For English as a Second Language students, it seems as
though everything is against them. The students come to America expecting a new
start, a happier way of life, and an equal chance at prospering in the future.
What they find is completely opposite of the “melting pot” and “land of the
free with equal opportunity” America prides itself on. Broadcasted throughout
the media are messages of negativity towards children of immigrants.
Considering one of the frontrunners for the presidency, Donald Trump actually
said this according to Washington Post : ““When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best.
They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that
have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re
bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume,
are good people,” it is time to
show our support for ESL students,
and we need to begin in the education
systems ESL students are immediately sucked into the American education system, and spit back out without an equal chance of graduating high school, or being able to live a successful life. The large number of dropout rates for ESL students in high school is a huge problem. According to Alliance for Excellent Education and the NEA ESL students are twice as likely to drop out in comparison to native English speakers. By 2025, “one out of every four public school students will be an English Language Learner”. One out of four students who are twice as likely to drop out? The education system cannot wait until 2025 to make the changes necessary to improve the education system and eventually the life of these disadvantaged students.
To
improve the education system for ESL students, we need to focus on what is
wrong with it, and that begins with testing. ESL students have to meet the same
state proficiency goal and are scored the same as regular content-level
students in reading and math. Their accommodations for this test are extra
time, and having a language dictionary available to them, and “In too many
cases, ELL students are being given reading and math tests in English before
they are proficient in the language”. Standardized testing needs to be changed
in order to give these students an equal opportunity to succeed. The Alliance for Excellent Education group also concludes that classes that are English-only
do not greatly benefit ESL students, but “successful programs capitalize on EL
students’ resources (literacy in the primary language) to allow content area
development while they acclimate to new academic context and learning in
English”. Also, lack of ESL teachers in the educational field creates an
overpopulation of ESL students in the classroom, so students slip through the
cracks. Teacher candidates should be encouraged to certify in ESL, and it
should be made a marketable criteria for teachers. Finally, it is important to
embrace the many cultures of ESL students, and not to have them feel as though
they need to give up their culture to acclimate to America. To help ESL
students succeed, teachers should use their students culture to their advantage
while planning lessons to help ESL achievement, and make them have an equal
chance at graduating high school and having a successful life in America.
