Chapter 7: English as a Second Language and Nonstandard English

Chapter 7 of Williams' text discusses English as a Second Language [ESL] students. Have you ever experienced first-hand accounts with an ESL student? Describe your experience. If you have not, how would you go about teaching a student who's primary language is not English?

This chapter in Williams' text was especially interesting to me because I am a Spanish minor and interested in teaching ESL children. However, I failed to think about the differences that these children will have when it comes to their writing. This chapter pointed out those differences and made me realize what I would have to do to accommodate them.

One thing that struck me was on page 220 when Williams talks about the immersion of ESL students into the English school system. He mentions how many educators refer to it as submersion because this method fails so many ESL students. A beginning to a solution was addressed that involves incorporating the non-English speaking parents of these ESL children into the school. Just the other day, I was in a local elementary school on my weekly visit to my Little Brother. I witnessed a Hispanic woman, her young child [maybe 5 years old], the school vice principal, and a school secretary walking through the hallways, obviously on a tour of the school. The secretary, who is fluent in Spanish, was acting as a translator between the Hispanic woman and the vice principal. This is a GREAT first step towards promoting parental influence in the classroom. It will help ESL students feel more comfortable, and potentially lower the high Hispanic drop-out rate.

Another aspect that goes hand-in-hand with the former is the conflict between home and school, as addressed on page 228. The problem results between learning a language, which occurs through class and lessons, and acquisition of a language, which is the natural assimilation of the language. The reason that this is so challenging is because teachers are unable to take the "classroom" language and relate it to the "street" language that the students are acquiring. As a bilingual teacher, I hope that I will be able to bridge this gap. I plan on teaching my students the traditional, as well as everyday, language so they are able to practice what they learn. My Spanish teacher during my second semester at JMU did an excellent job at relating the language to things that people our age would eventually use in a conversation.

In order to effectively teach a student whose primary language is not English, the teacher must be patient and aware of these conflicts that will be present. Grammar should be used to teach the basic concepts of the language, so that students will have a good foundation to build their language upon. By teaching the grammar alongside of the day-to-day language, the student will benefit the most.