Aria and youtube videos on teaching bilinguals (reflection)

 When watching the first video the speaker made a very good point. It was that each student who is bilingual brings something different valuable to that learning environment. Although teachers may find it challenging at first, if they can figure it out the learning environment will actually be very different but strong. I see this firsthand when I go to my service learning. Many of the kids are bilingual and still learning to be fluent in English. The teacher doesn't speak Spanish and sometimes it can be tough for her. Although she doesn't speak Spanish, she still knows some words and tries to incorporate this into her learning when she can, or it will make it easier for her students. 

    Since she struggles with Spanish, she sometimes doesn't understand what they are saying if they speak in Spanish. I have seen her ask the students what they are saying, and they will translate it for her. Even though the teacher isn't fluent or doesn't know much she still makes a good effort and values the student's language by trying her best to understand. I also think this creates a richer learning environment. This is because it unites the students and teacher by working together. It is very simple but something like this is valuable in my eyes. It engages all the students in translating when needed and allows for students to hear stuff in the language they can speak best. Lastly it allows the students to feel more comfortable since they can speak their most fluent language. This could be easier for them and could possibly increase learning due to them being able to communicate better with their classmates. 

Posters similar to this are on the walls in the classroom and it seems to help students understand better because there is a reference they can actually understand.