David Guelph

Observation Log

1. What techniques/methods/strategies do you see being used with the ELL/LEP student(s)?

Are they effective? Why or why not? (Either specifically for the ELL student(s) or in

whole class/small group instruction)

In the class I observed there was one ELL student. He was Spanish and spoke little

English, when asked a question by the instructor he would answer in very short sentences or

remain silent. A strategy used with this student was shadowing. The ELL student sat next to

a student who was also Spanish and was pretty good with both English and Spanish. He

would talk to the ELL student in Spanish to offer explanations to assignments, so he could

fully understand it and for group work they would always be partners. When I tutored after

school at MidValley there was one student who came a few times who was ELL. She spoke

English very well but was in the learning process at one point. I noticed that she had an

audio version of the textbook, so she could both read and hear the words. She also had a

dictionary with her so if a word that was unfamiliar came up she could look it up and see

what it meant and how to pronounce it.

2. Do you notice any student behaviors that you would consider “out of the ordinary”?

Please describe in detail. (This applies to both the ELL student(s) and other classroom

students)

I noticed that the ELL student in the class was very quiet among most of his

peers. He rarely spoke, and when he did it was usually in Spanish to the student he was

shadowing. He never raised his hand to answer or ask the instructor any questions but
 instead would ask his friend any questions he had. I also noticed that they were seated

off to the side of the room compared to the rest of the class. Most other students desks

were positioned into groups of 4 or 6 but the ELL student and the student he was

shadowing were seated next to each other with no other students in their group and

positioned right next to the chalk board. I think this was so when the ELL student asked

questions in Spanish to his friend it would not distract other students.

3. What type of interactions do you see between the ELL student(s), other classroom students,

and the teacher(s)? Please describe in detail.

I noticed that the ELL student sat and mostly interacted with another Spanish student

sitting next to him. The Spanish student next to him was fluent in both English and Spanish and

when the ELL student had questions about in class assignments or homework they would talk in

Spanish to each other. The student was relatively quiet around the other students but would

laugh or smile if another student told a joke or did something funny. The teacher did not interact

extra with the ELL student than he did with any other student but if the student had a question I

noticed the teacher would talk in a slower and softer tone to him.

4. Identify resources/materials that are being used with the ELL student(s). Please describe

in detail how the ELL student is using them. Do they appear to be effective? Explain.

A resource the student in the class I observed used was another student. The ELL

student followed another student who was able to speak both English and Spanish. They

were given the same schedule together and because the one student could speak both

English and Spanish well, he was able to translate words and procedures the ELL student

did not understand. While this seemed to be very effective because the ELL student was

still on an early stage of acquiring the English language, a concern is that if he gets to
 used to just asking the other student questions in Spanish it could become a crutch. A

resource the student I tutored use was having a dictionary with her. This resource seemed

effective as she only seemed to use it when completely necessary, she did not abuse it.

5. Does the classroom environment seem to be comfortable for the ELL student(s)? Please

describe the environment and explain how you made your decision.

The classroom environment seemed to be comfortable for the ELL student. By the time I

started observing the class it was well into the spring semester and the student had been in the

class for the full year, so it seemed like he had adjusted to the everyday schedule and was used to

the class. He knew when to take notes and when to write down assignments and the student next

to him who also spoke Spanish would usually explain assignments to him after the teacher was

done speaking.

6.) What’s the “comfort” level of the ELL student(s) in regards to the English language?

What observations help you arrive at your decision? Refer to the Vocabulary

Performance Indicators. At what level would you place the ELL student? How did you

decide on that level?

The two different ELL students were at completely different comfort levels of the

English language. The girl that I tutored at MidValley was very comfortable in speaking the

English Language. She spoke completely in English when talking to me and for the most

part had correct grammar. I would put her at Level 4 because she had the ability to speak and

write fluently in English. However, one area where she was still learning was using grade

level vocabulary, which is why she carried a dictionary with her.

 The student in the class however was not nearly as comfortable with the English

language. He was very quiet and spoke mostly in Spanish. I would occasionally hear him

speak short phrases and sentences in English but they were usually very choppy. He seemed

much more comfortable speaking in Spanish, while just being able to speak small parts of

English. He did, however, seem to understand most things the teacher said to him, he would

just use the student he shadowed as confirmation to make sure he understood the instructor. I

would place him at Level 2.

7. If you feel comfortable enough to ask, ask the cooperating teacher (or ESL teacher) what type

of accomodations/modifications they have to make for the ELL student(s). Please describe the

types of accomodations/modifications that were discussed. Do they appear on the checklist?

Why/why not do you think they are present/not present on the checklist?

Because I was not in a classroom setting this semester I was basing my observations from

when I observed at Riverside Highschool the year prior. I was unable to ask what

accommodations had to be made for the student, the only one I can recall was that he was given

the same schedule as the student he shadowed. The ELL girl I tutored at MidValley this

semester mentioned to me that she had an IEP, I am not sure what was included in it though.