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background on first-generation students
background on first-generation students
essay on first generation college students
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Being a first generation student in the United States is difficult. Not only by having parents who do not speak English, but there is also no one who can help you with your homework. Since kindergarten -the beginning of my educational career- I have been chained to the ESOL program. This program is somewhat helpful because it teaches students how to speak basic words and learn their definitions. The only thing it did not teach us was how to formulate sentences instead of advancing you it retains you, to what your classmates are learning in language arts. Reading was always dreadful since I would read slower than my classmates and they would make fun of my accent. Many of my classmates were unaware of the challenges faced at home, where Spanish was the primary language. Once I got to middle school the problems were less, but my accent was still there. I still could not pronounce some words and write certain words. While I was confused with the basics of the English language, I had to move on. This was complicated furthermore due to the inattentiveness of the language arts teacher. This was because English was more complex now. The classwork was difficult, I tried to get other classmates to …show more content…
Harder concepts were thrown in. Eventually junior year came and I had to write again, but this time it was more difficult. At the beginning of the school year the teacher was strict, I disliked her but by the end of the school year she and I became close. She taught me how to understand the reading and how poetry was read, something I never understood. Writing became easier, she helped me become better at writing. Her method of teaching was different than the other teachers. Before other teachers would not help me with essays they would only say turn it in, but she would proofread it and tell us where we can get better at. This teacher helped me get better grades not only in her class but as well in my senior year English
Just like Rose, I did not bother switching classes and I continued with the enrollment. Rose and I both made the best of the situation but I knew I was not meant to be in that class. I achieved exceptional test scores and wrote unbelievable papers in that class. My teacher for 8th grade English was the exact opposite of a literacy sponsor. My English teacher closely resembled that of Roses’ teacher Brother Dill. My teacher was exceedingly unenthusiastic about his job and the capabilities of his students. He did not teach me to succeed but to only pass by the bare minimum. He tore apart the essays I wrote and broke down my literacy confidence. Throughout this I maintained a empowering spirit about my writing and reading
Years after most school districts in the United Stated have initiated some type of “strategy” for educating America’s, increasing ELL population,; questions about how well teachers of English Language Learners (ELL) are being trained and the effectiveness of ELL programs have arisen . For many, such topic may not be as important to some as it is to others. In retrospect, the number of ELL students grows every school year as schools districts absorb the increased enrollment. Based on state-reported data, it is estimated that 4,999,481 ELL students were enrolled in public school (pre-K through grade 12) during the 2003-2004 school year (Mckeon, 1). With this in mind, school districts are still witnessing a tremendous growth of their ELL population as educators prepare for the tidal wave of non-English speakers. Unfortunately, in lieu of the data, school districts are still not ready for the influx of students who are arriving every day, and teachers are not fully prepared. Additionally, many school districts are failing to support their teachers and to evaluate their ELL programs effectiveness. In fact, the lack of success in many ELL programs is due to the insight that many states are implementing programs with no proof that such programs are effective or working. Simply put, many school districts are not evaluating the efficacy of their program, providing support to teachers, and initiating diversity training and skill buildings.
I took the previous course at a junior college, and my instructor wasn’t as qualified and didn’t identify exactly what she wanted in the writing assignment. I would go to her office hours and ask her what I needed to do on my essays to improve my letter grade, and she would do the revisions and say my paper was “great” and still give me a “C” on the assignment. Unlike, ENGL 1302 when I went to office hours my instructor always explained what I needed to improve on and advise me towards pages in the St. Martin’s Handbook as instructions to follow. My instructor was always helpful and patient at answering all questions I had towards a particular assignment. The University Writing Center also helped me with some weaknesses found throughout my literature review and word choice.
Due to the rise in immigration and the demographics of classrooms in America are changing. As a result, English Language Learners are becoming more common in schools. English Language Learners make up one of the largest demographics in the American Classroom (Flynn & Hill, 2005). These students have been observed to have a major achievement gap because many of these students are placed in mainstream classrooms with basic literacy skills. Many English Language Learners are born in the United States (Goldenberg, 2008). These students have only attended the school system in America. However, the achievement levels are nowhere near the level of their peers. According to Calderon, Slavin, and Sanchez (2011) “these students, who have been in U.S. schools since kindergarten, are still classified as limited English proficient when they reach middle or high school— suggesting strongly that preschool and elementary programs are not adequately addressing the needs of English learners.” The achievement gap between English Language Learners and native English speaking students is extremely high. English Language Learners tests scores are low. According to the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress, “fourth grade ELLs scored 36 points lower than their peers on the reading section of the test and 25 points below their peers in math. The results in eighth grade were worse with a difference of 42 points in reading and 37 points in math” (Goldenberg, 2008). The gap between ELLs and non-ELLs are three to eighteen points larger then students from low-income households.
(93) Many immigrant students have to work part-time and face demanding work at school. The most important thing is they only have limited knowledge of English. My friend, as an immigrant student, she always found difficulty in her academic field in the first two years of school in the United States. She worked very hard and checked every word that she didn’t know, but she was still not getting a B or higher. Her sadness and hopelessness covered all her pleasure, and she thought that she would never get a better grade next time.
For as long as I can remember learning how to read and write was a real challenge for me. When I first arrived in the United States I was enrolled at the nearby elementary school. Being from another country I was scared and embarrassed because I was different then the other children in my class. Talking and communicating with others was something that wasn't in the interest of what I wanted to do. I sat far away from others depriving myself of what they were doing or learning. Coming from Mexico and going to a school where no other children would speak the same language that I would or even play the way I did made me believe that I was some sort of thing that didn't belong. All these contributed to a low esteemed child that was unable to communicate. The world I was in suddenly became a place that I didn't know. To the kids and others in my class I was an illiterate person.
