Alumni trio highlight benefits of native language use in the classroom

There is a common misconception in the education community that allowing students who are English-language learners (ELLs) to use their first language in the classroom will slow down their English learning process. Three Rider University graduates are working to change that. 

Dana Nelson ’20, Anna Rose Gable ’19 and Adrianna Reyes ’19 met while they were classmates in Rider’s post-baccalaureate teacher certification in English as a second language (ESL) program. Gable and Reyes also earned their Master of Arts in Teaching degrees.

Nelson recalls that when she began the program, she was surprised to discover that what she was being taught in her ESL courses was not common knowledge among all educators. “In fact,” she says, “we learned things in ESL that contradicted what many well-meaning educators, families and even students believe.”

Chief among them was the idea that teachers should discourage the use of students’ first language. Nelson explains that the best practice is, in fact, to scaffold, or support, English learning with the native language. “This is especially helpful for complex ideas as well as instructions for academic work,” she says.

While attending the 2018 New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) Convention, Nelson and her classmates noted that of the approximately 300 presentations, very few were aimed at sharing knowledge and best practices for teaching ELLs. 

This experience sparked the idea that they could take a leadership role in this area. Working in partnership with their professor, Dr. Maria Villalobos-Buehner, they proposed, prepared and presented a talk at the 2019 convention titled, Preservice Teachers: Creating Inclusive Learning Environments for English Learners. 

“It was nerve wracking, but it was a highlight of my educational experience at Rider and a sign of Dr. Villalbos-Buehner’s commitment to her students and her field that she shared so much of her time, energy and expertise with us on this project,” Nelson says.

Inspired by this experience, Nelson, Gable and Reyes teamed up again for a presentation at the 2020 NJEA Convention. This one was titled, Harnessing the Power of the Native Language for ELLs. For this talk, which was attended remotely by approximately 140 educators, the focus was on when, why and how often English-language learners should use their first language in the classroom.

The presentation highlighted the numerous benefits of using the native language, such as affirming the learner’s identity and culture, encouraging bilingualism, communicating inclusion, and expanding the range of the learner’s communication.

They also demonstrated techniques for incorporating the learner’s first language into the instructional process, even when the teacher is not fluent in that language. As an example, they modeled how to teach and solve word problems that were written in Tagalog, a language spoken in the Philippines. 

Thanks to the diverse backgrounds of the three presenters — Reyes is an elementary school teacher in Summit, N.J., Nelson teaches middle school in Highland Park, N.J., and Gable is a high school teacher in Princeton, N.J. — they were able to make the presentation applicable to instructors at all grade levels.

Nelson says she first became passionate about becoming an ELL teacher when she lived in France and Germany as a young adult, and saw firsthand the differences between learning a foreign language as an academic pursuit and learning to speak the dominant language of the country where you live. “The added motivation of being able to use the language in daily life rocket-powered my learning,” she says.

Through her experience living abroad, she developed a greater appreciation for the courage and resilience of immigrant families, and the challenges children face as they adjust to a new culture and language.  

ESL teachers can play a big role in easing the transition, as the skills they teach go far beyond helping students to learn English.

“We are responsible for teaching language to support social and instructional success, as well as success in English language arts, math, science, and social studies,” she says. “We are trying to communicate and build knowledge using language as a tool. Using the first language helps tremendously.” 

Nelson, Gable and Reyes are hopeful that they can continue as presenters at NJEA conventions in 2021 and beyond. Topics they’d like to explore include strategies to build self-confidence and support linguistic risk-taking among ESL students, as well as ways to enhance communication and collaboration among teachers to support ELLs.

“Anna Rose, Adriana and I are committed to helping our own students and excited about sharing what we've learned with other educators,” says Nelson. “We are all grateful for the experiences, knowledge and inspiration we gained from the program and faculty at Rider.”