In considering the theme of respecting and honoring students, Gonzalez cites, “They’re doing twice the job of everybody else in the class, even though the result looks like half as much.” this is a statement I agree with. I have experienced working with these ENL students and I keep in mind it is not about “grade level work” since they are learning a culture (English reading and writing) while simultaneously and learning math. We are teaching children not content and these students are growing exponentially in expressing themselves in English not their first language. I often think of how exhausting this must be bombarded each day. To support English Language learners during math, I do my best to make all the learning hands-on with manipulatives and engage the students in uncovering the meaning of the math concepts and vocabulary. We often act out the story problems to deepen their understanding so they are not just plucking numbers from the story. I demonstrate how to do the work being asked of them. Then the students work together when solving problems. I have students who come to school with little or no English speaking and we have to start with counting in English using the counting chart as a visual learning to build numbers, recognize and pronounce the numbers 0 to 20. I find it valuable to contact ENL teachers to get background on the students and any tips or suggestions. I also work with all of my students to talk like mathematicians. I will model a math statement such as 5 and 10 more is the same as 15 for 5 + 10 = 15. I will have each of the students in the small group repeat the statement to gain experience with this skill. With math learners, it is perhaps easier to see results of growth in learning since at the elementary level, the learning can be so concrete. Students can directly demonstrate the math task. One additional layer that I have them practice is writing a math sentence to solve the work and stretch math vocabulary. This is all done with direct support.
