Teaching Children to Read, Listen & Write Better in English

   A teacher can do many things with a blog to enhance the teaching/learning process. I plan on making this blog an integral part of my class. Before I discuss how this blog will be utilized, I will describe my teaching context.

   My classroom itself will be situated in a large public elementary school, located in Austin, Texas. Class size is approximately 15-20 students. The school has sufficient funding; its new computer lab is one of the most prized resources. My learners are in the 2nd Grade, so the majority of them are 7 or 8 years old. They have been educated before this (Kindergarten & 1st Grade) and their native language is Spanish. The students have been placed in my ESL classroom because they share a common goal of becoming proficient in English. Most of them have been exposed to the language before but still struggle with Reading, Writing, and Listening Comprehension. Their parents and previous ESL teachers have brought them to their current level.

   These 2nd Graders need to learn English for multiple reasons: basic living, schooling (both now and in the future), future employment, etc. Their families have moved to Austin for various reasons and are now permanent residents. Due to these reasons stated above, most of my learners have assimilative/integrative motivation so they can blend into the American culture and socially participate.

How will this blog promote successful language learning in my classroom?

1) 3 Areas of Focus: Reading, Writing, and Listening Comprehension

2) Links to useful online learning resources for my students

Ex. interactive grammar quizzes, vocab. activities, listening sites, and readings related

to what we're learning in class

3) Student Involvement (Students will be required to visit this site weekly. They will receive assignments on it but also be given opportunities to provide feedback/input about the class blog.)

4) I will post important class announcements on it.

5) I will provide "good examples" of any techniques/rules we discuss.

6) I will be flexible and post any additional, fun resources I find. 

Ex. If I find an interesting resource about the American culture, I will include it so my students can benefit from it.

I hope this introductory posting has given you all an idea about how I intend to use this blog As for comments, any comments I will take as constructive criticism. I personally do not have any teaching experience, so I would love to hear some real-life examples or approaches that have or haven't worked in your classrooms. I am excited to see where this takes me...