Of Course, Some Practical Ideas and Strategies

     Of course, I couldn't leave this blog without providing some practical ideas that you may want to use in your classroom. I think the above quote is a great way to think about teaching in general but for the case of EAL learners it is especially important. No two students language skills will develop at the same rate or in the exact same way. Each student will reach benchmarks at their own pace but these are some things that you may want to use to help your students feel comfortable and keep them engaged in their learning!

Impact on Future Students and Changes to Teacher Identity

dobrý den, sbohem (Czech)

     Throughout my inquiry project I have gained valuable knowledge and have realized that some of my ways of thinking have changed. I have made some changes to my teacher identity will have a different approach when it come to teaching newcomer students and EAL learners. Some strategies that I have learned and ways of thinking that I have been exposed to have helped shape how I think about immigrant and refugee education.

So What Are The Answers?

Let me return to my inquiry questions...

My broad question is: 

• What are the most effective strategies teachers can use to create safe spaces within schools for immigrants and refugees?

My sub-questions are:

•  How can we make community education spaces comfortable for immigrant and refugee students? Does place based education help EAL learners gain valuable English skills? 
• What are the benefits of having EAL students use their native language in order to make them feel comfortable? How can we incorporate space into this strategy? 
• How can different places assist for our assessment of English benchmarks according to the Common Framework of Reference (CFR)? (The CFR and various other EAL documents can be found here).

     I believe that my completed research (through readings and community engagement) has aided in answering the above questions. It has also presented me with new questions.

I will first start by addressing my sub-questions individually...

Helpful Resources (Reference List)

     There were many helpful books and articles that helped shape my thinking when it came to my inquiry project. There are so many resources out there that sometimes it was hard to narrow down exactly what I should read or watch. My project didn't go exactly in the direction that I had originally thought (specific strategies are hard to come by and some strategies may not work in all situations) but these resources helped me along the course of this term.

The Community Connection - Expanding the Space (ELC and Community Engagement)

The spaces in which I chose to do my community engagement and our ecological learning community each had their own unique qualities and allowed me to observe how they made a safe and welcoming space for the people who frequent their place.

Since I am attending the University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, SK), I will speak to the organizations and places that I visited within my community (similar places may exist in other communities). I will discuss practices and ideas that I got from visiting these different places and how they can be brought into creating a safe classroom and school.
There were some recurring themes within all these spaces. One of the things I learned through talking with the Saskatoon Public Schools EAL Superintendent was "you can't anticipate everything".  This simple, yet powerful quote, I think sums up EAL education and creating a welcoming and safe space for these students. Another recurring theme along the same lines that came from my meetings with the Saskatoon Open Door Society and Global Gathering Place was - there is no one size fits all. There is a reason that these places have such a diverse array of programming, everyone needs something a little different in order to be successful.

Important: The Iceberg Concept of Culture

     When we think of culture, many things are likely to come to mind. These thoughts will not be the same for everyone and will vary depending on a persons experiences and background knowledge. Culture plays a huge role in making new students feel comfortable and school itself is its own culture that newcomer students will have to learn to navigate. A common theme that I've come across throughout my readings and community engagement experiences is that culture is so important to making students feel comfortable within the classroom. Sharing their culture can give the students  a feeling that they are understood and that they belong. The "Iceberg Concept of Culture" came to me through a cultural bridging presentation from the Saskatoon Open Door Society and I feel that it is an important concept that can help teachers better understand their newcomer students and families.

"Just Imagine..." - An Introduction

Just imagine, you come to a country... you don't speak the language very well, if at all... you don't understand the customs... what is this white stuff that we always have on the ground?! There will be many overwhelming parts about coming to a new place. School can be a big cause of anxiety with the children of these new families because they may come from a place where school is entirely different or their previous schooling is non-existant. It is our job, as teachers, to help aid in the transition to a new country as well as make them feel comfortable within a classroom full of other students.

As part of my final semester of study for my Bachelor of Education degree I have chosen to do my inquiry project on creating safe spaces for new immigrant and refugee families who are coming into our school systems.