Mini Lesson Reflection 1

Jasmin Colon

EDUC 359

Fall 2017

Mini-Lesson Reflection

1. As a teacher, what challenges did you face when trying to teach your lesson/content to

the class?

When I was teaching the class in a different language, I could tell the students

were struggling to follow along with me. They would look at me and try to figure out what I was

saying. This was hard because I felt as though I had to repeat myself for them to understand.

2. What did you do to overcome these challenges?

I used hand gestures to convey what I was trying to say. For example, when I

wanted the students to repeat what I had said, I put my hand out toward the class. For our lesson,

we did face parts. When I would say a term in Spanish, I would point to the part on my face. This

way, everyone had a visual to go along with the term. I also spoke a little slower so the students

had a chance to process what I was saying.

3. As a teacher, how did this activity stimulate trying to instruct one or more ELL students

in your classroom? How did you use language in your instruction?

This activity stimulated instruction with ELL students because I could sense the

confusion in the room. To the students, this was not their first language, just like ELL students

with English. Through using hand gestures and body language, I could relay some of the

information to them. If I were to just stand there without any visuals and simply speak in

Spanish, none of my students would be able to follow along.

Mini Lesson Reflection 2

4. As a part of the class, how can you relate this activity to the experience of ELL

students in an English speaking classroom?

As a student in the class, I found it hard to follow along to the teachers using

various languages. I had been used to Spanish due to growing up in a household where it was

occasionally used. Yet, when the one group spoke in German and French, I was completely lost.

I was struggling to say the words correctly when asked, and could not understand what was

being taught unless there was a visual. I can relate to ELL students struggling to understand what

is being taught because I was in the same boat. Without visuals, I would have had no clue as to

what was being taught and would have done poorly on any assessment.

5. Overall, what do you think the purpose of this activity?

The purpose of this activity was to be empathetic of the struggles of ELL

students. It gave us a taste of how it was to teach students who do not speak English, and how it

felt to be a student who was being taught in a foreign language. This activity will help me in the

future when I have ELL students because I can understand some of the hurdles they will

experience in the classroom.