Case Study - Anton
Nine year old Anton recently moved to the United States from Russia where he learned to speak Russian and English; however, his family shared with the teacher and school principal that they are unfamiliar the "American way" of life. They are very proud of their heritage and cultural traditions, and have opted to continue speaking only Russian at home.
Anton has always struggled with learning to read and write English while in Russia and is hoping that now being in a traditional American classroom, it will become easier, but is concerned that being unable to fully understand his classmates will make it difficult to make friends.
His classroom teacher, Ms. Cantu, believes it best to ignore his fears and insecurities and continues to teach class without any accommodations for Anton using the "total language immersion' approach.
After a few weeks in his new school Anton is feeling completely lost and depressed with his inability to keep up in class and make friends.
His teacher gives up and decides to refer Anton for special education services because, in her words, "Anton is simply not picking up anything I'm trying to teach him. He sits in the back of the class with his head on his desk, refusing to even try."
Was total language immersion what Anton needed? Why or why not?
What interventions could Anton's teacher implement before talking with the special educator?
Using your textbook as a reference tool, what assessments could have been used to help Ms. Cantu make informed educational decisions for Anton?
Guided Response: Review your classmates posts and respond to at least three. Take the standpoint of the ELL teacher when replying to posts to address how the listed assessment tools and interventions are, or are not, appropriate for Anton. Finally justify your response by citing one source in addition to your textbook to support your post.