ELL Family Strategies With School, Essay Example

As a group, English language learners are growing in number even more quickly than the population of students as a whole. As a result, both ELL teachers and students are confronted with a variety of challenges involved in working together in order to provide the most successful outcome for the student.  This paper will discuss various issues involved in enhancing the experience of ELL students, their families, and their educators.

An obstacle in the past that prevented minority students from having a successful outcome in school was that there was a strong belief by educators that ethnically and culturally diverse students come from households which are lacking in resources, such as intellectual abilities as well as social strengths.  Because of this false assumption, there was a frequent lowering of academic expectations from the teachers, which undoubtedly resulted in a fulfilling prophecy that caused the students to perform inadequately.

More recently, however, there has been much research that contains strong evidence that depending on how educators approach ELL students, their educational experiences and results can be greatly improved.  In order for this to happen, the teachers need to understand that the households from which the students come contain valid and valuable “funds of knowledge”, that is, the historically developed and accumulated strategies such as skills, ideas, practices, and bodies of knowledge that are essential to their households’ functioning and well-being. (Velez-Ibanez & Greenberg, 1992.)

In the past, teachers often made home visits in order to discuss with parents a specific problem with their child, to inform the parents of difficulties the student was having regarding difficult subjects, or to make suggestions about ways in which the parents could assist the child to become a successful student.  The ELL model is different however, because it encourages teachers to make home visits in order to discover the existing strengths and knowledge in the household.  Besides obtaining invaluable information about the families’ functioning, livelihoods, and relationships, home visiting often creates a strong and positive connection between the student, his family, and the schools or the teacher individually.

Both in school and out, socio-cultural factors affect how people behave towards each other.  The majority culture communicates to their children how they are expected to behave in the home and outside, with both children and adults.  It is in the home that parents convey their expectations regarding traditions, discipline, biases, and attitudes towards school (Lundeen, 2009.) Students who arrive from other countries are confronted with a multitude of challenges involving a new country, new home and school, and the nature of their families’ adjustment to this new way of life.  In some instances, the family might make a strong effort to assimilate to American customs and language.  In doing so, the family may leave behind their former cultural identity and traditions.  For all involved, this can be extremely stressful and at school, students are further pressured to meet the social mores of their fellow students and teachers.  This adjustment can be made easier if there are other people from their home country in school; however, if there are no such familiar faces, attitudes, or behaviors, a student may become isolated and depressed, feeling alone and missing their old friends and lifestyle.  The current thought about the way to maximize the experience of the ELL student is to encourage them to learn the practices of their new country while continuing to value and preserve their own cultural identity.

Teaching bilingual education involves more than simply teaching a language other than the students’ native language.  Rather, it is crucial to view the ELL students’ background and culture, as well as their former educational experiences, as valid and important.  Rather than seeing the world as a colorblind society, which was a popular goal in the past, ELL strategy acknowledges and celebrates the differences between the students’ original cultures and that of the majority.  It is not an attempt to eliminate the native language and culture of the student.  As a result, it is imperative that the teachers form a connection with the parents in order to involve them in their child’s education.  The teachers should form a partnership with the parents with the common goal of helping their children’s adjustment to a new country.  If the parents feel comfortable and accepted by the school, it increases the chances that they will participate in their child’s education.

In most states, including the state of Georgia, there are a variety of resources to address the needs of ELL students and their families.  These range from classes at every level of learning, from secondary school to college classes as well as night schools given at local settings, and offered at times that are convenient for working parents.  In addition, there are many organizations that are specific to different cultural populations, and which provide social clubs and gatherings of people that share a common home country.  Participation in such community groups can often help immigrants to gather and share common information from their fellow countrymen about adjusting to a completely new culture.

It is important for schools to establish and reinforce partnerships with the families of their foreign born students.  This can be accomplished by, among other methods, having regular parent meetings or phone calls from the teacher to touch base and to listen to any concerns or questions that the parents might have.  The school can also send home information or newsletters about school activities, future meetings for the parents to attend, as well as to encourage parents to participate as chaperones on school trips and other activities so that they can meet and possibly form bonds with other parents.

Often, schools have an International Day for their students, in which the pupils are encouraged to bring in food or customs or clothing from their native country.  This can be both interesting and fun for children, and is an educational tool that is used to enhance respect and admiration for cultural uniqueness.

It is also important for teachers to arrange to have translators available when meeting with parents of ELL children.  At some schools, senior staff including principals or teachers are on hand to greet the students each day when they arrive, and in doing so, they are also in contact with the person who drops the child off, most often the parent or parents.  Having a visible, warm and friendly presence can establish a safe environment which feels welcoming both to that child and to the parent, and increases the chance that the parent will feel that the staff is approachable.

Often, the point of contact between an immigrant family and the society in which it now lives is the school system, IE the staff, other students and other parents who are already a part of the school community.  The school setting provides an invaluable opportunity to welcome the new family to their adopted country of residence by implementing concrete methods to help them integrate themselves into the new community, such as providing English language courses at night.  In addition, a huge part of the success of introducing ELL students and their families to their neighbors will depend on the warmth and acceptance of the people that they encounter through the school system.  Although there is still a gap between performance of English- speaking students and ELL students, this void could be narrowed considerably when there is great effort made to emphasize parental involvement as a key element in the future success of their children.

References

Greenberg, J.B. (1989, April). “Funds of knowledge: Historical constitution, social distribution, and transmission.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, Santa Fe, NM.

Lundeen, S. (2009, August 20). Influences on ESL students at school.  Retrieved June 22, 2010. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2077563/influences_on_esl_students_at_school.html?cat=25

Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. “Theory into Practice,” 31(2), 132-141.

Velez-Ibanez, C., & Greenberg, J. (1992). Formation and transformation of funds of knowledge among U.S. Mexican households. “Anthropology and Education Quarterly,” 23(4), 313-335.  Retrieved June 22, 2010. http://www.ericdigests.org/1994/funds.htm