Jenni Trautwein: Adding English: A guide to teaching in multilingual classrooms

Summary:

Elizabeth Coelho’s book, Adding English: A guide to teaching in multilingual classrooms, is a resource for educators working, or about to work, with English language learners (ELL). Broken down into four sections and thirteen chapters, the text outlines the journey of the English as a Second Language (ESL) student, from his/her introduction into the classroom to the acquisition of actual language skills. The practices described in her book guide educators through the process, outlining challenges faced by ELLs and how to gear lessons towards student success. Each chapter ends with a list of resources including books and articles, videos, websites, and other online content so that the reader can learn more about each subject.

The author is an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instructor herself, who has dedicated her teaching career to developing language instructional techniques for fellow educators to use with their students. Her passion and knowledge of the multilingual classroom is evident in the thoroughness with which she approaches the subject and her book communicates that understanding to the reader.

Section 1: A Welcoming Environment

            This section deals with the subject of the inclusive classroom. It can sometimes be difficult to create an atmosphere of community when a class consists of students who have such varied linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Coelho discusses activities and different support strategies that can be integrated into the class to make every student feel both valued and welcome.

Section 2: How English Works

            Everything from the sound system (phonetics) of English to vocabulary and the written word are detailed in this section. Frequency words, subject specific words, and features of different types of texts are discussed as well as some things that native English speakers take for granted, such as intonation and context. Coelho outlines methods to increase an ELL’s skills in these areas and describes how to keep students motivated when faced with such overwhelming content.

Section 3: The Language Learning Environment

            In this section, Coelho really focuses on how to support language learners. An emphasis is placed on understanding second language acquisition and how it affects students emotionally and educationally. Coelho also describes how ESL instruction is organized within the framework of the school system, so that educators can weigh the advantages and disadvantages of varying methods.

Section 4: Language Learning Across the Curriculum

            This portion of the book describes ways of integrating both language and content into instruction. Visuals, writing scaffolds, guided projects, and the arts are some of Coelho’s suggestions for developing understanding within curricular content. Evaluation and other forms of assessment are also discussed.

Critique:

I cannot think of a single reason why every teacher should not have a copy of Adding English: A guide to teaching in multilingual classrooms in their repertoire. The sheer amount of resources and information made available in this book make it incredibly valuable for teachers and students alike. Who would not wish to increase the effectiveness of their instruction by understanding the learning needs of all of his/her students? A silly question, I know, because every teacher approaches their career with the mindset that every student is valuable, and yet, “many students who are new to English when they arrive in an English-language school never receive English language support (Coelho, 2004, pp. 10).”

The Government of Canada estimates that between 240,000 and 265,000 new immigrants will be welcomed into the country in 2014. That is a staggering number of people from a diverse array of social, economic, and cultural backgrounds who may or may not speak English as their primary language. There are some schools that are comprised entirely of students who are acquiring English as a second, third or even fourth language, and many First Nations’ students are actually English language learners, themselves. I think Coelho’s book is vital for teachers precisely for this reason; there is an absolute guarantee that there will be an ELL in the class at some point in a teacher’s career. Educating oneself so that he/she might educate others to the best of his/her ability is really at the heart of educational pedagogy and Elizabeth Coelho’s book facilitates the process.

References

Coelho, E. (2004). Adding English: A guide to teaching in multilingual classrooms. 
            Toronto, ON: Pippin Publishing Corporation.

Coelho, E (n.d.). Multilingual Classrooms: Elizabeth Coelho online. 
            Retrieved March 13, 2014 from http://www.multilingualclassrooms.org
            /#!__welcome/about-elizabeth-coelho

Government of Canada (2013, November 1). Notice – Supplementary Information to the 2014 immigration levels plan. Retrieved March 13, 2014, from http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/notices/2013-11-01.asp