The city school board is considering adopting a policy that would ensure that important information and regulations are interpreted for parents and students who speak English as a second language. While the district already provides translation services, the policy would make it more official — and send a good message to community members who can’t understand English, said Denise Bowling, the school system’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

The city schools serve a community of “English language learners” — or students whose first language is not English — who speak close to 60 native languages. While the most common, and fastest growing, foreign language is Spanish, the district also serves a large number of students who primarily speak Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian. The schools already provide English lessons for students who can’t speak the language and translation services during events. The most commonly seen are simultaneous interpreters who translate programs into Spanish while Spanish-speaking attendees listen through headphones. (more…)

search for : English as a second language, English language learners

Hundreds of ESL professionals gathered in Toronto recently to recognize “English as a Second Language Week.” Throughout the week, an array of activities were held to both celebrate those who have contributed and benefited from ESL learning in Ontario, and to equip teachers with the tools needed to go back to the classroom and successfully nurture students. The recognition of ESL Week from November 12 – 18 in many communities across Ontario shows the growing significance of ESL throughout the province. More people than ever are coming to Ontario to learn and master English.

The highlight of the week, the 34th Annual TESL Ontario Conference, tackled issues regarding ESL and social integration. Sponsored by the Teachers of English as a Second Language Association of Ontario (TESL Ontario), the conference welcomed the Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Hon. Mike Colle, as a guest speaker. Rajabi said that while the learning process for new immigrants can be very stressful and intimidating, she believes that Torontonians are “very friendly and sensitive” to the needs of immigrants. “We are so experienced in [awareness of non-native speakers’ needs] because we cater to a lot of them.” (more…)

search for : English as a Second Language, ESL

Jeff Bishop was recently in the midst of moving to a new address when a book fell at his feet. It triggered one of the fondest memories the veteran English teacher had ever experienced as an educator at New Brunswick Adult High School. “I have hundreds and hundreds of books, and this one fell out and it was one I had taught to a young woman — her name was Jill,” said Bishop. “She was bright but didn’t give herself too much credit. She used to drive to school in a rebuilt Chevy.

This January, Bishop will mark his 26th year working at the New Brunswick Adult Learning Center/Adult High School. Tucked away, backing to raised railroad tracks at 268 Baldwin Street, the school serves 3,837 adults and out-of-school youth. It boasts 2,804 high school graduates since the program began in 1980. Besides the high school completion program, the facility also offers basic skills and ESL programs, literacy programs, workplace basic skills as well as programs that assist clients who may have barriers preventing participation in the work force. In a sense, the facility serves as a place where adults come to complete their education(high school) or begin one. It’s a place that offers a strong start as well as second chances. Maybe the best way to put it is that it’s a place were people come to learn that learning can be a lifelong process which never ends. (more…)

search for : ESL programs, literacy programs

Shortly after college, Richard Ramker got the first of what he suspects will be many jobs in which language — specifically the ability to communicate in English and Spanish — would be ideal. Three decades ago, the Indiana-born Ramker went to work at a Florida refugee service center, but the only Spanish he knew at the time had been picked up on the streets. So, Ramker had to make arrangements with his bilingual secretary.

Today, he is helping his language partner, a stay-at-home mother and former cashier from Mexico, do the same in English. They are two of about 100 participants in Conversemos!, a language-exchange program created by the Nashville nonprofit, Conexion Americas. Participants enhance their language skills and sometimes their careers, program director Maria Clara Mejia said. Others win something more, developing the most significant cross-cultural relationships of their lives, Mejia said. “What we wanted to do was create an opportunity for adults to learn in a way that fits their schedules, that acknowledges they have busy lives,” Mejia said. “Those skills may make it easier for a mother to understand a child who is speaking English. (more…)

search for : Conversemos, language-exchange program, Conexion Americas

The Chicano Theatre Touring Company at West Hills Community College in Coalinga allows students to polish their English and conquer their fear of public speaking while they educate the community. More than a million children who are not proficient in English attend schools in California. Most speak Spanish, but more than 50 languages were identified in California schools, according to a 2005 report by the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonprofit research organization in San Francisco.

The play is about two families who are connected through their children. One of the teens becomes pregnant by the son of the other family. She’s encouraged to pursue college even though she’s expecting a child. Another teen chooses to join the military and dies in Iraq. Actor Juan Ruvalcaba,who is 18, said he wanted to improve his Spanish because he speaks English more often than Spanish. Ruvalcaba, who lives in Firebaugh, said he enjoys being in the play because he believes it helps guide young people who are facing issues such as teen pregnancy and graduating from high school. “I have a friend who got his girlfriend pregnant,” he said. “He wanted to finish high school. She graduated. He never finished high school. He is working now, and he wished he would have finished high school.” (more…)

A federal judge ruled today that an elementary school principal segregated students by assigning English-speaking Latino children to classes and programs separate from white children and must correct the inequities by January. Teresa Parker, principal of Preston Hollow Elementary, was found to have violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment by creating classes and hallways that were divided based on ethnicity. However, the school district, its board and superintendent were not legally liable, Judge Sam A. Lindsay said in the ruling.

The judge ruled that Parker must integrate non-core classes and stop placing students in programs, such as English as a Second Language, based solely on their national origin or ethnicity. The changes must be made by Jan. 17, Lindsay said.

“The most important thing that’s going to happen now is that they’re not going to be segregated,” said attorney Davis Urias, with the Mexican Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Classes will be “based on actual educational needs.” (more…)

search for : English-speaking Latino children

Joanne Creedon of Litchfield always knew she wanted to help people. And when the rigors of calculus turned her off to premed in college, she decided to follow her other passion: teaching. Now, after 25 years of teaching, this humble, dedicated teacher has been named Teacher of the Year in Torrington. Ms. Creedon, 53, has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at the Forbes School for the last six years.

After her first three years of teaching, Ms. Creedon flew to Columbia to teach English to sixth graders. Among the Columbians, she was the minority. She had no family or friends for thousands of miles. I experienced what it is to be a stranger in a strange land,” Ms. Creedon said. “That’s where I really learned how important it is to reach out to people.” The year spent teaching Columbian children managed to spark new intrigue in her mind. Her students would come to her with questions that she didn’t know how to answer-questions like: “Why do adjectives come before the noun and not after?”
“It made me really think about the rules and patterns of this language,” Ms. Creedon said. (more…)

search for : English as a Second Language, ESL

A 28-year-old Hispanic man, Alfredo moved to Kirksville in August 2005. He works at a Mexican restaurant in Kirksville to send money to his family in Puebla, Mexico. Like many Latino immigrants, he speaks Spanish. Alfredo wants to communicate and interact with the people of Kirksville but faces the challenge of a language barrier. “I want to learn English, but it’s hard,” Alfredo said, with the help of a translator. “It would be so nice if I could speak … in English. I don’t understand what [Anglos] are saying.”

Alfredo is not alone. In the past decade, an increasing number of Latinos have immigrated to the northeast Missouri area, but the focus of this flood of immigrants has been in the Milan, Mo., community. Just more than a decade ago, Premium Standard Farms opened a processing plant in Milan. Valentina Mensa, who runs an organization designed to empower Latinos, said the company recruits Latino workers. The majority of the workers are from Mexico, and many of them move here speaking only Spanish. (more…)