April 2007
Monthly Archive
30 Apr 2007 07:36 am
Overcoming barriers: Hispanic youth adapts at CASHS
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William Barrientos is one of a growing number of minority students in the district. An estimated 20 percent of the student population is minority, while nearly half of that figure is comprised of Hispanic students. The number of Hispanic students in the district has more than doubled since the 2000-01 school year. Most of the Hispanic students come from Guatemala, according to district officials, and very few enter the district with a sound understanding of the English language. Like Barrientos, most of the students have a drive and desire to learn English, but it’s not something they are able to master overnight. Barrientos admits the first few years were tough, but he is glad his family made the journey to the States. It has been an opportunity for him to gain a better knowledge of the diversity of the world, he said. |
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search for : Hispanic student, English language
29 Apr 2007 08:41 am
Branlyn School students offered unique learning experience
| Branlyn Community School has updated its library with new books that reflect the school’s multicultural community and promote a love of reading. The north-end school has added dual language books in seven different languages for students and parents to enjoy together. Each book is printed in English and a second language: Chinese, Korean, Somali, Tagalog (spoken in the Phillipines), Urdu and Punjabi (East Indian dialects) and Vietnamese. The idea is to assist students whose first language is not English, by providing reading material that reflects their language and culture. “It recognizes their heritage,” said Beth Lougheed, the school’s vice-principal and learning resource teacher. “It says, ‘We value you and welcome you to our community.’” |
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28 Apr 2007 06:01 am
Teacher is a success in any language
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Caridad Alonso is the 2007 Delaware Teacher of the Year and the first teacher in a dual-language program to be named the state’s top educator in the 43-year history of the award program. Alonso is a reading specialist at William C. Lewis Elementary School in Wilmington, which is the state’s only dual-language public school. “I feel so honored to receive this award, but it really isn’t about me,” Alonso says from her cozy, colorful classroom. “I feel I was given this opportunity so that I can tell people about dual-language programs and what a benefit they are for the students and the community. |
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search for : dual-language program
27 Apr 2007 08:04 am
Seven Korean exchange students learning a new language
| Brett Johnstun took it for granted until he started to play for the Mount Vernon soccer team. Something as simple and basic as communicating with teammates became a tough task. “The hardest [thing about our team] would have to be still just communication,” Johnstun said. “If there’s someone behind them [in a game], they don’t understand 100 percent. You have to scream at the top of your lungs just to call for the ball.” This year, there are seven Korean exchange students on the Patriots boys’ soccer team. It’s nothing new. Mount Vernon has always had a high number of exchange students because the private school has a good English as a second language (ESL) program. |
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search for : English as a second language, ESL
26 Apr 2007 07:22 am
Within one English as a Second Language class,
| The students in BP 115 meander into class quietly, slowly and shyly. They take their places in the brightly-lit classroom, which has been decorated with posters of foreign cities and beautiful locales. They sit in pairs or threesomes around the outside of several tables arranged in a large U-shape, conversing softly among each other. The voices are all in English but each one is obscured by a different, thick accent. |
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24 Apr 2007 03:28 pm
Speech Recognition Technology Improves Reading Fluency at Rosemont Elementary
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This year, Rosemont Elementary’s sixty struggling readers in the third, fourth and fifth grades have dramatically increased their reading fluency level by using the Soliloquy Reading Assistant, an interactive, speech-enabled educational software program. Diligent use of the program has lead to considerable improvements in their reading skills and comprehension abilities. The students began using the program in October 2006 after they took the fall DIBELS assessment, a nationally recognized set of standardized, individually administered measures of early literacy development. |
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23 Apr 2007 05:08 am
Coloradoan readers share views on their employment
| ESL teacher for the Center for Adult Learning at Front Range Community College, and at CSU teaching Workplace English for Food Service employees who work in the dormitory kitchens. “I love my job for many reasons. I meet people who hail from 20-30 different countries. I learn about different cultures, from body language, to what peoples’ values are, to what the differences and similarities are between them and Americans. My students are adults (from 16 years old - seniors), and they come to classes because they are motivated to learn English. |
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search for : ESL teacher, Workplace English for Food Service employees
22 Apr 2007 08:29 am
Exit exam motivates seniors
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State schools chief Jack O’Connell reported two pieces of good news this week about the state’s high school exit exam. First, the percentage of students in the class of 2007 who have already passed the test is higher than it was at this point last year for the class of 2006. More students in every subgroup, including minorities, poor children and students for whom English is a second language, are passing the exam. In all, 91.4 percent of California seniors have already cleared the hurdle and are poised to claim their diplomas in June. |
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search for : English is a second language
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