Visiting an ESOL Class

This assignment gave me the opportunity to do something that I do not often have the chance to attempt: see another (fabulous) teacher in action.  The assignment asked for me to visit an ESOL class.  What luck?!  The school where I have taught for almost five years is the ESOL center for Clay County.  One of my best teacher friends, Toni,  is the Kindergarten teacher for the ESOL program at my school.  It was a privilege to see what she can do with her students!

The focus, very clearly, of Toni's lessons is to prepare her students for first grade.  The students that Toni get are from a variety of backgrounds and speak several languages.  Her purpose on top of preparing the students for first grade is to help them become more fluent with academic English, as well as their conversational English.

I find that in Toni's classroom there is a LOT of talking.  Not just from Toni to the students, but also the students trying to use their English with each other (often the only language that they share).  There is also a LOT of singing.  The students have a routine working with the calendar and the math skills involved.  There is also a LOT of moving.  Dancing is a typical part of their day.  Also, Toni is VERY expressive with her gestures and facial expressions, helping add another strategy for student comprehension of English.  There is a lot of repetition and annunciation in Toni's class during her teaching.

Toni's classroom is full of colors, centers, and words (things are labeled).  Books line the walls and can be found in bin after bin.  There are quite a few computers in the classroom with various programs the students use for learning.  Toni has also personally bought Leap Pads and other Leap Frog products for her students. In addition, she purchased individual CD players for students to use with the read aloud stories that accompany the reading series.

Toni has access to an aid for a small period of time a day (she used to be staffed with an aid all day every day, but budget cuts made that impossible).  Other than the additional products that Toni supplies, her kindergarteners have a very similar experience to their peers in regular educational classes.

Toni's commitment to her students, her ability to bring fun into the classroom, and her concern for the success of her students make me proud to work with her and to call her a friend.  Watching Toni work is a great pleasure due high level teaching she does day in and day out.