California Immigrants Are Learning English - and Want to Speak English Better!

Do American immigrants want to learn English? Are the children of Spanish-speaking adult immigrants learning English? What are the recent trends in California and Los Angeles?

A recently released Census Bureau report, based on the 2007 Census information, shows that – shock, shock – immigrants overwhelmingly want to improve their English skills. It also shows that a slight majority (51%) of immigrants in Los Angeles claim that they can speak English fluently – an increase from just a few years ago. The study also notes that 88% of immigrant children claim to speak English – and want to learn more.

Yesterday’s Los Angeles Times editorial “Speak English? Yes, more immigrants do “ provides a solid introduction to the heated debate over language and immigration in California. The editorial also argues that immigration reform should include a provision to keep families united so the American children of illegal immigrant parents are not separated from their parents. Finally, the editorial concludes that both the United States and the English language continue to evolve and Americans should embrace change.

The fine editorial, however, could and should have called for both expanding and improving the quality of public education programs so immigrants – including adult immigrants - can learn English quicker. A better Census report also would have included the legal status of immigrants and gone beyond self-reported data by immigrants with evolving language skills.

The editorial’s strong, humane conclusion is worth repeating verbatim:
“American culture grows and adapts as new immigrants redefine it over the generations, and the same can be said of the English language. We should embrace that evolution, not hold it at bay with false and alarmist arguments about the threat to American values.”
Los Angeles Times, September 24, 2008 editorial

Doesn’t that sound sane and civilized?

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Why do school boards so often make problematic decisions?

"God made the idiot for practice. Then he made school boards."
Mark Twain (1835-1910), American novelist and humorist

As the quality of American public schools continues to decline and more classes and program get cutback, this quip remains painfully current.

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So What Does Current Research Show About Teaching English in American Public Schools?

Do English language learners, or English as a Second language students, learn better in sheltered programs? Should students receive some instruction in their native language – and if so, for how long in American public schools? What does current research show about teaching English to children who speak another language at home? What language programs seem to work best? Which seem to produce the weakest results?

Teaching Language Learners: What the Research Does – and Does Not – Say , a 19- page article published in American Educator attempts to summarize current studies, detail the differences between studies, and introduce a more nuanced language to a very passionate debate. Claude Goldenberg, the author, writes in a clear, accessible style – and explains various bureaucratic jargon as he goes reviews the material. This article, written for American public education teachers in a union publication, deserves a large readership from English teachers, ESL teachers, ELL administrators, bilingual advocates, and journalists writing about language politics.

The article made numerous important points, including:

- the rapid growth of English Language Learners (ELL) students in public schools;

- a solid majority of ELL students are actually born in the United States (Why????);

- smaller class sizes matter;

- some intensive instruction in the primary language, for an unknown duration, helps improve target language abilities in writing;

- a huge debate continues over best practices over duration and purpose of primary language instruction;

- teaching English language learners from countries with low literacy than teaching students who bring strong academic skills in their native language (shock, shock!)

- written skills of ELLs remain far below national standards, especially in high school;

- oral skills often lack written skills in ESL/ELL students;

- students have difficulty moving from intermediate oral skills to achieving actual fluency;

- standard tests seldom test oral skills, leading to speaking skills being somewhat neglected in ESL/ELL classrooms.

Personally, I found the first two pages a bit annoying with its predictable complaints implying the impossibility of a second grader, particularly an ELL second grader, learning everything that is expected by state mandates. Yet when Goldenberg moved beyond the predictable “union” frame “our impossible job” and actually starting summarizing two major meta-studies of ELL practices, he provided a balanced, informative, and level-headed article filled with illuminating details.

As an adult educator, I also thought the article made a powerful argument for a huge expansion and deepening of adult education programs if a solid majority of ELL students are actually born in the United States. Why should millions of children born and raised in the United States be unable to speak English? If you believe that speaking English helps students live in the United States and language and culture are related, then this article provides a litany of troubling details about the state of ELL instruction and public education programs in general.

I strongly urge ELL and ESL instructors to read the long, ambitious, and satisfying article. It may become a seminal work in MA programs for ESL teachers, especially for people working in American public schools. http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/issues/summer08/goldenberg.pdf

This sometimes ugly debate over language policy will probably heat up as McCain and Obama attempt to make distinctions in their immigration and education policies. Perhaps this article will help clarify the complicated issues that go beyond bumpersticker solutions.

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Adding Classic Quotations Adds Depth, Diversity to ESL Classrooms

Why do you recommend using classic quotations in ESL classrooms?

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free…it expects what never was and never will be.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826),
U.S. President and principal author of the Declaration of Independence

Classic quotations, like proverbs, brings in many insights from religious leaders and philosophers that go back even more than 2,000 years such as Buddha, Confucius, Aristotle, and the Biblical prophets in a compelling, succinct manner. These quotations remind us that some conversations have spanned centuries and cultures.

Further, you can pair two, three, and more quotations to present a wide range of ideas, beliefs, and perspectives. Some quotations might make you laugh, some might make you sigh, and a few might even annoy you. Yet bringing “the wisdom of the ages” into your English language classroom elevates the discussion. It can also encourage students to feel safer in presenting their idea.

This technique helps students both join the conversation, and add their own ideas. Our classrooms should be a lively place where students can explore ideas and experience free speech.

Including classic quotations also helps preserve the insights and comments of well-known and significant cultural figures. This technique helps both teachers and students escape the too-common delusion that the world began when we were born and provides a larger perspective. Sometimes knowing the speaker and historical era invites another way of looking at our modern lives.

