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Beth Bruno - Hi copema.
Beth Bruno - our topic tonight is foreign students in the classroom.
copema - I'm here to talk about foreign students in the classroom.
Beth Bruno - I met several teachers from Providence who have huge turnover every year, because so many foreign families arrive, stay a few weeks or months and then move.
Beth Bruno - One of them had about 25 students , tops, and only one of them actually stayed all year.
Beth Bruno - do you have foreign students in your class?
copema - I teach 5th grade and got a girl from Russia this past Monday. She has been in US since 9/28. She knows no English.
Kathleen - Hi Beth and copema!
Beth Bruno - do her parents speak English?
Beth Bruno - Hi Kathleen. How's everything with you?
Kathleen - That's a long time to be here and know no English. She must be isolated, only with family who speak only Russian?
Beth Bruno - Early on she'll be busy with comprehension. that comes first.
Kathleen - Beth, things are fine. Just all the awful events hanging over everyone's head like a dark cloud.
copema - Mother has been here about three years and knows limited English. I just met the mother today. She spent the afternoon with us.
Beth Bruno - I know what you mean. Everyone wonders when the next shoe will drop and where.
Kathleen - OH! I misread, thought you said she'd been here since 1998! 8-/
Beth Bruno - What have the other students been doing to welcome her?
Kathleen - shoe drop, EXACTLY
copema - Maybe you didn't understand. The girl has only been here for 3 weeks.
Kathleen - Copena, she'll pick up the language rather quickly, you'll see
Kathleen - copema, I'm sorry, I did misunderstand. I thought she'd been here since 9/98.
copema - The kids are great. I paired her with an especially caring girl as her "buddy."
Beth Bruno - do you have non-English speakers in your class this year, Kathleen?
Kathleen - copema, are the other students supportive of her? helpful?
Kathleen - no, I don't have any esl this year. last year one, Pakistani. She picked up the language quickly
Beth Bruno - I think it's healthy for the other kids to see a child go through such an adjustment and to help her through it - also to learn from her about her language and culture.
Beth Bruno - Your new student would love it, if you asked her to teach everyone some Russion phrases.
copema - The other kids are very curious. But it takes time for me to ask Anna questions with my trust English-Russian dictionary.
Kathleen - I had a Bosnian boy (refugee) for a year, he learned English quickly. That's been my experience with Hispanic, Albanian, Cambodian
Beth Bruno - The younger they are, the quicker they soak up the language.
Kathleen - copema, pair her up with another girl, someone who is interested in the Russian student. Allow them to work together for now.
Beth Bruno - Maybe your library has some rebus cards (picture language) to use in a pinch.
copema - I had all of the other kids write one simple question, and my intent is for Anna to answer one or two a day. So far we have not answered any.
Beth Bruno - Is there someone who can act as a translator to figure out her skill levels in the different subjects? How have you assessed that?
Kathleen - Do you sense the Russian girl is comfortable with the one question a day activity? She might be happier remaining as an observer for now.
Kathleen - good point, Beth.
copema - no translators are available.
copema - She definitely wants to be a part of things with the other kids.
Beth Bruno - What was the mother like during her visit to class?
Beth Bruno - We're talking about foreign students in class - non-English speaking students, so far.
Kathleen - If the mother is available, it would help her to sit in class to learn English too.
ohiopal - We have a girl coming from Romania this next month. We are unsure of what to do? Have any help
Kathleen - ohiopal, what age/grade?
ohiopal - second grade/8
Beth Bruno - It's definitely true that it helps to bring the parents into the classroom, too, to establish a frame of reference for starters.
copema - The first day we had pizza for lunch. I sat down with her for a minute, and I pointed to the pizza and sai "pizza" She said "Understand--Russian--pizza" After lunch I told the class there first Russian word was "pizza!"
Kathleen - ohiopal, we were saying earlier that our experience is that, with immersion, the kids learn the second language fairly quickly.
