As part of our One Year Later series, we’re sharing the stories of four students who have made remarkable progress with Imagine Learning English in just one year. This is the third post in a four-part series; read part one here and part two here.
Seleny
Seleny, a third grader, was introduced to Imagine Learning English through an after-school program at her school in the fall of 2009. Her parents spoke only Spanish and her little brother – who had just started kindergarten – had very limited English skills.
Seleny could speak English fairly well after several years in school, but she needed some help with her reading skills. That’s where Imagine Learning English came into play.
A family affair
One thing distinguished Seleny from the other students in the computer lab: her mother and little brother sat with her at the computer. Using a headphone splitter, they were able to listen to the computer program along with Seleny. Her little brother liked it because he got to listen to stories and watch Seleny play games. Her mother, Rosy, liked it because she was able to witness firsthand the intervention tool that was helping her daughter. Rosy even admitted that the program was helping with her own English too.
In November 2009, I watched Seleny not only in the computer lab, but in her classroom and in some other extracurricular activities as well. Like many of the students we serve, she was shy and lacked the confidence to fully participate in class. But when she was on the computer, her eyes lit up and you could tell she was a bright girl with a lot of potential.
One year later
When the Imagine Learning video team returned to film Seleny one year later in November 2010, she had completed her after-school program with Imagine Learning English. She was now reading at grade level, and her teachers remarked on her improved reading comprehension skills. Her current teacher proudly informed us that Seleny was one of the top-performing students in her class this year.
Seleny also had so much more confidence. The video team filmed her in class as the students were working quietly on an assignment. Seleny was one of the first students to finish the assignment, and the teacher had her go around the room and help the other students who were still working.
See for yourself the difference one year made in the video below:
rtmp://sas-Flash.OnstreamMedia.com/ondemand/FlashDMSP/imaginelearn/Blog/Seleny Year Later portion.flvRead part four in our One Year Later series.
[...] Part Three in our One Year Later [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Carter Durham, Imagine Learning. Imagine Learning said: The difference 1 year makes: Part three: In November 2010, the Imagine Learning video team visited … http://bit.ly/f2N4rY #edchat #edu [...]
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[...] In November 2010, the Imagine Learning video team visited four students one year after meeting them and filming their stories. The students all used Imagine Learning English to help them overcome different learning challenges. The positive change in each student speaks to the effectiveness of this language and literacy software tool. This is the third in a four part series; read part one here, part two here, and part three here. [...]