Students use teamwork in learning English
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Mervet Elhamamsi and Shirley Velasco are fifth-grade students at Andrew Jackson Intermediate School who also play an important role in their classroom. They translate for their peers who have limited knowledge of English. Elhamamsi grew up in Egypt. She speaks English and Arabic and translates for Lina Khalafalla, who is from the Sudan. |
The task Elhamamsi and Velasco are performing is called peer tutoring, and it is common among students in Jackson-Madison County Schools, according to Brian Ford, who coordinates the school system’s program for students who are learning English. That population is increasing, going from 214 students in 2003 to 302 this year. Most of the students in the English as a Second Language program are Spanish speakers, with Arabic the second largest group, according to school officials. Elhamamsi and Velasco are lifesavers for their math teacher, Kellie Cavitt, who does not speak Spanish or Arabic.
search for : Andrew Jackson Intermediate School, Jackson-Madison County Schools, English as a Second Language
