North Carolina Music Educator Summer 2023

successfully in the Cowboy Christmas Carnival with near perfect
posture, using their bows to play a variety of songs. The children
were exploring the instrument and were teaching one another with
a fervor never before seen.
The lessons I learned from these young musicians have stuck
with me ever since my visit. I have shared what I have learned with
countless teachers all over the country and have found that so
much of this is intuitive to so many of us. For those things who are
not immediately intuitive, I have made a short list of strategies, tips,
and even a little game that may help you overcome any language
barriers you may be experiencing in your own class! Here are just a
few of the strategies I found most helpful:
Teaching Strategies for English Language
Learners (ELLs)
Non-Verbal Cues. Incorporate a series of non-verbal cues (see
below) and visual aids such as charts and posters to reach all of
your students. For our ELLs, music is often the one class where
they can communicate WITHOUT speaking. The more we can
model for our students, the more successful they can be.
Modeling. If you are teaching beginners, model the desired
behavior frequently, using short and concise terms and motions.
I like to smile for “yes!” shake my head from left to right for “not
quite,” and I say “Bravo!” once the entire class gets something right.
When I was teaching violin in Chiang Mai, the students became so
accustomed to my terms that one day, they convinced me to eat a
super spicy dish. When I took the very first bite, they all smiled and
clapped and broke into a chorus of: “Bravo! Bravo!”
Li’l Angie’s Pitiful Posture Party. Consider even modeling a
behavior that is not desirable. I often will model common posture
mistakes for my beginning musicians to see if they can fix my
problems. I tell my students that I become “Li’l Angie” and they
LOVE it. Try this one tomorrow:
• Pick a few common posture issues (collapsed wrist, clawshaped
bow hold, and a right-hand thumb on a string instead
of an index finger).
• Stand at the door to greet your students with your instrument
and your improper posture.
• Look as pitiful as possible and simply say, “Help!”
• If a student is able to fix a problem, say, “Thank You!” and look
relieved.
You will be amazed at the competence your students can model
without even speaking!
The Name Game. I have heard it said that our name is the most
beautiful word in our language. If we hope to reach our students,
we must learn their names, speak them properly, and use them
regularly. In Thailand, I struggled to say the children’s names
properly. Determined to say my musicians’ names properly, I
taught them a song where we would each have to say one another’s
name. At one point in the song, one individual is selected and they
say “My name is Angela.” The other students then respond “Hello,
Angela,” and then the song continues. I not only listened intently
as my students one by one said their own name, but I recorded
them singing it. I spent hours the first night I was there, practicing
each child’s name. I can still remember how Naowarat lit up when
I spoke her name correctly for the very first time. Practice your
students’ names, say them properly, say them with a smile. Our
name is the most beautiful word in our language.
Culturally Inclusive Programming and Planning. As you
are planning future concerts, recruiting tours, and your lessons in
general, consider the students in your classroom. Select literature
that is relevant, enjoyable, and culturally inclusive. If you teach
in an area with a large Korean population, seek out Korean
composers and performers. Better yet, encourage your students
to find a composer or artist their family loves. Sometimes we can
find recordings of music that our students would love to play but
we struggle to find an arrangement. Consider asking your more
creative students if they might be interested in partnering on an
arrangement of a piece that may be popular with your students.
Here are a few additional suggestions:
• Provide a script for your advanced ELL students to read in
both English and in their native language at your next concert.
• Designate one or two students to speak at your next recruiting
event in their home language. I often have them simply say
“We want you to join orchestra!”
• Create performer heritage days where your students can bring
in recordings of performers from their home country.
Thanks to this project, over 30 orphans can now play the
violin. As I was leaving on my last day, the children came running
up with the violins as if I had forgotten essential pieces of my
luggage. “No, they are yours. You keep them!” Understanding
gradually came over their faces as one by one, they were flooded
with relief and then joy until at last, we all came together in an
enormous bittersweet hug.
There is something magical about playing a musical
instrument. Suddenly, the world bursts with color, confidence
soars, and the impossible seems within reach. That holiday season
was truly magical for the children, and for me. Before I left, one of
the teachers at the children’s home said to me, “Our children never
dreamed of playing the violin. They have always believed that this
was an instrument for the wealthy, the privileged. Thank you for
helping our children see beyond.”
If you would like to learn more about the Hope House
Children’s Home or feel called to donate, please visit:
www.hopehousechildrenshome.com/. If you would like more
information about engaging English Language Learners,
check out my book, The Music Teacher’s Guide to Engaging
English Language Learners, or follow me on instagram @
musicteachersguide for regular tips!
Angela Ammerman, referred to by the Washington Post as the first
“music teacher prodigy,” is the author of The Music Teacher’s Guide
Series and hostess of the podcast #MusicEdLove. Dedicating much
of her career to providing access to music education for underserved
populations of children, she has been recognized for founding a
strings program for orphaned children in Thailand. She was named the
2019 Outstanding Advisor of the Year at the University of Tennessee
at Martin, and the 2016 Virginia Orchestra Director of the Year.
Ammerman is a frequent All-State conductor, speaker, and clinician.
Ammerman has a new book coming out this summer on Recruitment
and Retention and is hard at work finishing the next in The Music
Teacher’s Guide series on Classroom Management.
NCMEA Receives CMA Foundation Grant
Rural music educators face multiple challenges, even beyond
those reported by their general education colleagues. The vision
and opportunity of the CMA Foundation State Music Education
Association Advocacy Grant is
to better understand those music
teachers’ obstacles and find practical
solutions to their real-world problems.
In the 2023 – 2024 school year, the
State Music Education Association
Advocacy Grant will support the
launch of a virtual PLC for rural
K – 12 teachers throughout the state
of North Carolina. In the past few
years, NAfME members in North
Carolina and the southeast have
piloted smaller PLCs for rural educators, after which participants
reported their desire for a longer time frame and more sustained
support. NCMEA is responding by refining and expanding the
project design to include both in-person and virtual connections
throughout the year.
One central component of the project will be an online
Canvas course providing asynchronous learning from September
through April. We will also host a half-day seminar for PLC
members at the NCMEA Professional Development Conference
in November. In the spring, teacher cohorts will arrange site visits
to one another’s schools to observe and practice problem-solving
in real-world settings. Participants will also be invited to meet
with legislators at Arts Day in Raleigh
to share the value of professional
development specifically designed
for rural music teachers. Finally,
the culminating experience will be
a statewide virtual conference for
rural music educators. Participants
will reflect individually on their
professional development while also
reporting as cohorts on their learning
through PLC activities.
The project will be facilitated in
partnership with Dr. Daniel Johnson (UNCW), Dr. Tim Nowak
(ECU), Dr. Ann Marie Stanley (LSU), and Laura Black (Rocky
Point Elementary School). We hope to be able to share this
hybrid PLC with other state music education organizations as
a replicable model. We will begin accepting enrollment in the
PLC in mid-to-late August; keep your eye on your email and the
NCMEA website for more information.
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