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There are more than one and a half million students learning English as their second language in California schools. And most are struggling academically. David Kates looks at the successes and challenges of English learners attempting to stay at grade level.
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Piece Description
There are more than one and a half million students learning English as their second language in California schools. And most are struggling academically. David Kates looks at the successes and challenges of English learners attempting to stay at grade level.
Transcript
David Kates
5/3/07
California English Learners
There are more than one and a half million students learning English as their second language in California schools. And most are struggling academically. David Kates looks at the successes and challenges of English learners attempting to stay at grade level.
MANY ENGLISH LEARNERS ENTER CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS WITH A HANDICAP. CARLOS SANCHEZ MOVED FROM EL SALVADOR THREE YEARS AGO. HE?S A JUNIOR AT WARREN HIGH SCHOOL IN DOWNEY.
29: I was scared. I didn?t know the language. I didn?t know how to talk with the teacher.
IN THE STATE?S LARGEST DISTRICT, THE LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, ENGLISH LEARNERS MAKE UP 40 PERCENT OF ENROLLMENT. NEARLY 95 PERCENT OF THE DISTRICT?S ENGLISH LEARNERS SPEAK SPANISH. OFTEN THEIR PARENTS ARE NOT WELL EDUCATED IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE, KNOW VERY LITTLE ENGLISH AND WORK LONG HOURS....
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Jackson Braider
Posted on June 12, 2007 at 07:11 PM | Permalink
Review of English Learners in California Schools
A terrific subject that needs more attention. Kates does a good job of covering the issues, and he's found a great bunch of sources.
But we're caught up right from the start by a linguistic tick: "English learners." While it's a bit cocky to note that LA is the home of the largest contingent of Brit-expats in the US -- which gives an entirely different meaning to "English learners" -- I fear Kates's thrust suffers from political correctness.
A political correctness, I should add, weighed down by the American ambivalence toward learning a second language.
My instinct would be to go back and discover where the indigenous tribe (so-called "Americans") have determined where the linguistic threshold stands. The story here sets such questions into motion..