Language Development: High School
Assessment Questions (page 99)
1. Imagine that you are a new high school teacher like Mr. Matthews. What might you want to know about the brain and its development in adolescence? Think of some specific questions you might have. If I was a new high school teacher, I would want to know in what stage of development the brain is in during the high school years. I would want to know this so that I can set reasonable expectations for my students. I would also want to know so that I can see if any students are behind or if there are some students who are greatly advanced. I would specifically want to know where the development is for analytical and creative thinking. Because I plan on being a language teacher in a high school, I would also like to know how teenagers' brains absorb information (slowly with repetition, etc) and also how teenagers' brains learn languages best. I know that when children are very young, their brain is like a sponge and they are able to learn languages very quickly. I know that this is not the case in high school, though, so I would like to learn a little more about that.
2. In your opinion, is British literature developmentally appropriate for juniors in high school? What about freshmen? I believe that British literature is developmentally appropriate for juniors in high school. I believe that the language capabilities of juniors in high school is advanced enough to be able to read and decipher British literature. I know that reading British literature, especially older British literature such as Shakespeare, can be hard, but I believe that with the help of the teacher, juniors in high school should be able to understand it. I do not believe that freshmen should have British literature because I feel that they need a little more development in order to handle it. I am sure that some freshmen could handle it, but I do believe that their mind needs to develop a little more in order to be able to read and see meaning in older British literature.
3. What aspects of language development should a high school teacher be concerned about? A high school teacher should be concerned about the vocabulary of his or her students as well as the overall language of the student, for example is he or she speaks properly or if he or she uses a lot of slang in their speech and written work. A high school teacher should also be aware of how the student uses their words to communicate; some students have problems conveying their thoughts into words while other students have no problem at all. A high school teacher needs to be aware of differences in language development in order to not leave any students out or to under-challenge students.
Reflect and Evaluate (page 147)
1. Describe the language achievements of students from elementary through high school. Why might reading material such as A Tale in Two Cities be challenging for adolescents? Between elementary school and high school, students understanding and use of figurative language develops greatly. They are better able to understand what the figurative language means and do not think that the figurative language should be taken literally. Reading A Tale in Two Cities might be difficult for adolescents because students do not master complex figurative language until late adolescence, usually after high school. They may not be able to understand the figurative language used in the novel and therefore understand it incorrectly and be very confused.
2. What techniques did Mr. Matthews use to foster language development in his students? What other recommendations would you suggest to Mr. Matthews? Mr. Matthews used discussion to see where the students' understanding level of the book was. When he saw that the students did not know very much, he decided to give them background information on the book so that they could better understand it. The next day the students come in to class and Mr. Matthews tells them that they will be performing skits of the play. The students a few days later were asked by Mr. Matthews to discuss the book in groups and then write down some notes in a notebook. I would recommend that Mr. Matthews have discussions about the scene they saw when they did the skits; I think it is a great idea for him to have the students act out skits and he could then use that to start discussions by asking questions, such as why did a character do a certain thing or what should the character do next. I also believe that the small group discussions and writing could be turned into a class discussion as well.
3. What recommendations would you suggest to Mr. Matthews for supporting the language skills of bilingual students like Demeri? I would suggest that Mr. Matthews pays a little extra attention to Demeri. Because his English is two grade levels behind and there is no separate bilingual program, I believe that he just needs to periodically check to see if Demeri is understanding the material. I do not believe that there is much else that he can do, seeing as how he cannot really incorporate Spanish into the course nor can he lower the level of English to Demeri's level of understanding; it would not be good to lower the level for all of the other students in the class. I think the best thing that Mr. Matthews can do is to check up on Demeri, offer extra help, and continue to explain the novel in English words that Demeri is familiar with so that Demeri and the rest of the class is able to understand it better.
4. What if some of the students in this case had language impairments? What recommendations would you suggest to Mr. Matthews for supporting the language skills of students with language impairments in his British literature class? If some of the students had language impairments, I would recommend that Mr. Matthews works a little more with them and checks on them to see how they are understanding the material. I also believe that if he encouraged them to speak more in class that may help and I believe that acting out the book will help the students see and understand the novel a little better. Mr. Matthews could also explain the material a little more to the students in a little more basic language so that the students who have specific language impairment may be able to understand better. For those students with stuttering, I believe that Mr. Matthews should just be patient when those students answer and allow them to answer as much as possible. I would also recommend to him that he encourages those students with speech problems to speak in class more so than they do in order to get more practice speaking and possibly improve their speech a little, or at least improve their confidence.
5. Imagine that you are at a school board meeting regarding bilingual educaation. Make a persuasive argument for K-12 two-way bilingual immersion (TWBI) bassed on the particular benefits to adolescents who have participated in TWBI programs. Two-way bilingual immersion should be used in kindergarten through 12th grade because of its benefits for the children. Knowing two languages is extremely beneficial for adolescents and if we have the ability to allow them to be bilingual I do not understand why we would not. We would open up so many doors for the students because they would be able to interact with so many more people and have a myriad of job opportunities open up for them, It has also been shown that students who were enrolled in two-way bilingual immersion since elementary school have very positive attitudes about school when they are in high school. Most students hate school when they are in high school. It also helps when the students are younger to be able to interact with someone who is fluent in English when you are not quite fluent or with someone who is fluent in Spanish when you are not quite fluent. The two-way bilingual immersion should be implemented in kindergarten through 12th grade because it would open up many opportunities for the students and it would also make their view of school more positive.
