Entry 3: Interview with an English Second Language Teacher
Hi everyone!
For my interview, I chose to interview a teacher that is on my Student Teaching campus. Her name is Connie Toy-Ng, and I met her during the training I received at the beginning of the school year. Mrs. Toy-Ng is a second-grade teacher who teaches language, writing, and social studies. She was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Her mother was raised in Monterrey, Mexico, so Mrs. Toy-Ng can speak both English and Spanish. I thought that was quite interesting because her nationality is Chinese, but she only speaks English and Spanish.
Mrs. Toy-Ng is certified for early childhood to fourth-grade curriculum and instruction. She also has a master's degree in bilingual education. The reason Mrs. Toy-Ng wanted to become a teacher was due to her son. As she raised her son, she thought it was so magical to watch him learn and see his lightbulb go off. Although she originally had a job in marketing and management, she decided to go back to school to pursue education. Mrs. Toy-Ng has been an ESL teacher for eight years.
Mrs. Toy-Ng said that her ability to speak a second language helps her to differentiate her students' learning. She understands the troubles that her English Language Learners (ELLs) may have with learning, so it helps her cater to how they learn. Mrs. Toy-Ng mentioned that the biggest challenge she has as an ESL teacher is the children's willingness to learn. If the child is not willing to learn and put in their best effort, it is hard to teach them. She mentioned that it was also uncomfortable when the parents do not support the child as well. To help the ELL kids want to learn, she would try different things to keep them interested and engaged. Mrs. Toy-Ng would work with them one-on-one and try different strategies and resources by using the internet. For example, at a previous school, she tried using Google Translate to help her students. However, it did not work out because Google Translate directly translates the language, instead of helping the child understand.
According to Mrs. Toy-Ng, the aspects of English that the ELLs often struggle with are chunking, breaking down words, reading, and comprehension. The ELLs have trouble with decoding words and breaking them down. Reading is also difficult for the children because if they do not know how to decode, they would have a hard time reading words. This also goes hand-in-hand with reading comprehension.
Mrs. Toy-Ng believes that when children are introduced to two languages simultaneously, their language development is positively affected. She mentioned that research shows that a lot of kids learn languages better when they are younger. Even though they are younger, they will absorb all the information like sponges. Once they learn more about the two languages, they will be able to separate the two. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Mrs. Toy-Ng speak about research because the textbook also mentions this. According to Ortega (2013, p. 28), "in terms of L2 ultimate attainment, most learners who begin acquiring the L2 before a certain age, typically before puberty, will develop levels of morphosyntactic and phonological competence that are very close to those of native speakers of that language." Ortega also mentions that learners can transfer their knowledge about L1 to their learning of L2 (2013, p. 53). Another benefit is that "knowledge of two or more languages can accelerate the learning of an additional one, and all previously known languages can influence knowledge of and performance in an L3" (2013, p. 53). Therefore, Mrs. Toy-Ng's beliefs about the advantages of learning two languages simultaneously are backed up by research.
Mrs. Toy-Ng believes that her ELL students are different from the general education students because they are more driven to learn. The ELLs are motivated to learn because of their parents and the necessity of learning English. She mentions that the ELLs' parents are very supportive of their children. The parents push the ELL students to learn because it is a necessity for their future. According to Ortega (2013, p. 190), "attitudes towards the formal learning context have been shown to exert a lasting and important influence on motivation." Since the ELL students are driven by their intrinsic motivation to learn English and their parents' and teachers' positive support, their motivation to learn is much stronger. Overall, I enjoyed talking to Mrs. Toy-Ng about her experiences as an ESL teacher. In the future, I hope to become a teacher as passionate and caring as her.
Click here to watch my interview!
P.S. I know that my interview is very long, so I added the timestamps in the description for ease in watching.
For my interview, I chose to interview a teacher that is on my Student Teaching campus. Her name is Connie Toy-Ng, and I met her during the training I received at the beginning of the school year. Mrs. Toy-Ng is a second-grade teacher who teaches language, writing, and social studies. She was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Her mother was raised in Monterrey, Mexico, so Mrs. Toy-Ng can speak both English and Spanish. I thought that was quite interesting because her nationality is Chinese, but she only speaks English and Spanish.
Mrs. Toy-Ng is certified for early childhood to fourth-grade curriculum and instruction. She also has a master's degree in bilingual education. The reason Mrs. Toy-Ng wanted to become a teacher was due to her son. As she raised her son, she thought it was so magical to watch him learn and see his lightbulb go off. Although she originally had a job in marketing and management, she decided to go back to school to pursue education. Mrs. Toy-Ng has been an ESL teacher for eight years.
Mrs. Toy-Ng said that her ability to speak a second language helps her to differentiate her students' learning. She understands the troubles that her English Language Learners (ELLs) may have with learning, so it helps her cater to how they learn. Mrs. Toy-Ng mentioned that the biggest challenge she has as an ESL teacher is the children's willingness to learn. If the child is not willing to learn and put in their best effort, it is hard to teach them. She mentioned that it was also uncomfortable when the parents do not support the child as well. To help the ELL kids want to learn, she would try different things to keep them interested and engaged. Mrs. Toy-Ng would work with them one-on-one and try different strategies and resources by using the internet. For example, at a previous school, she tried using Google Translate to help her students. However, it did not work out because Google Translate directly translates the language, instead of helping the child understand.
According to Mrs. Toy-Ng, the aspects of English that the ELLs often struggle with are chunking, breaking down words, reading, and comprehension. The ELLs have trouble with decoding words and breaking them down. Reading is also difficult for the children because if they do not know how to decode, they would have a hard time reading words. This also goes hand-in-hand with reading comprehension.
