/ 

So much about us is predetermined before we are even born. Unfortunately, we cannot choose our histories. The greater part of who we are and where we come from is already determined—race, class, gender, religion, wealth. Culture, for most, is an inherited condition. It is not something one should ever be ashamed of. Yet, as Americans, we often think of our culture as dominant and have a tendency to criticize, degrade, or belittle anything other than what we perceive as normal or correct. But as Americans, regardless of our position in life, we want to be treated with justice and respect. We want what we are due. This is not a feeling that pertains only to Americans. Every person wants to be treated fairly and to be afforded the same opportunities as others. A quality education is one of those things most people want. Should it matter where you are from or what language you speak? No, of course it should not, but does it? A limited English proficient student in an American school or the parent of such a child might answer yes. What are we doing in North Carolina schools to ensure that English Language Learners (ELL’s) are receiving a quality education? Let’s explore!

The number of immigrants increased dramatically around the turn of the century (Medina, 2003, p. 12). Classrooms in public schools were filled with immigrants (Medina, 2003, p. 12). This resulted in (among others) the Nationality Act (1906), The Civil Rights Act, (1964), the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (1974), the English Only Movement (1983), and various lawsuits. As our classrooms changed, our delivery methods had to change also. Gebhard recommends that we, as educators, ask “how are opportunities provided for students to learn the language?” and/or “how are opportunities possibly hampered?” (1996, p. 25). It is important that all children are provided a quality education because they are America’s future, regardless of their nationality or native language. According to Stephen Krashen, “When schools provide children with quality education in their primary language, they give them two things: knowledge and literacy. The knowledge that children get through their first language helps make the English they hear and read more comprehensible. Literacy developed in the primary language transfers to the second language. The reason is simple; because we learn by reading, that is, by making sense of what is on the page, it is easier to learn to read in a language we understand. Once we can read in one language, we can read in general” (Medina, 2003, p. 5). Bilingual education generally refers to programs that provide support to students with limited English proficiency (Medina, 2003, p. 4). There are different types of programs. These would include programs that teach core subjects in the native language while requiring them to take an English as a Second Language (ESL) class, other programs use the English only method, and there are also dual language programs. The approach varies from district to district and school to school. Some are bilingual in name only, staffed by monolingual English-speaking teachers with no professional preparation ( Medina, 2003, p.6).

Research Findings Synthesis

“The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction requires that each school district adopt a program for LEP students. North Carolina requires that these programs be ESL, bilingual education, or other programs that meet the needs of the students. There is no categorical funding for LEP students” (H. Fasciano , personal communication, April 18, 2006). “Each LEA (local educational agency, or district) decides how they will serve their LEP population; they must submit that information to us [Department of Public Instruction] in the form of a spring application (for federal funds) each year” (A. McCauley, personal communication, April 15, 2006). In North Carolina, the pullout method is widely used in most schools. It is the most expensive model and least effective, but “most schools use the pull-out ESL method simply because it is the most feasible with regards to teachers and funding. Others incorporate dual immersion, inclusion, and sheltered instruction” (A. McCauley, personal communication, April 15, 2006). Problems with this [pull-out method] model are lost time in students’ access to the full curriculum, lack of curriculum articulation with grade-level (mainstream) classroom teachers, and no access to primary language schooling to keep up with grade-level academic work while learning English (Ovando, Combs, Collier, 2006, p. 36). The rate at which students, who are pulled out for ESL classes, actually acquire the language may be hindered by anxiety. Some students have such high levels of anxiety that they cannot take advantage of opportunities to learn English (Gerhard, 1996, p. 60). Feelings of anxiety could be developed due to the reputation of the language class as a place for failure, peer criticism, inability to pronounce strange sounds and words, not knowing the meaning of words or sentences and the inability to understand and answer questions (Gerhard, 1996, p. 61). Anxiety can become such an issue for students in these classes that they find it hard to even function normally. Educators must be conscious of how LEP students feel about their learning environment (Hobgood, 2006). Do they feel comfortable enough to benefit from strategies designed to help them learn (Hobgood, 2006)? Yet, the pull out model remains the preferred choice in North Carolina, for now.