Finally, a stunning number of both adult education and college students need to be introduced to significant artists, writers, leaders, and philosophers from the past. Academic literacy requires some degree of cultural and historical awareness. I always include the dates and identify the occupation of various figures to both introduce and gently cajole students into seeking out more information on significant cultural and historical figures.

Is adding dates really necessary? Yes, given the actual state of common knowledge among ESL students. Something is profoundly wrong with American education when a majority of American high school seniors in public schools can not name the war that occurred when Abraham Lincoln was president. I believe including quotations, in context, provides a small counter to this shocking level of historic amnesia.

I remain confident that our ESL students, especially adult immigrants seeking naturalization as U.S. citizens, will develop a solid grasp of our nation’s history. Throwing in a few quotations from historical figures can only help.

“Liberty can not be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.”
John Adams (1735-1826)
U.S. President and contributor to the Declaration of Independence

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Investing in quality ESL classes improves daily life

A good society helps its citizens flourish and visitors feel welcome.

A good society also invests in education, including teaching immigrants enough English that they can use their considerable intelligence, creativity, and skills in the workplace.

Unfortunately, low standards in public education have eroded support for government sponsored education programs. Worse, the few underfunded English as a Second Language programs usually provide the most basic English skills. Students learn to listen and read at about 4^th grade level, and speak like a child with a very limited vocabulary.

From my perspective as an English instructor and former adult ESL teacher, the current adult ESL standards too often only teach immigrants passive skills like listening and some minimum reading. English language programs, whether designed for vocational skills or general language, must include speaking and writing. If people can’t hold a conversation in English, their job prospects remain rather limited!

A frontpage article in today’s Los Angeles Times points out the obvious problem. America, or at least Los Angeles and California, have become dangerously dependent on foreign trained labor for many professions from nursing to engineering. Lack of Skilled Workers Will Lead to a Fiscal Crisis noted the headline that spoke for itself. The acute shortage has lead, as so often, to a lower of standards and more workplace problems.

When will the employers and voters decide to invest in real, serious, quality English languages for immigrants? And why are immigrants trained in English programs abroad so much stronger, better, and more effective than the adult ESL programs here? After all, immigrants have many more opportunities to speak English and learn outside of the classroom than students in Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, Argentina, or France.

Again, the case for dramatically expanding and raising the standards of our English as a Second Language programs seems clear.

Unfortunately, reason and government policy do not always co-exist in the United States! What about in your country?

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Negative headlines and trendlines for ESL in California public schools

Immigrants remain the future . Smart countries invest in their people, including new immigrants seeking to improve their language skills. Enlightened leadership in California, and the entire United States, would invest in teaching English to immigrants .

Yet the gap between "ought" and "is" remains very wide in Bush's America and in California's public schools.

The dollar continues to decline in value. The national budget, seldom balanced, has zoomed deep into mega-debt during the Bush II era with two expensive wars, a deepening recession, and record tax cuts for the wealthy. The California state budget runs at least a $14 billion dollar deficit. Cutbacks in public education, therefore, seem inevitable.

In California, the governor has pushed for a 10% across the board cut in government programs. Adult education, almost always a step-child to K-12 programs, has been hit exceptionally hard as school boards try to minimize the impact. Of course, many adult education students do not vote so elected officials find cuts easier to make. The growing anti-illegal immigrant sentiment has also helped made ESL programs a natural target for budget cutting. The acute need for far more effective, modern, and well-funded programs to restore some standards to public education gets overlooked - again.

These abstract concerns about cutbacks took a very visible shape at the statewide California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages convention last week. Total attendance was officially down by more than 25% since school districts had few available funds to send administrators, let alone teachers, to the conference. Yet I suspect the real numbers are far, far more dramatic than the reduction from 1600 t0 1200 attendees. Here are some signs of pervasive cutbacks:

• only a single school district recruited teachers
• the exhibition hall seemed like a ghost town
• publishers and vendors were eager to talk about the freezing of public education spending in many districts
• vendors expressed hope that teachers would buy even more supplies from their personal pockets
• many workshops collected rather sparse crowds
• the few job board postings were for summertime Intensive English Programs that attract private, international students
• the mood, despite many fantastic new educational resources and software programs, seemed very downbeat

Perhaps it's unfair to juxtapose a very hectic, chaotic international teachers' convention in New York City with a far smaller state teachers' convention in Sacramento. Yet this year the two ESL teachers' conventions occurred on consecutive weekends. The contrast could not be clearer.

Teaching English, on a global level, continues to dramatically improve and expand. The development of new software for English language learners, better teaching techniques that respect students and encourage authentic communication, and the increase in international educational point to a better tomorrow. Meanwhile, the news from California's public education system, always troubled, seems to worsen almost daily - especially for immigrant students and ESL teachers. The draconian cutbacks will, again, disproportionately fall on English language programs. Instead of helping immigrants join the national family and learn English, lawmakers will maintain low taxes on the wealthy and eliminate vital educational programs for low-income children and adults. Perhaps improved educational technology and the exceptional efforts of ESL teachers will preserve the under-financed system, but the trends seem to be running in the wrong direction.

Teaching at an elite private university in Los Angeles, I could pretend these cutbacks don't matter to me. Yet that's a dangerous illusion. The collapse of public education, especially for immigrants, will have both immediate and long-term consequences. The expanding gap between the wealthy who can afford a truly wonderful 21st century education and the expanding number of under-educated, over-stressed poor indicates a worsening future for too many Californians. As a stoic philosopher Epictetus noted so long ago, "only the educated are free."

As an American, a Californian, and an English teacher, I don't like the trendlines and headlines for American public education. Do you?

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