Esl In Dods Schools Essay, Research Paper

Young Arzu Alp, a ten-year-old typical and hypothetical military brat, is starting mid-semester at her third school in four years. Nervously standing before the American flag, she anticipates trouble understanding the teacher, hopes for just one new friend, and speaks English as a second language.

Arzu need not fear. Her family has been stationed where the school she will attend (which is a real school and shall remain anonymous along with the names of the interview participants, again, real people) instructs over 100 hundred English as a Second Language students by three specialized teachers and a competent faculty.

Unlike her first year in the Department of Defense District School system when she spoke only Turkish, this semester she will test for Level Four and be very close to breaking her language barrier. She has seen others do this and excel in all other areas as well. The talented and gifted program at her new school is made up of 50% ESL students. In fact, the principal boasts that ESL students often finish high school as valedictorians or salutatorians. (M. Fidler, personal communication, June 9, 2001).

Immersion of ESL students in mainstream classes has its advantages and disadvantages. Beginning with enrollment to testing through four levels of English comprehension to graduation, the potential obstacles are unique to ESL students. As we journey through Arzu’s experiences in the ESL program at her new DoDDS’ school, we will assess its productivity and describe its methods of success.

One teacher at her new school feels that having ESL students learn side-by-side American, English-speaking only students creates an environment of cultural diversity. Multiple beliefs, traditions, and allegiances adds spice and enrichment to classroom interactions. (M. Fidler, personal communication, June 9, 2001). This is especially true at Arzu’s school where the different backgrounds pepper every classroom and there is no dominant one. Everyone is somewhat culture-bound.

Within each culture, there is a unique coherence, integrity, and logic (Snowman, Biehler, 2000). These two statements and believing that one culture is not better or worse than the rest is the ideas on which cultural diversity, or pluralism, is based. One English/History/Humanities teacher articulates this attitude by commenting that relationships must be based on tolerance and mutual respect (M.Fidler, personal communication, June 9, 2001).

In response to the question, “Do cultural differences cause problems in the classroom?” twelve out of twelve teachers and both the principal and vice principal agree that they do not. One teacher commented that using details about one culture and relating them to another in the context of curriculum encourages meaningful learning. ESL students bring a different perspective to the subject matter, and they teach American students to be accepting of different ideas (M.Fidler, personal communication, June 9, 2001). It also increases the likelihood that students will admire and befriend someone outside of their culture (Snowman, Biehler, 2000). Such a cooperative tribe is essential for effective classroom management.

Without addressing sensitively the dynamics that cultural diversity brings to the

classroom, destructive attitudes and misunderstandings can hinder the learning process.

Ethnocentrism, believing one’s culture is superior to others, can isolate individuals, breed

resentment between students, and damage teacher-student relations.

Specifically for teacher’s, the Pygmalion effect follows from an instructor, consciously or not, expecting a certain level of performance from an individual of a specific culture or other identifiable label. Subtly those expectations are communicated through interactions with the student and emerge as consistent with the student’s performance.

There are five areas of misunderstanding that contribute to the student-teacher relationship (Snowman, Biehler, 2000, pp. 142). Verbal communication patterns such as speaking only when called on and interpreting corrective feedback is absent from some cultures.

Non-verbal communication such as touching another person with your left hand can be considered offensive by Arzu because Turkish people use their left hand for washing, not toilet paper. Arriving late or early to class may be acceptable to Arzu but inexcusable to the teacher. Turkish people are accustomed to waiting for people or postponing commitments until “Mashallah”, God willing that it be done. Time orientation differs amongst cultures just as social values, instructional formats and learning processes do. Studying privately before public performance conflicts with brainstorming ideas in-group work. Sitting in individual desks in rows headed by the teacher’s table or podium is opposite of how some cultures value huddling together for cooperative learning.

For these reasons, the teachers for Arzu’s grade and below rely on hands-on learning, group projects, ‘visuals’ such as pictures and objects, role-playing to bridge the language gap, and other multi-sensory projects. Obstacles begin with enrollment. Often the parents do not speak English and a translator must relay application and requirements information. Obtaining transcripts from prior schools and translating them into English can take several weeks. When grade levels do not correspond between schools, student placement can be tricky. The need for immunizations eludes some families, yet without a TB test students are not permitted in class. After completing the enrollment process, the student’s level of English language comprehension is assessed.

In May, Arzu will be tested for advancement to Level Four. Her ESL teacher will

conduct and score the Language Assessment Scale (LAS) then forward the results to the principal who then forwards the results to the superintendent for consideration.

If she is ready to exit the ESL program, then a team made up of Arzu’s teachers, parents, and school principal would meet to discuss her assessment. After scoring within her scale on the Proficiency Level Placement Chart, she must pass an assessment test such as the DoDEA Writing Assessment, Terra Nova, or CTBS, and her ESL teacher must include a positive recommendation. (Department of Defense Education Activity. [DoDEA], 1998). On average it takes a students about six months to earn promotion to the next level (M.Fidler, personal communication, June 9, 2001).

Determining a student’s time spent in an ESL class is charted in the ESL Manual

for DoDD Schools. Based on Arzu’s grade and level she will spend one hour a day with a specialized ESL teacher and other ESL students working on English writing and reading skills. A first grade student at Level Two would spend forty-five to sixty minutes in an ESL class, and a high school student on Level One would spend two to three hours.

Arzu’s grade participates in the Pull-out Program in which she attends an ESL class in addition to her regular classroom. Other classes participate in the Inclusion approach in which the ESL teacher and the regular teacher work together by co-teaching or by a consultation method. Co-teaching may include: dividing the class in half or by upper and lower skill levels, assigning the curriculum delivery to the regular teacher and instructional strategy devising for the ESL teacher, or allowing the ESL teacher to re-teach the ESL students what the regular teacher previously taught to the whole class.

