The other day, I was observing an English 11 Prep class that had just been given a poem to analyse and a worksheet to fill out with their analysis. While walking around trying to help, I noticed a table comprised of mostly international students that hadn’t written anything on their sheets yet. I asked if they had read the poem yet and one girl said she was trying but it was difficult to understand the English. She seemed really distressed that they were supposed to be looking deeper into a relatively long poem when she couldn’t even really get a grasp on what the language was saying. So, we started to read the poem together, line by line, and I helped her break it up so she could understand the poem more. Two other girls listened in, and we were able to make some sense of the poem together, get them more comfortable with it and start to think about the worksheet. They thanked me when the bell went, and seemed calmer.
It was a really rewarding moment for me, as it was one of the first times I felt I could be truly helpful to a student. The experience also really opened my eyes to how diverse the needs can be in the classroom as well. Although the class is meant for learners that may need a little more time learning English, these girls were struggling so much more than the other students. Tasks that we take for granted as being relatively straightforward can be so much more difficult and sometimes anxiety-inducing for ELL students. Moving forward from this experience, I will definitely give more thought about how lessons may be difficult for ELL students and how I can alleviate some of that difficulty.