ESL

The class discussion about ESL situations intertwined well with what I've been learning in other classes recently. In Multicultural Education, we frequently discuss the discriminations that take place toward people who speak languages other than English or who speak non-standard dialects of English. Currently, I'm volunteering at an after school program for middle school students who are struggling academically. We meet in the basement of a small Baptist church, all 12-15 of us, and work together on various types of homework. All of the students and the other tutor are African American. One of the leaders is white; the other two are AA. As a minority there, I often feel inadequate in that I don't speak like the do. Sometimes, I'll try to sound cool and speak like they do (last week I even rapped a bit in trying to help a student memorize Latin root words... that was interesting). Not only do they use different a different vocabulary, syntax, and grammar, the very subjects and goals of speaking are often different from my own as far as conversational parlance is concerned. Most of the students struggle in several areas; several of the students with whom (right?) I've spoken have expressed that they didn't like reading and that Language Arts was one of their least favorite subjects. I wonder if they read material that is reflective of their speaking styles. How do the teachers, administrators, and other kids of different ethnicities view them? Working with them and working with ESL students at the Writing Center have really helped me to avoid potential prejudices I could have accrued if I had never been exposed to intelligent and industrious people from other cultures.

Reading the two sample papers today really got me shaking in my boots. I always feel intimidated when I read a paper that has a significant amount of errors; I often don't know where or how to begin. The paper about Japan and Austria wasn't too bad; the paper by the Chinese woman was daunting! Articles, pronouns, punctuation, organization, and so many other problems presented large and important issues. Most of the time, I find a starting point in trying to focus on what the student wants to accomplish. I know that often times we need to give students the help that they need and not necessarily what they want, but that can be a difficult balance for me sometimes with some tutees. I'm glad we're going over this section fairly early in the semester; I'm sure it will help a lot later on