Journal Reflection

Asssessment....

As discussed in class, Garcia states "Teachers also should consider using assessment approaches beyond pencil-and-paper tests. The use of multiple approaches provides a more comprehensive view of ELL progress." Here we have again the importance of ongoing formative assessments. Use observation, discussion, reflection, ect so that you (a teacher) can more accurately assess the learner. Assessment should be continuous (but not intrusive) and the students thinking made visible. This is a recurrent theme (because it is so important) in many of the readings. Honestly, I couldn't imagine trying to academically well as an ESL or ELL student. In my opinion, (although I have no idea how we could accomplish this) learners should have the right to take tests in whatever is their first language. English is my first language and I have enough difficulty trying to read some of our reading and actually grasp the concepts after reading it.

To me it seems that you can kind of think of the high culture as whom ever is at the top of or has high socio-economic status. We gave the definition of socio-economic status as where one fits into society based on wealth and standard of living and (values?). So, what ever we decide to base this "ranking" on then the ones at the top are the high culture and the ones on the bottom the low culture.

These self-fulfilling prophecy concepts are really interesting. The whole "mind over matter" idea. Once teachers become aware of what they are doing its still going to be a difficult path since parents, peers, ect are such an impact on a learner.

I am curious as to why profession parents speak more to their children than welfare parents (I think that was the two groups studies). I can understand why they would speak differently - different vocabulary and differnt style.

There is a statement in the Garcia reading "in the United states and, to a lesser extent, in Canada there has existed a belief taht native bilingualism is abnormal." I'm assuming that by abnormal it is just in reference to it not being common?

I like Tharpe and Gallimore's paper now that I know it was basically as simple as I thought. I thought maybe I was missing some major concepts, but I wasn't. A picture says a thousand words - or in this case a diagram. However, they wanted to still give us those thousand (and some) words.