Image URLs:
http://www.dliflc.edu/pageassets/images/LanguageResourceslogo_updated.jpg http://www.core.org.cn/mirrors/jhsph/ocw.jhsph.edu/courses/AdolescentHealthDevelopment/homePageImage.jpg
1. Imagine that you are a new high school teacher like Mr. Matthews. What might you want to know about the brain and its development in adolescence? Think of some specific questions you might have. If I was a new high school teacher, I would want to know in what stage of development the brain is in during the high school years. I would want to know this so that I can set reasonable expectations for my students. I would also want to know so that I can see if any students are behind or if there are some students who are greatly advanced. I would specifically want to know where the development is for analytical and creative thinking. Because I plan on being a language teacher in a high school, I would also like to know how teenagers' brains absorb information (slowly with repetition, etc) and also how teenagers' brains learn languages best. I know that when children are very young, their brain is like a sponge and they are able to learn languages very quickly. I know that this is not the case in high school, though, so I would like to learn a little more about that.
2. In your opinion, is British literature developmentally appropriate for juniors in high school? What about freshmen? I believe that British literature is developmentally appropriate for juniors in high school. I believe that the language capabilities of juniors in high school is advanced enough to be able to read and decipher British literature. I know that reading British literature, especially older British literature such as Shakespeare, can be hard, but I believe that with the help of the teacher, juniors in high school should be able to understand it. I do not believe that freshmen should have British literature because I feel that they need a little more development in order to handle it. I am sure that some freshmen could handle it, but I do believe that their mind needs to develop a little more in order to be able to read and see meaning in older British literature.
3. What aspects of language development should a high school teacher be concerned about? A high school teacher should be concerned about the vocabulary of his or her students as well as the overall language of the student, for example is he or she speaks properly or if he or she uses a lot of slang in their speech and written work. A high school teacher should also be aware of how the student uses their words to communicate; some students have problems conveying their thoughts into words while other students have no problem at all. A high school teacher needs to be aware of differences in language development in order to not leave any students out or to under-challenge students.
Reflect and Evaluate (page 147)
1. Describe the language achievements of students from elementary through high school. Why might reading material such as A Tale in Two Cities be challenging for adolescents? Between elementary school and high school, students understanding and use of figurative language develops greatly. They are better able to understand what the figurative language means and do not think that the figurative language should be taken literally. Reading A Tale in Two Cities might be difficult for adolescents because students do not master complex figurative language until late adolescence, usually after high school. They may not be able to understand the figurative language used in the novel and therefore understand it incorrectly and be very confused.
2. What techniques did Mr. Matthews use to foster language development in his students? What other recommendations would you suggest to Mr. Matthews? Mr. Matthews used discussion to see where the students' understanding level of the book was. When he saw that the students did not know very much, he decided to give them background information on the book so that they could better understand it. The next day the students come in to class and Mr. Matthews tells them that they will be performing skits of the play. The students a few days later were asked by Mr. Matthews to discuss the book in groups and then write down some notes in a notebook. I would recommend that Mr. Matthews have discussions about the scene they saw when they did the skits; I think it is a great idea for him to have the students act out skits and he could then use that to start discussions by asking questions, such as why did a character do a certain thing or what should the character do next. I also believe that the small group discussions and writing could be turned into a class discussion as well.
3. What recommendations would you suggest to Mr. Matthews for supporting the language skills of bilingual students like Demeri? I would suggest that Mr. Matthews pays a little extra attention to Demeri. Because his English is two grade levels behind and there is no separate bilingual program, I believe that he just needs to periodically check to see if Demeri is understanding the material. I do not believe that there is much else that he can do, seeing as how he cannot really incorporate Spanish into the course nor can he lower the level of English to Demeri's level of understanding; it would not be good to lower the level for all of the other students in the class. I think the best thing that Mr. Matthews can do is to check up on Demeri, offer extra help, and continue to explain the novel in English words that Demeri is familiar with so that Demeri and the rest of the class is able to understand it better.
4. What if some of the students in this case had language impairments? What recommendations would you suggest to Mr. Matthews for supporting the language skills of students with language impairments in his British literature class? If some of the students had language impairments, I would recommend that Mr. Matthews works a little more with them and checks on them to see how they are understanding the material. I also believe that if he encouraged them to speak more in class that may help and I believe that acting out the book will help the students see and understand the novel a little better. Mr. Matthews could also explain the material a little more to the students in a little more basic language so that the students who have specific language impairment may be able to understand better. For those students with stuttering, I believe that Mr. Matthews should just be patient when those students answer and allow them to answer as much as possible. I would also recommend to him that he encourages those students with speech problems to speak in class more so than they do in order to get more practice speaking and possibly improve their speech a little, or at least improve their confidence.
5. Imagine that you are at a school board meeting regarding bilingual educaation. Make a persuasive argument for K-12 two-way bilingual immersion (TWBI) bassed on the particular benefits to adolescents who have participated in TWBI programs. Two-way bilingual immersion should be used in kindergarten through 12th grade because of its benefits for the children. Knowing two languages is extremely beneficial for adolescents and if we have the ability to allow them to be bilingual I do not understand why we would not. We would open up so many doors for the students because they would be able to interact with so many more people and have a myriad of job opportunities open up for them, It has also been shown that students who were enrolled in two-way bilingual immersion since elementary school have very positive attitudes about school when they are in high school. Most students hate school when they are in high school. It also helps when the students are younger to be able to interact with someone who is fluent in English when you are not quite fluent or with someone who is fluent in Spanish when you are not quite fluent. The two-way bilingual immersion should be implemented in kindergarten through 12th grade because it would open up many opportunities for the students and it would also make their view of school more positive.
Image URLs:
http://www.dliflc.edu/pageassets/images/LanguageResourceslogo_updated.jpg http://www.core.org.cn/mirrors/jhsph/ocw.jhsph.edu/courses/AdolescentHealthDevelopment/homePageImage.jpg