Harris & Silva and Matsuda

     As an English teacher in a primarily Hispanic district, I've had many ELL students in my classes over the years. The students in my class have maxed out on their time in the bilingual program, or have opted out because they view the program as an embarrassment.

     Many of my students have been out of the program for years, after they had only been in it for a year or two, and you would never know that English is their second language. Others have been in the system for four to five years and still can not grasp the English language. This could be due to  undiagnosed disabilities (very common in my district), or the fact that the community is set up so that they don't really need to move on from Spanish. Every single function of life can be completed in their native language, so the push to learn English isn't so urgent.

     As someone who only speaks one language, I'm amazed that anyone can organize thoughts and communicate in more than one language. Trying to teach someone who is learning the language is extremely difficult, especially without training. We did have a workshop one time to give us some pointers on how to reach the students. It was an informative way to spend eight hours, but hardly enough.

     One thing that makes it difficult is the stigma attached to being an ELL in this district. The general body refer to these students with the term "bilingual", which carries a derogatory connotation. Never mind that most of these offenders also speak two languages; since they were never in the bilingual program, they are above the ELLs on the totem pole. Matsuda discusses the history of bilingual education by discussing the terms that have been used. ESL, ESOL, and now ELL. The label embarrasses the students in my school and prohibits the majority of them from participating, leading them to fall behind.

     Harris and Silva pointed out the difficulties in tutoring ELL students. What they say is true: most tutors have no idea where to start when viewing an ELL's writing. Their advice to identify what has been done well and focus on one or two things is great. It builds the student's confidence and doesn't burden them with too much to address.

     Another problem that was discussed is how to tell if the student needs help with learning the language, or with the writing process. In most of my cases, it's both. Even students who have grown up in the general program have trouble retaining the basics of writing. Consider that the English they know is drastically different from Standard English, which schools are trying to teach. Going back to a point Martha made a few weeks ago, since they are trying to learn Standard English, should they not be considered English Language Learners as well?

     Obviously that is a drastic stretch, but I think it can be used as parody of the fact that some of the techniques used to help reach ELLs might also be beneficial to general education students as well.