A Choice For
Success
Another day full of frustration, exhaustion, and helplessness: these are the feelings that many English Language Learners in schools across the United States face every day. Teaching under these circumstances can be very frustrating, as well. Children in this situation become fatigued, do not stay on task, laugh, become silent, and use an enormous amount of energy trying to understand what is going on in the classroom (Curran 2003). Because of the growing number of non-English speaking families in the country, it is important that children are given the strongest form of education possible. There are various methods of teaching and learning that attempt to eliminate the language acquisition barrier in the United States. Success rates, however, are inconsistent among these options. Each child has their own personal learning style; therefore, students and their parents need to choose an educational method of learning English that they feel will result in high academic success.
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There has been a sudden increase in the number of children suffering from unsuccessful English Language Learner programs. According to a 2000 US census, “eighteen percent of the U.S. population, aged five and over -- a total of over forty seven million people -- said they spoke a non-English language at home” (Usery 2004, p.2). There was an increase in language minority children of fifty-five percent between 1990 and 2000 (Zelasko 2003). This upsurge is not expected to slow down anytime soon, as “Eugene Garcia, author of the Student Cultural Diversity has estimated that twenty five percent of K-12 students will likely have limited proficiency in English by the year 2026” (Taylor 2004, p. 43). This escalation in English Language Learners creates a huge problem in education. Without the proper learning style for each student, they will not reach their full academic potential. 
There are numerous solutions to the developing language acquisition dilemma. One common attempt to teach children with language barriers is through bilingual education. This system works miracles for children who attend Oyster Bilingual School in Washington state. Schools like Oyster instruct in two different languages equally. There are two teachers, one who speaks and teaches English, and another who teaches in Spanish. Oyster has had great success rates with their attempt at bilingual education, for Oyster’s graduating class in 2001 students all were up to par with America’s best in English and Spanish tests (Plissner 2001). Oyster Bilingual School is not available through a public school. Therefore, students who attend Oyster choose to learn English through bilingual program, a method that targets their learning style. Research conducted by Virginia Collier and Wayne P. Thomas of George Mason University concluded that “after about the fourth grade, students in two-way classes even out-perform native-English speakers in English-only classes (Donegan 1996, p.3). When students are able to learn in an environment that they feel comfortable in and through teaching techniques that they understand, their full academic potential is met.
There are others who disagree with the bilingual approach. It has not been successful for all students. In Lawrence, Massachusetts, for example, fourteen percent of the student population qualified for bilingual programs, and their scores ranked below average on the state achievement exam (Stern 2002). The bilingual approach tends to encourage some children to become comfortable and secure in their native language. It does not push them to adapt to their new surroundings or learn the English language. Little Hoover Commission reported after a two year study that “native language instruction has been divisive, wasteful, and unproductive” (Donegan 2001, p.4). Bilingual programs are also tend to segregate children, making some the English Language Learners feel dim-witted and hopeless. This lowers their self esteem. Native English speakers and English Language Learners do not interact with each other, so there is little diversity among students and limited growth in appreciation for other cultures. Ignorance and ethnocentrism are the results. Immigrant teacher, Ambrizeth Lima, entered the United States when she was fifteen. She enrolled in a bilingual program at school, and was teased and harassed by other children her age because of her language barrier (Stern 2002). The experience of entering a foreign country is intimidating by itself, and adding additional stress can hinder students success.
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Structured immersion is another form of teaching English, a method of anti-bilingual education. In this program, students are instructed in English through heavy usage of their first language for the first year, and then transitioned into a regular English speaking classroom. When children are mainstreamed into English classrooms, their teacher must teach in English between eighty and ninety percent of the time (Stern 2002). This provides a smooth transition from their native language to English. Through this program, students maintain fluency in their original language, while expanding their ability in another. When students first come to this country, they experience culture shock “but try to keep their own identity” at the same time (Nowak-Fabrykowski, Shkandrij 2004). This program reduces the severity of this culture shock, and allows students to keep ownership and pride in their native tongue. Despite the low success rate of bilingual education in Lawrence, Massachusetts, school districts do not require students to enter the structured immersion program. Parents can request for their child to be placed in a traditional bilingual education setting (Stern 2002). This choice allows parents and students to choose the program that the student will gain the most success in.
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The most familiar method of education with language acquisition is mainstreaming students into English speaking classrooms from the start. This technique is often referred to as English as a Second Language (ESL). In ESL programs, children are pulled from class daily to work on learning and perfecting the English language. Even when parents are given the option to send their child to a school with a more structured English learning program, they choose to send their child to a regular classroom with hopes for success (Allen 2002). This choice has been resulted in victory for many students. Second grade teacher Judith Corley* has had high accomplishments when mainstreaming students in her classroom. She like Rosalie Porter, immigrant teacher and supporter of mainstreaming students, believes that if you want children to learn and understand English, they need to be taught in English (Corley, J., personal communication, February 20, 2005, Stern 2002). Though there has been success with mainstreaming students into English-only classrooms, students have also struggled. An English-only classroom is challenging for some students because teachers often fail “to tap the diverse linguistic abilities” into their classroom (Baruth, Manning 143). Intelligence is not measured by English proficiency. Immigrant students can be equally as intelligent as native English speakers, but made to feel dumb because they do not know the language being taught. Consequently, they fall behind the native English speakers. Mainstreaming students puts a huge amount of stress upon teachers too, for they have to teach to English and non-English speakers with various learning styles and abilities. Therefore, ESL students needs are often neglected. See figure1 for a description of the various needs of ESL students. Without extensive internal motivation, it is challenging for ESL students to succeed.
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Though there are many programs for English Language Learners, one main contributor to language acquisition in this country is the legislation. The No Child Left Behind Act is Bush’s attempt to close the achievement gap among all students regardless of race, gender, or socio-economic background. Under Title III of this Act, the government is required to make certain contributions to education. The Office of English Language Acquisition assists in ensuring that the government sticks to their word, and is responsible for administering grant programs that aid children in learning English (Office of Language Acquisition 2004). Funding has been a big issue in education since the No Child Left Behind Act was put into place. Because America is in so much debt, educational needs are often ignored. Another responsibility of the government is to recommend policies and promote the most effective practices used to meet the needs of the English Language Learners, strengthen national, state, and local collaborations that serve English Language Learners, and monitor funded programs by providing assistance that focuses on two areas (Office of Language Acquisition, 2004). As of right now there is no specific method which the government requires schools to handle students with language needs. If more money was put into surmounting the language barrier in the United States, children and parents could be given more choice in the programs that students are placed in. More funding need is needed, however, in order to pay for additional teachers and programs. Ironically, the government currently claims that “the merit of the bills currently going forward, with the apparent blessing of the White house, is that they leave the choice up to local systems while backing up those choices with money” (Plissner, 2). There needs to be steady flow of funding put into improving language acquisition in schools for change to occur.
There are a variety of ways to handle the language acquisition dilemma in the United States. Each child is different, and each child learns in a diverse way. Therefore, students and parents need to be given options in an educational system of acquiring English so that the student will be prepared to enter the work force and succeed in this country. There is not one perfect way to surmount the language acquisition obstacle because of the range in learning styles in students. Consequently, children and parents need to be able to choose the solution that they feel will foster to the student’s learning style most effectively. In order for this to happen, however, schools need to be better funded. Though providing choice for the English Language Learner would be a challenging task it needs to take place in order for all students to succeed. Not only would this benefit students and their education, but America’s full potential could be reached. Providing choice for English Language Learners will enhance the future for all Americans.
Graphic: http://www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/Multicultural/Graphics/2%20kids.gif
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