The consultation method requires the regular teacher to report the ESL student’s progress to the ESL teacher in exchange for teaching strategies, resources, and lessons geared toward ESL students (DODEA, 1998). Either method for presenting ESL instruction focuses on the development of academic, cognition, and linguistic skills simultaneously around socio-cultural processes.

This structured idea is called the Prism Model, which flows around nine standards directed toward three goal (Department of Defense Education Activity, 2000). The first goal, to demonstrate English-speaking skills through interpersonal communications, breaks down into social interactions, reading, writing, and speaking English, and using learning strategies.

Progress indicators include: using verbal and non-verbal communication to engage a listener, reading simple greeting cards, poems, or magazines, using a journal to express feelings and emotions, recommending a preferred game, videotape, or event, describing social and cultural traditions, writing notes for language development, and using written resources or native language to check understanding of information.

Goal two is to demonstrate English-speaking skills in classroom interactions of different school subjects, by processing spoken and written subject matter, and by construction and application of knowledge through learning strategies. This is indicated by negotiating with peers, requesting assistance to complete a task, classifying objects by physical characteristics, summarizing books or articles, edit own writing assignments, and supply supporting evidence for a debate position.

The third goal focuses on using English in correct social and cultural ways by verbal and non-verbal communication, using learning strategies to increase knowledge, and participation in American activities. Some indicators of these standards are by public speaking for a variety of audiences, using sarcasm, irony, and humor appropriately demonstrating an understanding of U.S. heritage, compare military and civilian communities, and by modeling other’s language use or gestures in unfamiliar settings.

In the ESL classroom, Arzu will primarily work on spelling, sentence structure,

and grammatical lessons. The teachers stress appreciation for native cultures and discuss

American social and cultural issues. They feel reinforcing the correct behaviors increases the ability to speak English more rapidly (M.Fidler, personal communication, June 9, 2001).

Teaching techniques such as saying words slower and more enunciated, spelling or drawing information on the board, and lots of one-on-one instruction are included daily in the primary classsroom for ESL students. The teacher’s speak only in English, though fellow students speak Arabic, Azerbaijan, Chinese, Finnish, Hausa, Hebrew, Korean, Malaysian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Swedish, Turkish, and Ukrainian.

Due to this high degree of diversity most students are friendly and helpful, and teachers seat ESL students next to English only students and use peer tutoring to help both participants learn from each other. Most teachers felt that once students like Arzu have a firm grasp on the English language, they set the standards for success and motivate English-speaking students to strive harder (M.Fidler, personal communication, June 9, 2001).

Of Arzu’s fellow schoolmates, twenty-one out of twenty-five say they would

choose this school if they had a choice and two reply “maybe”. The primary reasons cited are to learn English well and stay with friends. The fact that learning English is best done at an English speaking school is recognized by 100% of the people polled. 72% of these students are involved in extra-curricular activities such as Art, Homework Club, International Club, and Sports. 68% have been at this school one year or less and grades range from second to eleventh. There is no single class that accounts for the hardest or easiest subjects among them. 12% of ESL students’ parents do not speak English. The remaining 88% speak a little English or only one parent does.

This greatly reduces the amount of parent participation in the school and can work against the accomplishments made in the classroom. If parents are intolerant of the new culture that their children bring home in order to uphold their native heritage, then students get caught in the middle of a cultural battle and class work may reflect this struggle. (M.Fidler, personal communication, June 9, 2001). We discovered no evidence of this occurring at Arzu’s school.

The only disadvantage to having ESL students in class becomes apparent

when the child has such a low level of English comprehension that it interferes with the

material being presented. When the student cannot ask, “May I go to the bathroom?” or

has no clue what the teacher is talking about, the situation can get scary.

One-third of the teachers interviewed did not receive any ESL training. Most mentioned that they received adequate help form the ESL teachers and some noted that their teaching materials provided accommodations for ESL students. There is a common desire to give more time to ESL students, but the teachers come up short providing it. The teachers greatest concern mentioned is to have students up to speed with English language use, especially in high school where abstract ideas are most difficult to understand.

Most students said that they felt no disrespect displayed toward their culture except six third-graders from the same class said one or three people do not respect their culture (M.Fidler, personal communication, June 9, 2001). However, the same third grade teacher mentions during her interview that she had not been trained to teach ESL students and mentioned that she feels sorry for them and how hard they struggle with the language barrier in class. This was the only information throughout out the interviews leaning in the direction of culturally diverse students hindering the learning environment. We are curious as to the effect the Pygmalion effect may have under these circumstances.

Overall, the benefits of ESL students immersed in regular classrooms outweigh any drawbacks. The school Arzu will be attending has the majority of teachers well informed for ESL instruction and students open to cultural diversity. The transition is rocky, as it is for anyone, with needing to understand new rules, locations, people, and curriculum. The ESL program follows well-structured guidelines and focuses on student mastery of basic English communication skills within a sociocultural balance. If we could chose to teach at or have our children attend any school in the world, in the halls next to Arzu Alp is where we would want to be.

References

School Staff. Personal Interview. 9 June 2001.

Department of Defense Education Activity. (2000). DoDEA ESL Content Standards. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: *http://www.odedodea.edu/edprogram/EnglishSecondLang/ESLContentStandards.html*

Department of Defense Education Activity. (1998). English as a second Language Program Manual (Vol. 2440.2) [Brochure]. (Available from Department of Defense Education Activity, 4040 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, Virginia 22203-1635)

Snowman, J., & Biehler, R. (2000). Psychology Applied to Teaching (9th ed., pp.1-1). Boston MA: Houghton Mifflin