Beth Bruno - arriving in a foreign country can be quite overwhelming at first.
ohiopal - that is what we planned on doing . Just throw her at the fire and I think she will begin to pick up
Beth Bruno - Also trying to understand an unfamiliar language takes a huge amount of concentration. It's exhasting. Be sure you give her breaks.
Kathleen - If they have a good grasp of their first language they will have less difficulty with the second language, right? Of course, if they have trauma in their background, that has to be dealt with too
ohiopal - They said your main job right away is to make the girl feel comfortable.
Kathleen - ohiopal, I agree. let her observe, take a cue from her.
ohiopal - yes, she has been in a orphan all of her life
Beth Bruno - I lived in three different countries in Europe at different times. I had studied German, so that wasn't too difficult. But my French and Italian were practically non-existent. It was truly exhausting.
copema - My kids practically fall all over themselves trying to help.
Kathleen - Taht's true, it would be exhausting to be immersed in totally new environment AND new language
Kathleen - copema, that's wonderful, a good experience for them
ohiopal - we were thinking about bringing in a french teacher to the kids ahead of time so they can hear someone trying to teach them something and the students will not be able to understand it
Beth Bruno - I agree with the total immersion approach, but one-on-one support is needed on and off through the day, too.
Kathleen - ohiopal, so she is arriving to a new family?
ohiopal - yes, being adopted
ohiopal - she cannot get over here yet because of the problems in afgan.
Kathleen - ohiopal, that sounds like a wonderful consciousness raising activity!
Kathleen - I always assign one of my students to be the special pal for a new student esl or not, to help him/her
ohiopal - That is a good idea kathleen, we are going to put a picture of her in the room ahead of time
Beth Bruno - It's very useful to comb the community for someone who speaks the student's language, just to find out as much as you can about their knowledge and skills - also another point of comfort and effort to meet them part way., skills
copema - ohiopal, I suggest a Romanian-English dictionary. Make a list of common phrases and write them in one place for all to see. "Line up. Clear off desks. Let's go to the restroom. "
ohiopal - we are currently working on that, but live in a rural community with little diversity
Beth Bruno - great suggestion, copema.
Kathleen - you mention restroom, good point. Be SURE to show the new students where the lav is immediately after arrival.
ohiopal - that is a good idea copema
copema - We are rural Illinois, but we have a very active Rotary Club. They sponsor many foreign exchange students and I just found out today there is a Russian boy living about35 miles from here. He will be coming to our school in December.
Kathleen - Your list idea gives me an idea. How about making up some signs for the esl student to use. One could be a big question mark s/he could hold up if s/he doesn't understand. Somehow you would have to have the purpose explained, perhaps if you could locate a translator for one day to explain
Beth Bruno - do you have the flexibility in the curriculum to include study of the foreign student's country and culture?
Kathleen - cooking foods familiar to the new student could provide some comfort, and would be interesting to the other children
copema - We will do sporadic study of Russia, not a complete unit.
Beth Bruno - also everyday life - foods, entertainment, play?
Kathleen - When a Bosnian family arrived as refugees in our community, and their son to my class, I organized a pot luck supper with all of my students' families to welcome them. Each brought some groceries for the family to stock their shelves. It was very successful, very comforting to the new family
Beth Bruno - That kind of outreach sets the tone for all kinds of helful suggestions from neighbors and classmates.
Kathleen - copema, that's perfect. you can study Russia more in depth, the kids will be more motivated than ever to learn about it, and your new student will contribute and enjoy it
Beth Bruno - that word shoudl be helpful.
copema - I am also keeping a binder in which I record all that Anna is doing. There is no real curriculum for her.
Kathleen - definately see if the esl children are willing to teach the other kids some of their first language
ohiopal - well have too go, lots of good ideas here. Do you frequent this chat line often
Beth Bruno - Much vocabulary can be shared between students with the help of drawings and pictures.
Beth Bruno - nice talking with you ohiopal
Kathleen - ohiopal, check the schedule, there are chats each evening. Beth hosts one here monthly on various topics.
Kathleen - You can click to the chat schedule from http://teachers.net
Kathleen - copema, are there siblings arriving too?
copema - My Anna arrived Monday. She is the only one.
