Chapter 8: Teaching Students Who Are Still Learning English

I learned a lot from this chapter because I have never been in an ESL classroom so seeing what the students thought was great for me. "Looking past language mistakes" (150) this would be very important for teachers because we need to understand that if English is not their first language it would be hard not to make mistakes while taking in boat loads of information in English. We must praise what they have learned and complement often at the hard work they are doing and their new abilities. When I was in high school I took French as a foreign language and it was so difficult for me, I was able to speak but not able to write and this make homework and projects very hard for me. My teacher knew that I was having difficulties and worked with me after school everyday, having the one on one time with her helped me so much and I was able to write much better and felt more confident in front of my classmates. This was all due to her constant praise and helpfulness.