Learning English: What we really know
Being from the background of language learning with having nearly completed a Bachelor’s Degree in both English Language Learning and Spanish Language Education, I feel that I have some solid knowledge from which to explain the best practices for language education as a whole. I do not mean to say that I am an expert in the subject, nor do I think that I cannot learn more in the field, but I do have a strong feeling that I have dedicated the last four and a half years of my life to becoming somewhat of a specialist in the discipline, and if I cannot effectively evaluate the methods being used around me then who will. I came to this position after a series of interviews with students at a local elementary school that are going through the process of learning English right now. Their names are April Htoo, T’be Tha and Eh Taw Bo, and from the opinions they shared in the following interviews I believe that educators can take a lot.
The Best of the Best
ELL, or English Language Learning, is a subject that we can find all over the nation in different school districts and at different levels. Students that do not know English, the native tongue of the United States of America, are not exclusive to any one region or state in the country, but the practices of these states and districts in the nation are unique. For example, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) has a rigorous set of standards to classify students within Nebraska as ‘English Proficient,’ including an annual examination given to all ELL students know as the ELDA, or English Language Demonstration Assessment (West, 2011). This test, in conjunction with the standards presented before the schools, are rigorous measures to ensure that students are provided with the best education and care that can possibly be given before the school district and Nebraska ‘set them free’ into the English speaking world. On the other hand, we can look at the policies as they refer to ELL in California. In June 1998, Proposition 227 was passed by the California electorate, or those people voting in California. This proposition mandates that English Learners be placed in structured English immersion, which is another way to describe the traditional ELL classroom, for a period not normally to exceed one year, and then be transferred to mainstream classrooms taught overwhelmingly in English (California State Legislature, 1998). Since this law passed in 1998 it mandates that students get one year of English Language Education, and then are placed in what we in the ELL discipline call mainstream classes, those normal subject classes you and I take daily with native English speakers, without any additional support. In my opinion this is obviously the wrong way to handle the learning of English, but I am not adamant about the ELL management of Nebraska and Lincoln Public Schools being categorized as the best either. Striking a balance between the two is the most important issue for our students and their futures. As T’be and April both explain in their interviews, learning English was made easier for the both of them because the teachers were there to help them with pronunciation, among a host of other skills, and because they were fully immersed in the language in their environment at school (Htoo, 2011; Tha, 2011). We as a population should develop an atmosphere where students are both given the necessary supports to learn the language from their educators, and are provided with the immersion they need to acquire the language by being around the native speakers of the language. We should not seclude them, but we should not leave them without help.
What lies ahead?
A wonderful question with no real answer. In working with my students at Park Middle School I have seen the capabilities of young minds and how they more often than not go far beyond of what we feel they are able. Students, no matter what age, have a capacity for learning that is far greater than what any test or pencil and paper examination can measure. Giving non-English speakers the tools and opportunities to learn English in school is one of the greatest things we can do as a society, but what is even greater is the chance to let students of non-American descent, in the traditional sense of the term, learn in both their native tongue and in English. If I were to describe a best practice, it would be dual-language immersion or bilingual education. Both are employed by teaching students in more than one language throughout a single school day. If we were able to take students from a Spanish speaking culture and put them in math classes that were instructed half the time in Spanish and the other half in English, or were able to place Karen students in classrooms where half of the subjects were taught in their native languages and the other half in English we would have a generation of Americans that are bilingual in a diverse group of languages. Not only would this help increase our students’ academic acumen and their abilities to function at higher levels in society, it would greatly improve our relationships and communication across cultures. I know that this may not be possible for all school districts in all languages, but we can dream, right?
How the students see it
No matter how we move forward in English Language Education the most important thing is keeping our focus on the success and the futures of the students. In the following video you will see portions of the interviews I conducted with the Karen students at Park Middle School, but looking past the interviews and the answers you can see what the students really symbolize: having a bright and successful future. You hear Eh Taw Bo say he wants to learn “everything” and April explains that “having English is like having freedom” (Bo, 2011; Htoo, 2011). These are very powerful messages and should be taken to heart not just by educators, but by all humans alike. Keep the kids in mind, help them be everything they can be and our futures will be just fine.
References
Bo, Eh Taw. Personal communication. 18 November 2011.
California State Legislature. Proposition 227 - full text of the proposed law (Proposition 227). (1998). Retrieved from State of California website: http://primary98.sos.ca.gov/VoterGuide/Propositions/227text.htm. Retrieved on 4 December 2011.
Htoo, April. Personal communication. 18 November 2011.
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2009). Intercultural communication in contexts (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Tha, T’be. Personal communication. 18 November 2011.
West, Cindy. Personal communication. 10 March 2011.