Beth Bruno - does your student seem aware of what's going on politically here?
copema - Explaining the presence of the DARE officer and the nurse checking for head lice were both challenging on Wednesday.
Beth Bruno - especially the head lice checks!
Kathleen - copema, you assign a group each day to teach Anna a new vocab word, challenge them to come up with ways to teach her the words she needs in order to get along in school, good exercise for the English speaking students and good for Anna
Kathleen - I meant, you MIGHT assign a group
Kathleen - I suspect head lice are universal
copema - Her mother was in the classroom today when our principal made the announcement that tomorrow was the last day to bring a dollar for the Afghan children. She gave me a dollar right then and had Anna sign the paper that will be sent to the President.
Kathleen - how touching and kind!
Beth Bruno - why did the child come here so much later than the mother?
Kathleen - Are they coming from Russia due to unfortunate circumstances?
copema - They were in Moscow on September 11, and Mom said the people there were all very frightened. Two weeks later they flew to the US.
Kathleen - Beth, would you post your web site url so people can see your new book?
Beth Bruno - sure. the url is: http://pages.cthome.net/insights
Kathleen - Thanks, Beth.
copema - I don't have the total picture yet. The mother has married someone here, but I don't know if she was mail-ordered or what. She did not get married until she was here for about 18 months.
Beth Bruno - one of the stories in my book deals with a time when I worked as a nanny in a German household.
Beth Bruno - even with knowledge of the language, there were many cultural cifferences that led to misunderstandings
Beth Bruno - for example, did you know that if a young woman whistles while walking along the sidewalk, it is a sign that she is a streetwalker?
Kathleen - So true Beth, about the cultural differences. important for teachers to understand so they don't MISunderstand a student's reactions
Kathleen - Yikes! gives new meaning to "whistle while you work!?
Beth Bruno - in some cultures children are taught that looking into an adult's face is a sign of disrespect.
Beth Bruno - o what is a child to think when the teacher says, "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
Beth Bruno - have you had non-English speaking students in class, Sue?
Kathleen - I was talking with someone today who has just moved to a school with large hispanic pop. He said when the students are being challenged to explain their actions (inapprop actions) they tend to look away and refuse to respond
copema - We have many Hispanic migrant children who are taught not to look at an adult in the face. I have been there. "Look at me, when I talk to you."
Kathleen - I suggested that it might be cultural, that they feel they should look away
Beth Bruno - I think children may be taught to listen and not talk back to an adult. The adult is the authority.
Kathleen - so confusing for the poor kids
Beth Bruno - Even if the child has a logical explanation for his or her behavior, to tell about it is a form of talking back - unacceptable,
Kathleen - and to be punished for doing what they've been taught is the correct thing to do
Beth Bruno - yup.
Kathleen - copema, thank you for confirming what I suspected, I'll pass that on, Beth too, thanks
copema - Tomorrow I'm going to have Anna look at a Penney's catalogue and point to things she wants to know the names for.
Kathleen - good idea, copema. sounds as though Anna is in good hands
Beth Bruno - what did you confirm, copema?
Kathleen - The catalog's contents will be an education for her
copema - We may cut it up and make an alphabet book.
Kathleen - Beth, she confirmed that Hispanic children are trained not to look an adult in the face
Beth Bruno - I think I missed something.
Beth Bruno - oh, ok. I thought you might have been talking about a message behind the scenes.
Beth Bruno - where is everybody tonight do you suppose?
Beth Bruno - it's mighty quiet.
Kathleen - All of the esl and newly arrived families have been very supportive of the school, my efforts, very respectful
Kathleen - Maybe they are watching news
copema - Well, I'm at school, and my Math grades are due tomorrow. I had better log off.
Kathleen - copema, best of luck with Anna!
Beth Bruno - good luck with Anna. It sounds like you're doing many wonderful things to make her feel welcome.
Beth Bruno - thanks for coming tonight Kathleen.
Kathleen - My pleasure, Beth. Thanks for moderating. It's an important topic.
