Throughout the first 6 weeks of this course, we have all
been introduced to many ways technology can be used in the classroom in order
to help our English Language Learners. We learned that videos are a great way
to engage these students and to provide them with a voice in a world that might
be difficult for them. I chose to write
about an article that I found, “Central Voice Members Use Video to Increase
Understanding”. In this article, a group
of English Language Learners from Central High School in Westerville, Ohio. This group of students are a part of an after
school program called ESL Central Voice Club.
They formed this group this past year in order to “promote understanding
and friendship between people from diverse cultural backgrounds”. The video titled, We the People, is about 15
minutes long. The goal of the video was
for these students to have a voice and to express how they are not that different
from everyone else. The students in the
group are from Kenya, Palestine, Peru, Somalia, Syria, Thailand, and
Yemen.
This video is very powerful as the students explain what it
feels like to be a teenager in America today.
One student, Mariana from Venezuela, recalls that on her first day in America
she had to take a test. Mo, from Syria
shared how people talk to him differently, like he is stupid. Other words that
the students used to express how they felt were, confused, alone, awkward. When asked why they left their country, most explained
that it was due to civil war. One
student explains that when they left their country, they thought that they
would be welcomed here, but that was not the case.
Videos are a great way for students to promote awareness and
express themselves. This group of
students did a great job of doing both.
The students demonstrated what they have been through and how it has
affected it. I ask that if you have a
moment, please watch this video and share with as many people as you can.
Reference:
Kuhlman, M.K. (2017, June 14). Central Voice members use
video to increase understanding.
Retrieved June 20, 2017, from http://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20170613/central-voice--members-use-video-to-increase-understanding
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