Chapter 8: Teaching Teenagers Who Are Still Learning English

Chapter eight dealt with the important issue of being able to adapt teaching to students with different ethnic backgrounds who may not be proficient at speaking English. It can be hard for students to do well in school if they have a language barrier. "It's difficult for us because we don't make a lot of friends. You just make ELD friends, because we be afraid about talking wrong English with other students who speak English. That makes it harder to learn to speak English, if we have no chance to speak" (Fires page 146).
This chapter connects a lot with the early chapters in the book that talk about getting to know one's students. Building that comfort level early on with your students has different benefits. However, making a student who speaks another language comfortable enough to practice English can break down a lot of barriers.