There probably are many other issues involved with proposition 227, but I am going to talk about its effectiveness on English learning based on my experience.
My answer is, “yes, it does help you learn faster.” When I first came to America in 1997, I was enrolled into 7th grade. In our ESL class, there was a class helper who spoke Spanish. She would use Spanish to help out Mexican students (and other Spanish speakers) who composed about 35% of the whole class. I obviously couldn’t get that kind of help because she was the only helper, and I often felt helpless when I got stuck. But always I would somehow overcome the problems by using my Korean-English dictionary, Pictionary , gestures and etc. I believe this kind of struggles actually helped improve my English learning. At the end of my first semester, I had excelled faster than most of the Spanish speakers and moved onto a higher leveled ESL class.
Learning a whole new language is not easy, and you will want to get help from someone who speaks your language, because it’s just easier that way. I think this kind of dependence can quickly grow and could hinder your learning. If you are truly desperate, you can get that kind of help “outside of school” by asking your family, relatives, family friends, or from the internet.
Getting help in school in your native language is not all that necessary in my opinion. While you’re still in school, you can get by most of the things without having to speak your own language. And the more you surround yourself in English, the quicker you will learn to speak English.
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I see your point, but I have a problem with students simply "getting by most of the things." As we saw in the article about Madison High, ESL students were usually moved out of ESL classes after they had acquired proficiency in spoken English. They just couldn't stick around any longer because there weren't enough teachers/space. However, by this point they hadn't acquired the fluency to be able to understand and particpate in the academic discourses they found in their English-language math, science, and social studies classes. Most of these students simply tuned out because they had no idea what was going on. AND THEY USUALLY GOT BY SIMPLY ON GOOD BEHAVIOR! I think this is a terrible system. I think it's great that this was not the experience for you, but unfortunately it is for too many.
ReplyDeleteI see a lot of your points and agree with things arturo said as well.
ReplyDeletei believe that it can be some good things and some bad things that come out of this.
Well... I guess I need to stay away from all the Korean friends to put myself into a total English only environment.
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