How are Adolescents Affected by Moving to a Brand New Place?

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 EQ: How are Adolescents affected by moving to a brand new place? (Specifically a new country)

Focus Questions: Is it more difficult for adolescents to move than their adult counterparts? How do you keep your culture alive in a new place? How long does it take to become fluent in a new language? How long does it take to become academically proficient in another language? In what ways can teachers support English Language Learners (ELLs) to help them learn content? What are some ways that cultural differences cause problems in a new country? How long does it take for an adolescent to feel like their new location is their home?

Overview: I want to explore the difficulties that adolescents face when they move to a brand new place. Specifically, I want to research English Language Learners (ELLs) that have moved to the United States. I want to examine their difficulties and I also want to know what I can do as a teacher to help them feel supported emotionally as well as academically. I want to be able to make connections with students despite the fact that we speak different languages and come from different places. And I want to know how to involve these ELLs in the classroom. They have their own unique perspective and background that is valuable and needs to be heard. 

Why: I selected this topic for a number of reasons. First of all, I am very interested in all of the Hispanic cultures. I have been to Ecuador and Spain and I speak a little bit of Spanish. I also have several friends who are fluent Spanish speakers, including my Ecuadorian sister in law. I have three nieces and two nephews that are being raised bilingual. Three of them because their mom is Ecuadorian, and two of them because my oldest brother is a missionary to Spain. Which brings me to my next point, which is the fact that my oldest niece and nephew are being raised in Spain where they are being educated in a predominantly Spanish speaking school. They have had a tremendously difficult time in the public school because they struggled to ask questions, remain engaged, and feel apart of the school's community. And I don't want any of my students to feel this way. I want to be a teacher that reaches all of her students. 

Titles: Some of the titles I plan to use are La Linea and possibly Sold or Zlata's Diary. I am open to suggestions if anyone has any. 

Resources: I plan on finding articles through the library database that discuss the culture shock that immigrants face as well as it's effect on adolescents. I would also like to research strategies that help teachers include their ELLs in their classroom and the best ways to help these adolescents adapt to this "new" environment. (I put new in quotations because it can take up to seven years for a person to be academically proficient in a language, therefore, a child may still be struggling even after this place is no longer new.)

Claim: Moving to a new place is very hard for adolescents. It can make it difficult to become independent, to maintain one's identity and start on their own path of self discovery. 

Challenges: I think it will be challenging for me to make sure that this does not turn into an educational research project. I need to be sure to focus on the literature and use it to make my points. 

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