surprise of how much work we need to do for this course. I took Dr. Rivera my first semester in the TESOL program and that was only one course I took with her but boy was I overwhelmed? Off course I was overwhelmed but Dr. Rivera was always helpful whether in class face-to-face or online class Moodle. This semester is going to be a very busy semester for me but I will try to think positive. 

I look forward to having a fun semester full of great experience with each and every one of you all. I can't wait to learn new things in class and from each one of you. Let us not think about the Calendar of Event for now because it will just stress us out. Let us think of how much fun we can have in this class. 

Have a great WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Our first day of class was exciting.  There were many new faces for me, and I am looking forward to "Getting to Know" all of you.  Expanding our networks of professionals, friends, and fellow educators is always a good thing.

Our class syllabus and calendar was ALMOST overwhelming. However, I really appreciate the detailed outline and target expectations.  Knowing what to do, when to do it, and how to do it helps to organize all our busy schedules.

I am really looking forward to working with all of you, both online and in class. See you all on Moodle.   HAPPY FRIDAY to YOU ALL!

Day 1 Reflection: The Scream

It's the first day, and I am not going to mince words, I am overwhelmed! I know I am not the only one as I've just heard someone say, "I'm gonna eat... and I'm gonna cry." I feel the same way.

As I reflect on what I have to do, I am praying that I did not bite more than I could chew.

I am a full time teacher for DOE, a Grad student with 3 classes in total, a very active member in my church and a youth ministry, and I have a personal life. I don't plan on ruining any one of these.

Sink or swim? I will do my best, yes... But all I'm asking for is a lot of compassion and prayers. Sweet Jesus, help me!

Image Source: Scream