I came across a few articles this week that stressed the importance of home learning in terms of speaking vs. writing. While children are often able to quickly pick up a first and/or second language simply through hearing it spoken at home, writing takes a more patient and invested approach. In other words, children are able to pick up on spoken language simply by hearing their parents speak in the house even if there is NO formal instruction by the parents. Reading and writing, on the other hand, requires practice and skills that must be taught to children. There are many parents who are unable to take a vested interest in the education of their children for a variety of reasons which may be no fault of their own. I have seen this at the high school level when working with ELLs on their written essays. The level of writing proficiency is often unbelievably low. However, when I asked a student what message he or she is trying to convey, they were able to speak to me and talk through it with some guidance. Sometimes getting their thoughts on paper in a cohesive manner is the only problem. Many of the students at my internship weren’t taught this skill at home and were just learning how to write a paper for the first time.
Writing is an extremely important aspect of language proficiency, especially for ELLs. It allows for a timely development of thoughts and expression of language appropriate for learners of a new language. Once ELLs have learned to write, they are allowed to carefully think about and choose their words to develop ideas and effectively reiterate experiences in written form. Expressing thoughts and emotions in written form can also, in my experience, be therapeutic which is helpful to many ELLs when they are uprooted from their home country and placed in an unfamiliar setting.
One article I came across stated, “Students write about their lives when provided an opportunity” (McCarthey, 104). I think this is very true, even thinking back to my years in elementary school. I always enjoyed writing stories about my life and my family and things that I had done that week etc. This is why journals can be a great way to engage ELLs in practicing their writing skills. Journals can be collected, with the student’s permission, and read and commented on for feedback and/or simply to show interest in the student’s life and experiences.
Just like in the movie Freedom Writers, the teacher requires that the students (many of whom are minority students) write in a journal about anything they want. She tells them to leave their journals in her classroom if they want them to be read. In the end, every student wanted to be heard.
Sources:
McCarthey, Sarah J. “Risks and Opportunities of Writing from Personal Experience.” Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
wew235 
I also feel writing is an important form of expression, especially for ELLs. My parents only spoke to me in Japanese as a child so I remember being very confused and lonely during my first few years in kindergarten and elementary school. Although I learned to pick up speaking and listening pretty quickly, I was always shy and rarely spoke up. Our weekly journal entries were an opportunity to express myself and I also felt it helped to build my self esteem. I think sharing the journal entries out loud with other students is a great idea as it allows them to have a voice and to share their lives with their peers.