Wright,+Lindsay,+ESOL-Bilingual+Education

I chose ESOL/Bilingual Education as my topic because I am a Spanish major and am very interested in both of these fields. I have worked as an ESOL assistant in the past and would love to pursue a career in Bilingual Education with elementary-age students in the future. These resources for teaching children English as well as another language will be useful in the future.


 * The Top 5 Things I Learned: **
 * 1. The earlier a second language is introduced, the faster the child will learn it. **
 * 2. Encourage parents and students to retain the use of their native language at home. **
 * 3. Pairing up students who speak the same language can help them succeed in the classroom. **
 * 4. Bilingual education is controversial in the U.S. and has both pros and cons. **
 * 5. If immersion is the model your school uses, make sure to give ELL student's extra support. **

1. This is a powerpoint presentation featuring a teacher's top 25 picks for the best ESL resources websites. I liked it because it saves you time by giving you good recommendations for lesson plans, games, etc. without having to search the Internet yourself. I give this source a 5/5. media type="custom" key="7524095"

2. I liked this slideshow about how to teach children English because of the variety of information it included. There are explanations of how children learn a language based on their brain development and age, how to tailor lessons to appeal to different intelligences, and examples of lesson plans and l﻿anguage development games to use in the classroom. I give this source a 3/5 because there a few spelling errors and layout problems with the bullets. I think of all people, teachers should produce their best work!

media type="custom" key="7524313" 3. This first video gives a brief history of Bilingual Education in the United States and then goes into a panel discussion of the pros and cons of how children who didn't speak English were treated in the past and what needs to be done now. I give it 4/5 for being informative and bringing up critical issues that need to be ad﻿dressed.  media type="custom" key="7524189"

4. I'm following up the previous video with another one that talks about the state of Bilingual Ed right now and what needs to be done in the future. I agree that it is beneficial to students but that there also may need to be some changes. I give it a 4/5.

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5. This video is a sort of promotional video for teaching children a second language. I love the testimonials from the parents and teachers because I believe not only is it beneficial for a child to speak more than one language, I think it's becoming critical in the U.S. I'm only giving it a 3/5 because it doesn't make a profound statement but I did enjoy it.

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">6. This website offers free songs, games, printable worksheets and flashcards to help you in your ESL classroom. The site appears to be free with no need to register. I give it a 4/5.

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">7. At this site you will find more technical information regarding "best practices and resources for teachers of English learners". It reminds me of theories and strategies that would be taught to university students studying to become teachers so I think it's good foundation for those wanting to go into ESL as well as a helpful refresher for experienced teachers. I give it a 3/5.

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">8. BrainPop ESL is a fun, animated and interactive site for kids with English lessons at several different language levels. There are a few free lessons available to try but because you have to pay for a subscription (which is expensive) I'm only giving it a 2/5. If your school had funding or you had extra classroom money (yeah, right!) it may be worth the money.

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">9. As I wrap up this wiki, I'm including a couple funny videos about the difficulties English learners have with the language and their accents. There's nothing educational about them but I give them a 5/5 for some good humor. I especially enjoyed the second one.

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