HUDA ALHARBI
Ahmed was 8 years old at the time of observation, and he was studying at an elementary school in second grade in Lawrence, Kansas. He was from Saudi Arabia, and he and his family arrived in the United States in August 2015. He lived with his older brother, father, and mother. Both parents had a college degree and more specifically the father was a graduate student.
Ahmed’s first language is Arabic, and he used it in his house and with his native Arabic friends. I did not examine his proficiency in Arabic, so I did not know about Ahmed's listening, speaking, reading, writing skills in Arabic. He had not learned English or any second language before, but he seemed very excited and cooperative to learn his second language. He would take awhile to acquire his second language because he used English at school only. His family did not speak English at home because his mother had not learned English. However, Ahmed and his brother got help from their father with their homework in any area as needed, since his English is very good. He earned his master and Ph.D. in the United Kingdom where Ahmed and his brother were born.
Ahmed's Background:
My observation setting was an ESL classroom, which was a great environment that was created by Mrs. Tyler who had the experience of teaching English as a second language for 8 years prior to the time of observation. The classroom was rich with educational methods, paintings, pictures, and books designed for different proficiency levels to assist the ESL learners with their learning.
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Mrs. Tyler started working with Ahmed when his regular classroom teacher observed that he was good in reading around ten one-syllable words, knowing almost all English letters, and making almost no progress in acquiring his oral and literacy skills. His ESL teacher said that “he is considered a newcomer-beginner and throughout my years of teaching I have worked with many students who are at the same level as him” (Mrs.Tyler, 2015). She defined his English proficiency level by using a specific test and a rubric. Due to his needs on fundamental language skills, Mrs. Tyler taught Ahmed for four hours weekly and focused on teaching him letters, sounds, and words, but not much in reading large texts.
However, her work was not only to help Ahmed finish what he was missing in his class, but she also focused on other aspects such as comprehension, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Communication is important; when a newcomer came in speaking no or very limited English, there was so much to teach them that it could become overwhelming, but if teachers were able to communicate and work together it made it easier and more efficient.
The school, additionally, is designed to be an appropriate environment for ESL learners. In the lobby of the school, there are around 14 flags for 14 different countries from where their ESL students came. In the school’s library, there are bilingual books, so the students can increase their ability in reading in both their first and second languages. The school also offers a meeting group named the ESL women’s group for all ESL learners’ mothers. They gather and do some activities with their children and their ESL teachers on the first Thursday of every month.
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This case study website compares Ahmed’s development of English acquisition in three specific areas. It is focused on difficulties that he faced in the area of pronunciation errors and difficulties in reading and writing skills. The project gives examples of activities that were given to Ahmed to develop his learning of his second language with my suggestions for increasing his improvement.