When I first found out that I needed to enroll into the CLAD through CTEL program, I was disappointed. I had already passed CTEL 2 and 3, but I could not pass CTEL 1 (even after taking it twice). I was told by my district that I needed my CLAD certificate now or else I would not be able to re-sign my contract for next year. I either had the choice to try and pass the CTEL 1 test one more time, or I could sign up to complete the Language and Language Development course through this program. Since I had not been having luck with the test, I opted for coursework. In the end, I am happy that I had the opportunity to take the Language and Language Development course because I gained more knowledge about the foundations of language and how to apply better practices in my classroom. My goal when beginning this program was to learn strategies to better support ELL students in my classroom. I am a first year teacher and we do not get a lot of support when it comes to ELL students. Throughout coursework and collaboration, I have learned so many amazing small group and whole group instructional strategies to better support ELL students. I started this program in April and in the four short weeks that my Language and Language Development course lasted, I watched my ELL student grow tremendously with the strategies I was applying that I had learned from the course. I am a first grade teacher, which means phonics is a huge focus in my classroom. When I first began to read The Power of Babel I was confused. It was difficult for me to understand what he was saying and why he was saying it. I began to take a lot of what McWhorter was saying into account around chapter 5. He spoke a lot about the foundation of language and the different aspects of it. Also, about how we learn a language and how we learn to decode words. I learned to apply his outlook into activities for my guided reading time. As much as I enjoyed what I was learning in this program, it was challenging at times. I am a first year teacher, which means I spend a great deal of time in my classroom. I found it difficult to balance things that needed to be done in my classroom, with things that need to be completed for my course. Although the coursework was rigorous, it was nice to be done with the course in a short four weeks. I will continue to apply the strategies that I have learned throughout my coursework in this program in my classroom and share the knowledge I have gained with others.