Two dozen fifth-graders waved their hands in the air and swiveled their hips as they recited lyrics taped to their classroom wall. “I’m a hero and I’m here to say, ‘Heroes are important in many ways,’” they chanted, some of them stealing backward glances at a cluster of teachers joining in the American Heroes Bugaloo. Giggling aside, school was in session for the students at Robert Frost Elementary in Pasco, Washington.

The 20 or so teachers sitting in on the social studies unit about “heroes” were the ones getting the big lesson. They were in the middle of an intensive five-day crash course in a group of teaching strategies aimed at helping students with language fluency and acquisition. Project GLAD, which stands for Guided Language Acquisition Design, was created in the mid-1980s for students learning English as a second language by a pair of California teachers. These days, it’s nationally known as an effective tool even for instructors of English-proficient students, and it’s becoming something of a touchstone in Tri-City classrooms. (more…)

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“If this thing goes in effect, all of these classes are going to be empty,” the 63-year-old English as a Second Language student said, looking out at a packed classroom at El Pueblo Neighborhood Center’s adult education program. Jaquez is married to a U.S. citizen, and is in the country legally, but many of her classmates are not. Under Proposition 300, which voters passed Tuesday by an overwhelming majority, many Pima County adult education students who are likely in the country illegally will be ineligible for English classes.

About 10,000 students in Pima County participate in adult education classes, all run by Pima College, with the bulk of them, around 6,000, studying English as a Second Language. Another several thousand take basic literacy and GED courses. The proposition will also potentially affect about 200 adults that participate in family literacy classes, taught alongside Head Start classes. The classes aim to help parents better support their children, who most often are U.S. citizens, do well in school. The law goes into effect Jan. 1. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard will have to provide guidelines to colleges and universities about how to implement the new regulations, as the proposition provides no details. (more…)

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School districts in Oregon are still struggling to help students learn English as a second language, according to testing data released Friday by the state Department of Education. Nearly 53,000 children in Oregon schools are classified as “English language learners.” About two-thirds of the state’s 198 school districts had students who were learning to speak English during the 2005-2006 school year, the report shows.

In order to meet federal goals, such schools are expected to show that 85 percent or more of their students are making progress at learning English. Additionally, 20 percent of students have to become completely proficient in English, no longer needing second-language services. And students who speak limited English must be able to meet federal testing goals on English, math and science tests. According to the state report, 55 school districts managed to get 85 percent of their students to move up one level of English proficiency — there are five levels, from zero comprehension to full fluency. Fifty-two school districts, though, missed this mark. (more…)

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The first time that Jean Broderick was offered the chance to learn a foreign language, her response was a big “No, thanks.” It was Philadelphia in the 1960s, and Broderick’s curriculum required her to suffer through a year of eighth-grade Latin, followed by three years of high school French. For a self-described “lazy student,” learning the languages’ many rules seemed laborious — and beside the point. “I knew Latin was a dead language, so why learn it? And I wished French were dead, too,” she recalls. “When I got to college and saw there was no language requirement . . . I thought, ‘Boy, am I lucky.’”

Broderick is among what local language educators say is a growing number of adults who, now well past the age when conjugating verbs could make or break one’s grade-point average, want to learn a second tongue. For native English speakers, Spanish remains the most popular choice. But less common languages are experiencing an upsurge, too. At the International Language Institute, a private school in Washington, enrollment in Mandarin, Hindi, Arabic and Farsi classes has doubled since last year, says Francisco Todd, the foreign language programs coordinator. Berlitz International reports that between 2000 and 2005, the number of students enrolled in Arabic classes at its Washington location rose 95 percent. (more…)

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A local program that gave intensive summer tutoring to students from Spanish-speaking families in Cleveland produced dramatic jumps in math and reading skills. Of the 25 elementary school students who participated in the six-week program and pre- and post-program testing, 84 percent showed significant improvement in language arts skills and 75 percent demonstrated big gains in mathematics, according to data released this fall.

More than 25,500 students with limited English proficiency were enrolled in Ohio public schools last year, a 110 percent increase over 10 years ago. They range from children of Mexican migrant workers to Amish children who learn German as their first language. That growth comes at a time schools face increased pressure from the federal No Child Left Behind law to ensure that all children, regardless of background, master basic skills. A report released Thursday by the Alliance for Excellent Education found that Ohio’s growing number of English-language-learners has been largely ignored as policymakers consider ways to improve reading and writing proficiency. The group recommended giving extra instructional time to those students during the day, after school or when school is out. (more…)

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by BLAIR WARNER Hong Kong Columnist. The Thrills were singing on my iPod this morning while I fought my usual battle with the treadmill. These lyrics stood out to me, and I mulled them over while I jogged. Life in Asia — sometimes a language barrier, always a culture barrier — is a constant yin and yang. It is hard to believe that our Pepperdine group has been living here for two months now. Looking back at what I felt and how overwhelming everything was when I first arrived versus now, I see such a process of growth and change. courtesy of The Graphic – Pepperdine University

Since I began my class, my view of the English language has evolved. These students who struggle to master the completely different structure of a Western language view the native English tongue as a true gift. The gift for me has been teaching these wonderfully bright and eager girls my conversational English. I am not a teacher, but simply sharing what I know with them has been incredible. Of course, I am positive I have gotten more out of it than they have. We have been covering English idioms for the past couple weeks, and until now I had not realized how many idioms we use everyday that simply do not make any sense if you are learning English as a second language. (more…)

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Bobby Bell is angry about immigration, and he’s going to take his daughter, a kindergartner at Bowie Elementary, out of school over his convictions. At issue is a Bowie Elementary program to teach Spanish to younger children. Along with their numbers, letters and colors, young students at Bowie are taught Spanish names for months of the year, simple nouns, numbers and colors. Bell’s daughter is not excluded from the lessons, although he objects to it.

The effort to put Spanish in elementary school is a proactive effort to get kids familiar with foreign language while they’re still young. State law requires students seeking the standard diploma to have two years of foreign language in high school, and three years for an honors diploma. Bell claims it’s just confusing to his daughter. “There’s no law that says a kindergarten child has to learn another language,” he said. “I honestly believe she’s confused. “How come I can’t have an English-speaking teacher, if they exist?” Bell demanded. (more…)

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Roxanne Buncich is the bridge between cultures. Buncich is the English as a Second Language, or ESL, instructor for the North Star School District. She has worked with Chinese, Russian and Spanish-speaking pupils at Central Elementary School in Boswell. The children know English, but it is not their primary language at home. Buncich not only helps them strengthen their English comprehension skills, but she also must research their culture.

Buncich said her work is rewarding because she can see how much each pupil grows. When pupils leave her program in sixth grade, she monitors them for a year. “Teaching ESL is the big picture,” Buncich said. “It’s fun to watch their faces light up when they learn something.” Pupils need six to seven years to fully grasp a language, she said. Buncich said she knew she wanted to become a teacher after helping her younger siblings with homework and working at a day care. (more…)

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