I teach Ukrainian refugees on job training on Wednesdays. Mondays and Wednesdays I teach Central and South Americans in Intermediate Grammar. As an English as a Second Language teacher, I am familiar with the education Equally for many years ESL teachers, Krashen and Terrell[1]<\/a> have charted a course for teachers navigating a classroom that has students who 1) Know no English, 2) May not be literate in their own language, 3) have never been in a class environment (Many of my Afghanistan and African women were never allowed in school) and 4) have no computer tech skills (or cell phone app skills).<\/p>\n For refugees, fear of the classroom (and its unknowns – affective filters\/cross cultural barriers<\/strong>) arrive on the first day of class.\u00a0 Much is racing through their minds, education barriers abound. I use food and tea, by the way, to break through some of those barriers.\u00a0 It is all about meeting them where they are and making them at ease.<\/p>\n Understanding their background<\/strong> (what they know) and linking it to what I teach are one of my teacher tools. Scaffolding<\/strong> comes next.\u00a0 Having some linguistic rung to which they can grab and start climbing peppers my handouts and activities.<\/p>\n Children up to age 12, it is said, can learn every sound that the voice\/mouth\/tongue can make. How do we break down these barriers in the US for internationals?<\/p>\n Content based instruction is used in our schools for children who speak another language at home.\u00a0 They learn English while simultaneously learning biology, math, history etc\u2026\u00a0 The idea is comprehensive input.\u00a0 The students are FOCUSED on the history lesson.\u00a0 The vocabulary and dialogue that comes with learning about the pyramids (with pictures\/videos etc) provide the background (something they recognize) and the then the teacher creates the scaffolding where they linguistically put two and two together.\u00a0 Pir\u00e1mide in Spanish is Pyramid in English\u2026.Ah, I get it know (says the student).\u00a0 Connections are made.<\/p>\n Part 2: \u041c\u043e\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0442 \u0410\u0433\u0430 (Russian) The Aha Moment OR Momentul Aha<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cA threshold concept can be considered as akin to a portal, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something.\u201d[3]<\/a> (p.4)<\/p>\n It is wonderful to see when the light bulb goes on in the ESL classrom.\u00a0 The AHA moment.<\/p>\n Moving out of the ESL classroom.\u00a0 When do Aha\/threshold\/portal moments happen?\u00a0 Catrinesu says\u2026Let our minds rest. She describes the Default Mode Network (DMN), which activates when we close our eyes. Brains at rest, let our brains do nothing, she says. During that state of DMN is when new connections are made for neurons (closed eyes and rest has become the dating service of the brain).\u00a0 Genius, she says, is not a chance occurrence.<\/p>\n Ina Catrinescu<\/strong> (Moldovan)\u2013 speaks to the Aha Moments: See Aha! Moments: The art & science of breakthroughs | Ina Catrinescu | TEDxTirguMures https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FDNy9HFEcaM<\/a><\/p>\n Skip to: Doing nothing at the 9:10 minute mark.<\/p>\n Matt Golden<\/strong> in, The search for “aha!” moments, speaks to innovate ideas in the theater. Skip to 3:15 Innovative ideas<\/p>\n Lisa Highfil<\/strong>l, uses Hyper docs in her Before the Aha Moment – A Look at Learning | Lisa Highfill | Establishing Hyper docs. TEDxRidderParkDriveEDhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6spD61HT9rE<\/p>\n Skip to 6:31 Teachers are the architects of Learning Experiences<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong>:\u00a0 On a particular bad day (I was having a not so spiritual argument with a Dutch missionary), I was fuming in my angry little world.\u00a0 An African refugee girl walked into my community center (which was closed\u2026she just walked in) and started talking to me. She chatted for about 5 minutes until I asked her if she knew who I was.\u00a0 She said, \u201cYes, you are them man who tells us stories.\u201d (Of Christ).<\/p>\n \u201cYes, baby girl”, I said, ” I am.\u201d\u00a0 My spiritual AHA moment.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Mahnke, Kathleen. 1985. \u201cTHE NATURAL APPROACH: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN THE CLASSROOM, Stephen D. Krashen and Tracy D. Terrell. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1983. Pp. vi + 191.\u201d Studies in Second Language Acquisition 7 (3): 364\u201365. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S0272263100005659.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ESLruss.jpg\")
<\/a> barriers that refugees come with.\u00a0 For years ESL teachers have walked into classrooms all over the world where English is NOT spoken and BAM the class begins.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n
\nThey are natural linguists.\u00a0 Then with the onset of puberty (plus attitude!), the natural \u201cacquisition\u201d of language changes.\u00a0 \u201cLearning\u201d a language becomes more cognitive<\/u><\/strong> as they grow older.\u00a0 Then as they mature \u201chow they think about learning\u201d metacognitively <\/u><\/strong>assists them in learning a language. (Meyer and Land 2006)[2]<\/a>.\u00a0 While Anastasia Efklides, Chapter 4 Metacognition, affect, and conceptual difficulty, <\/em>focuses on mathematics (something I no longer do in public), teachers of ESL live in the world of metacognition.\u00a0 How do my students learn, what will break down the barriers to the ESL learning?\u00a0 Activities, role plays, games become tools in our ESL toolbag to breakdown the education barriers.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n