The Refugee Project Part 4: Time to Shine

“For there is always light,

if only we’re brave enough to see it.

If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

-Amanda Gorman

Have you ever just stood in the middle of your classroom, looked around, and noticed that everyone was doing exactly as they were supposed to be doing? And using information they had learned during previous lessons to do so? Maybe not in August or September, (maybe not even in October for that matter!) but eventually? As educators, there is absolutely nothing that brings a greater sense of joy than watching our students begin to naturally, easily, and without prompting, apply what they’ve learned in meaningful ways.  Afterall, that’s the point, right? Some of our students may take a little longer than others to get to there, and that can happen for variety of reasons. For example, when it comes to English Language Learners, there could simply be a ‘silent period’, where the student is ‘soaking-in’ and making sense of the new language, demonstrating their comprehension through movement and actions (in the ELL world this is known as Total Physical Response or TPR), but not quite ready to verbalize.

In the case of my brand-new refugee students, there were multiple reasons that many of them were not quite ready to use the English they had been acquiring during our lessons outside of the lesson itself. First, they hadn’t been in the United States for very long at all and their brains were still processing the events that brought them here in the first place. Next, because they were still very rarely outside of their own community, there wasn’t a real sense of urgency for trying to authentically use the English that they had been learning during our lessons. Finally, their self-confidence was juuusssttt beginning to grow and there was still that fear of making a mistake. These folks were so tenacious and strong, I never doubted that eventually the day would come when they would feel secure and ready to cross the chasm. I just hoped that I would actually be there to see it happen!

So, picture this: we’re sitting on the floor having our English class in a small apartment crowded with women and children, and there is a knock on the door. This alone is unusual because, I learned quickly, typically people just waltz in and out of one another’s apartments at will. So, the ‘lady of the house’ got up from the floor and opened the door to a man holding a clipboard, wearing a lanyard and a warm smile. ‘Hello, how are you?’ he asked. ‘Hello, I am fine thank you’, my student responded. I, along with her own kids and friends in the room, nearly fainted in disbelief. ‘I have some questions’, he proceeded. ‘What is your name?’

‘My name is Azula’, she proudly replied. When I tell you that my heart soared out of my chest in awe and pride and her friends’ beaming eyes were as big as saucers, I am not exaggerating. She was doing it! Azula was using the language expressions and vocabulary that she had been exposed to for weeks in a purposeful, useful way. This particular student seemed to really love our time together but hadn’t felt confident to use her voice in English…until now!

Often (not always, but often) our newcomer students have been through life challenges that we may or may not know about or understand (if you’ve been following this series, you know what I’m talking about!). When we provide opportunities to build trust, to build relationships, to build language in a way that is purposeful, natural, and fun, we are slowly but surely building confidence that will propel our already courageous students forward.

If you haven’t seen the progress that you’ve been hoping for in your students quite yet, don’t give up or be disheartened! In due time, your own students will get that knock on the door, literally or figuratively, that will move them to bravely and confidently shine.

Ready for your ELL students to shine? Just click the contact us below to see how GrapeSEED’s Vocabulary, Songs, Stories, Action Activities, Chants, Poems and Big Books can help!

Looking forward to reading about how this 5-partseries ends? Be sure to look for the 5th and final article coming soon!