What could be done differently in North Carolina? As of October 1, 2005 there were approximately 83,201 LEP students in North Carolina (Marino, 2006). With a head count of that magnitude it is necessary that our method of educating our English Language Learners meet the needs of these students. Bilingual education can only be found in a very few places, though. “There are only two counties (Duplin and Forsythe) that incorporate some type of bilingual education in their language instructional programs at this time” (A. McCauley, personal communication, April 15, 2006). The most popular, new and innovative ways to reach LEP students are Dual Immersion/Two Way Immersion and Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) (A. McCauley, personal communication, April 15, 2006). Dual immersion puts English speakers and speakers of other languages in the same class and splits the time between teaching completely in English and completely in the other language (Marino, 2006). Dual immersion is designed to both develop the English skills of non-English speakers and to help English speakers develop foreign language skills (Marino, 2006). The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has begun the process of creating an implementation model that blends the SIOP methodology and protocols with the ESL standard course of study, the English Language Development Standard Course of Study (Marino, 2006). North Carolina has been awarded a Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant. According to the Department of Public Instruction’s website, the purpose of this project is the creation of an infrastructure in North Carolina to support K-5 immersion/dual language programs. The project has the following objectives:

• 1. Development of an immersion component at K-5 for the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Second Languages and a supporting implementation guide.
• 2. Development of a model for ongoing training of immersion/dual language teachers with emphasis on language production in the languages other than English, literacy instruction through a second language, grade level content instruction through a second language, and proficiency assessment for languages other than English.
• 3. Establishment of a K-5 teaching license for immersion/dual language instruction.

“As a result of the proposed project, we expect to see an increase in the numbers of immersion/dual language programs, an increase in the numbers of well-trained immersion/dual language teachers, and improved achievement of students in the programs, especially in relation to their proficiency in speaking and writing in the languages other than English. The establishment of the teaching license and the creation of college/university teacher training programs will provide a mechanism for ensuring ongoing professional development for immersion/dual language teachers after the grant period ends” (FLAP 2005 Recipients, 2006).

Implications for ESL Teachers and Students

When the responsibility of educating today’s youth is placed in front of us, no stone should go unturned where it pertains to finding out what works. Every child is different and we must try everything and anything to ensure his/her success. As the number of English Language Learners increase, we must break out of our shell and think larger. We must look at the big picture and look toward the future. If what we are doing now is not enough, we need to implement something better. Since the introduction of the No Child Left Behind law, children in public schools today are being held to such high standards. This is no different for our English as a Second Language students. Before ESL students were required to be tested they were often passed along whether or not they had mastered the necessary skills for that grade level. How will they maintain academically in such a case? Being able to read is a major part of functioning academically, as well as surviving in this world. Regardless of the grade level, reading instruction plays a major role in education across the board, whether you are teaching students whose native language is English or if you are teaching ESL students. No matter what subject is being taught, some reading is required. As we read in Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language, “comprehension may be regarded as relating what we attend to in the world around us—the visual information of print in the case of reading—to what we already have in our heads. And learning can be considered as modifying what we already have in our heads as a consequence of attending to the world around us” (Gebhard, 1996, p. 197). Quite often, comprehension is difficult for EFL/ ESL readers because of cultural factors (Gebhard, 1996, p. 198). Cultural knowledge can affect comprehension…when readers have the background knowledge assumed by the reader, comprehension is high; correct inferences are made. If they do not have the background knowledge, they distort the meaning as they attempt to adjust the writer’s intent to their own knowledge of the world (Gebhard, 1996, p. 198). You can apply the same thought process to ESL students in general, not only to reading comprehension. If, each year, we instill basic skills that the student can relate to and use, we can build up enough background knowledge to expand on, but if they are not equipped with even the basic skills, then each lesson, each unit, each school year will be a bunch of distorted moments and failed attempts. All children deserve a parallel education and in order for the school systems to accomplish this goal, the mediocre education of our ESL students must be eliminated.

References

Gebhard, Jerry G. (1996). Teaching English as a foreign or second language. Michigan: The University of Michigan.

Hobgood, Bobby. (2006). Greeting your LEP students in their own language. The webmakes it easy to learn a little of a foreign language — and to make your students feel more at home. Learn NC. Online document: http://www.learnnc.org/articles/learnlang0407-1

Marino, Joanne. (2006). LEP Headcount. Learn NC.
Online document: http://community.learnnc.org/dpi/esl

Marino, Joanne. (2006). NC Guide to the SIOP Model. North CarolinaDepartment of Public Instruction. Online document: http://community.learnnc.org/dpi/esl/archives/2005/07/nc_guide_to_the.php

Marino, Joanne. (2006). NC receives a FLAP Grant. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Online document: http://community.learnnc.org/dpi/secondlang/archives/2005/08/north_carolina.php

Medina , Loreta. (2003). Bilingual education. Michigan: Greenhaven Press.

Ovando, C.J., Collier, V.P., & Combs, M.C. (2006). Bilingual and ESL classrooms:

Teaching in multicultural contexts. Boston: McGraw-Hill.