Mrs. Toy-Ng believes that when children are introduced to two languages simultaneously, their language development is positively affected. She mentioned that research shows that a lot of kids learn languages better when they are younger. Even though they are younger, they will absorb all the information like sponges. Once they learn more about the two languages, they will be able to separate the two. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Mrs. Toy-Ng speak about research because the textbook also mentions this. According to Ortega (2013, p. 28), "in terms of L2 ultimate attainment, most learners who begin acquiring the L2 before a certain age, typically before puberty, will develop levels of morphosyntactic and phonological competence that are very close to those of native speakers of that language." Ortega also mentions that learners can transfer their knowledge about L1 to their learning of L2 (2013, p. 53). Another benefit is that "knowledge of two or more languages can accelerate the learning of an additional one, and all previously known languages can influence knowledge of and performance in an L3" (2013, p. 53). Therefore, Mrs. Toy-Ng's beliefs about the advantages of learning two languages simultaneously are backed up by research.
Mrs. Toy-Ng believes that her ELL students are different from the general education students because they are more driven to learn. The ELLs are motivated to learn because of their parents and the necessity of learning English. She mentions that the ELLs' parents are very supportive of their children. The parents push the ELL students to learn because it is a necessity for their future. According to Ortega (2013, p. 190), "attitudes towards the formal learning context have been shown to exert a lasting and important influence on motivation." Since the ELL students are driven by their intrinsic motivation to learn English and their parents' and teachers' positive support, their motivation to learn is much stronger. Overall, I enjoyed talking to Mrs. Toy-Ng about her experiences as an ESL teacher. In the future, I hope to become a teacher as passionate and caring as her.
Click here to watch my interview!
P.S. I know that my interview is very long, so I added the timestamps in the description for ease in watching.
Hi Angela,
ReplyDeleteYour interview with Connie Toy-Ng was interesting, especially since she also learned English Second Language. As you mentioned, it is definitely a benefit for her to have been in the same shoes as her students. In this way, she can move forward teaching with the common misconceptions she had about English in mind. Another interesting thing you mentioned were the different stages of learning English. Since Connie has already learned English, she knows what each of these stages looks like, such as the first stage, simplification, which is when “when a one-meaning-one-form mapping is initially assumed by learners” (Ortega, 2013, p. 116). With her expertise, Connie knows what to look for to see which stage her students are in and will be able to work on which misconceptions are holding her students back.
Hi Chelsea, thank you for your reply! It was beneficial for her to have been in the same shoes as her students because she was able to use those experiences to improve her English instruction. In the video, Mrs. Toy-Ng also mentions that she teaches her students based on her students’ schema. Ortega states that “restructuring is the process of self-organization of grammar knowledge in which existing knowledge or schema are radically modified based on the new information” (2013, p. 117). By building off of her students’ schema, Mrs. Toy-Ng was able to hone in on what the students had trouble with and modify her instruction to suit her students’ needs.
DeleteHi Angela! I agree with Chelsea, your interview was interesting. My mother is also from Monterrey, Mexico like Mrs. Toy-Ng's mother. Like Chelsea mentioned having been in her students shoes is beneficial in helping her students. I interviewed my mother and she felt the same way. Having gone through what her students went through allows her to get into their mindset. Ortega mentions how "satisfaction with teachers and instruction can boost motivation" (2013, p. 190). I agree with how Mrs. Toy-Ng feels about ELL students. I think they have a drive to learn and for the most part their parents are from another country so they push their children to work hard. The parents may not have had the same opportunities in their home country so they want their students to do their best to be successful. I know that is the case for me with my mother having come from another country.
DeleteHi Angela,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your interview with Ms. Toy-Ng. Self-motivation among ELLs is a common challenge mentioned in the interviews I have seen with ESL teachers. Since Ms. Toy-Ng teaches second grade, grades may not be a huge source of extrinsic motivation for students to eventually buy into. It is great that Ms. Toy-Ng has created a reward system for motivating students to participate in the classroom. Although extrinsic motivation is "less ideal", a students motivation to learn a second language "is subject to change over time" (Ortega, 2013). Ms. Toy-Ng goes on to mention that she tries to teach students to take initiative in their learning. It seems that her goal is for students to be intrinsically motivated. Although intrinsic motivation is the goal, students must start somewhere which is where extrinsic motivation is comes into play. Ms. Toy-Ng not only provides a reward system to motivate students, but she also seems to be very students centered. Ortega (2013, p. 190) states that "positive attitudes towards the learning context as well as the L2 community and culture (developed through prior positive learning experiences) and current satisfaction with teachers and instruction can boost motivation considerably."
Hi Angel, thank you for your reply! I feel the same way as you regarding motivation. Extrinsic motivation is not the best way to get students to take charge of their own learning. However, by starting with extrinsic motivation, teachers hope that students can look past the rewards and understand how their actions make an impact on their lives, as well as other people’s lives. According to Ortega, motivation can make language learners succeed or fail (2013, p. 168). For example, Mrs. Toy-Ng talked about a time where her student helped out another student. By rewarding the student’s initiative to help another student, that student will learn that good things happen to people who are kind.
DeleteHi Angela,
DeleteIt is true that we must recognize learning a new language as a growth process. Ortega (2013, p. 189) mentions that "experiencing L2 learning success also boosts motivation to even higher levels, in a reinforcing cycle." Although Ms. Toy-Ng uses extrinsic forms of motivation to influence her students' L2 learning, she is consistent with reinforcing success which supports intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation seems to be very consistent across some of the interviews with primary school ESL teachers that I have seen. It is interstice to note that that student attitudes and ideal types of motivation may change as they move up in grades and age.