According with Jean Piaget whose theory on child development has been a great influence in education; language development is the most important phase during the Preoperational stage of cognitive development. During this stage children develop and build up their knowledge and vocabulary by asking questions and expressing ideas through words, images and drawings. This stage is considerate to happen from two years of to seven years of age (Kendra Cherry). Language development has direct implications in the intellectual development of a child, and it is one of the main tools to develop our thinking process. We use words to store and access memories or other information. For Latinos children and especially recent arrivals whose language is Spanish entering to school where their primary language (Mother tongue) has no validation neither use may be traumatic and even hinder their future opportunities to succeed in a school system that is complete foreign in concept and in language. In order to integrate and create opportunities for the Latino students to succeed the in the educational system we must create programs that address the specific needs of the Latino community such as bilingual education where students learn to speak, read and write in their mother tongue language first.
Monzó and Rueda (2009) conducted a study examining the concept of passing for English proficient in Latino immigrant children. They studied a group of Latino English language learners (ELLs) in and outside of school. They not only observed these students but also interviewed them as well. Within these interviews students opened up about their feelings about their first language, English, and their place in American society. Monzó and Rueda (2009) then found within their data the most common forms of passing for English proficient that these students used.
Mrs. Plot, one of the hardest English teachers in Murray County High School, was my teacher that year. She was a very determined and driven teacher that did not tolerate her students to fail her class, even if they were lazy. I had heard horror stories from her former students, but she was nothing like they said she was. She was the only teacher that I have connected with all throughout school. I looked forward to her class every morning because she always made learning fun. Mrs. Plot gave out good advice about English, but she also gave me personal advice and was more of a friend to me. She always knew what to say to me when I had problems. She motivated me to do better with my writing; we went to a journalism class together every week that year. Mrs. Plot deepened my love for reading and writing. Without her, I would not be the kind of student I am today. On every assignment in her class, I got the most feedback and it helped me out a lot. It took me a long time to become a decent writer, but with her help she sped up the process. I put all of my effort in every single paper I have written, especially for her
My brother and I had to enter school. It was frightening we didn 't know anyone, and Spanish wasn 't familiar to neither of us. I only wrote in English. My mother tried to teach us before we entered school and we did learn, what was really hard, was to get in school! The director gave a lot of excuses and didn 't want me or my brother to get in so we lost that year, sadly.
School was a challenge for me when I was younger, and I was that student who was always at the back of the pack. When I wasn’t in the classroom, I was either in a Special Ed class or practicing word and letter sounds with a speech teacher. Someone had to read my test out loud and I had additional time to complete them. I was two reading levels behind everyone in my year. And then fifth grade happened. I had these impressive co-teachers who were very involved with my studies, and I was able to show my strengths in math. Never before did I consider I was advanced in any subject, but there I was. English was still a mighty foe that held a resent against me; probably for the countless times I butchered the language.
My personal literacy development has been a constant struggle since my arrival in America as a boy with a Spanish-speaking mother and a bi-lingual father. We spoke Spanish at home. As I began school I could only speak a small amount of English and understood only slightly more. I learnt, as young children do, through listening to the people around me and using any visual aids I could to scaffold the gaps in my understanding (Winch, Johnston, March, Ljungdahl, Holliday, 2012). My lack of basic literacy affected every area of my learning with only math classes allowing me to feel slightly comfortable due to the international nature of numerical literacy. I quickly developed the oracy skills required to be able to contribute to social and academic situations but unfortunately developed other ways to hide my lack of progress in other areas.
The first English course I took in college was a basic introduction to writing, during this course we learned how to write a good essay, we learned techniques to improve our writing and we learned how to organize our ideas and put them in a logical manner. We did a lot of discussions and during this class was the first time that I was involve in peer reviewing. My second course I took was with the same professor, Mr. Braun. I believe he was a great educator and he really showed interest in helping their students that’s why when I had the opportunity I choose him to be my professor
Bilingual education have been a serious issue for immigrant student. Beginners in education who move to the United States, have an issue with communication, in how to understand English, and losing their identity. For immigrants students, not knowing a second language affect seriously their life in the United States. In his article “An Education in Language,” Richard Rodriguez presents how the English language became a barrier that changed him and his family. Rodriguez explains how hard the challenge of understanding English was for him during his early years of school. Besides, Rodriguez illustrates that his parents’ lives were affected by lacking education and their opinion about it. In addition, he moved over to pursue higher education.
Language has pioneered many interracial relationships and historical milestones. Language is a necessity for basic communication and cultural diversity. Being multilingual is a skill proven influential to a successful future. Due to rapid globalization, countries all over the world are stressing the importance of learning a second, or even third, language. With the exception of time and lack of resources, adults have very few widely applicable disadvantages to learning multiple languages. However, language learning as a child presents more complications. Some of those include not having enough funding at the elementary school level to introduce a program for secondary language, academic overload for the youth, stress for both the parent and student parties, and the mixing of languages. Not all of these complications are true in any or all situations, however, and the absence of them provides multitudes of opportunity for future career and academic success. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parents or the education legislation to decide whether they encourage the learning of a secondary language at the young age necessary for retention. “The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency,” therefore the younger a child begins to learn, the more likely they are to benefit to the maximum potential (Robertson). Keeping the language learning in high school or beginning the process earlier is a greatly controversial discussion that is important to address because of the topic’s already lengthy suspension.