Touro University TESOL Candidate Julianna Walter’s Text Analysis and Critique for EDDN 637 – “Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match” by Monica Brown

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

New York’s classrooms are some of the most culturally and linguistically diverse in the country. Our TESOL certificate program prepares NYS-certified teachers to provide responsive, comprehensive education to students of every background. 

EDDN 637 Second Language Learners and the Content Areas

Students will become acquainted with and practice effective approaches, methods, and strategies for teaching and evaluating English language learners in the content areas (ELA, social studies, math and science). Throughout the course, students will explore the impact of culture and language on classroom learning. Special challenges in teaching and assessment in each content area will also be discussed. Includes 15 hours of field work.

Julianna Walter, a 22-year-old graduate student in the TESOL program at Touro University holds an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with a focus on both General and Special Education. Her passion for working with children and shaping young minds has always been a driving force in her career and studies.

“As a first-semester student in the TESOL program, I have already gained valuable strategies and tools for supporting English language learners, which I am eager to incorporate into my future classroom.”

Julianna Walter, TESOL program at Touro University

Excerpt by Julianna Walter, TESOL program at Touro University

Sentence Structure:

There are various sentence structures within the story ranging from short to long. The average sentence length in this story is 8 words. An example of a short sentence structure, with

minimal words, in the story is “Then I see him” (HMH, 31). This is one of the few short sentences in the story, as most sentences are longer and filled with detailed ideas that add to their length. An example of a longer sentence written in the story is “When I wake up on Saturday I put on my pink shirt, my favorite polka dot skirt, and my favorite hat— the one my abuelita brought me from Peru” (HMH, 30). Simple and complex sentence structures are also displayed throughout the story. The sentence “I like to wear polka dots” is an example of a simple sentence because it possesses a subject-verb-object structure. These types of sentences are more clear and straightforward making it more understandable for ELL students. Compound sentences “contain more than one independent clause” (Four Types of Sentences to Know). An example of a compound sentence in the story is “I am part Peruvian, and I am part Scottish” ( This sentence combines two related ideas with a conjunction. By basing this lesson on a story with various sentence lengths and structures it helps to build the students comprehension abilities. Second language learners will be able to improve their fluency and practice decoding words.