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Is mixing different level students a good idea? In
many ESL classes taught at the college level,
students with strong speaking skills but weaker
grammar and writing skills can find themselves
placed in classes with international students or
new immigrants with less developed oral skills. Is
mixing students like this a good idea? Mami Lee, an international student from Japan
Of course, there are some differences in their ability in English. The students who have been in the U.S. for a long time have better skills in speaking and listening than the students who have been in the U.S. for a short time. On the other hand, the students who have been here for a short time sometimes have better skills in grammar than the students who have been here for a long time. This means they can help each other improve their weakness. I don't think there are any problems with this, but the class might be hard for teachers. Also, both groups can share their feelings such as surprise with different culture and loneliness at being far away from their home country. The students who have been here for a long time experienced those feelings and can tell what it is like. This is a good thing to have mixed classes for the newcomers.
Carlos Barragan, originally from Mexico
The days went by and with hard work, I caught up with the rest of my classmates. I learned a lot, and then I moved on to the next level. It took me almost 4 years to finish with adult school because I was working too, so you know I missed a couple of semesters, but I finished anyway in 1997. A few months later I decided to enroll at Orange Coast College. At the beginning I had to take the placement test for English and math. When I got the result I wasn't happy because I thought I should be in a higher level; I think I might have missed a couple of questions. Oh well! I guess I needed to start at a certain level. My first English class wasn't too hard because I already had some experience with the language. In addition I was surprised because my classmates were able to understand the teacher, so I thought at least they are not like me when I started to study English. Actually they spoke very good English to be in that level, and I thought that some of them were repeating the course or they had a lot of experience using the language. I think now I am in the way I want to be taking English 100 by next fall. I know that it can be done with a lot of hard work and, being patient, I will do it.
Zin Mar Thien from Myanmar
I arrived in the U.S. about six months ago. So, I have to learn many things from other students and I would like to talk to students who have been in the U.S. for a long time. It may improve my listening and speaking skills.
After I had been studying ESL for two and a half years, I got a job as an instructional Spanish aid at the same school: At work I speak English with teachers and administrators and Spanish with ESL students who do not understand English. I have been working almost two years and I have had a good experience helping students. The vice-principal at HBAD encouraged me to continue studying English so I started taking writing classes at Orange Cost College last January in order to get my teacher credential. Taking writing classes has been an interesting issue; I have met students with different languages, cultures and different English levels. Even though I have improved my writing skills and I feel more comfortable, I am a long way from the total fluency I need to get my teacher credential. I do not mind to be in class with students who cannot communicate as well as I do but who have better grammar skills. I was actually surprised when I scored in a high level. When I came first to this class I thought I was in the wrong level because everybody else seemed to be able to write so much. Now I feel pleased because I have learned the skills.
Payman Khosrowabadi, originally from Iran
When I arrived in the U.S. the first time, I had lots of stress for the first three years and thought I never would be able to communicate with native speakers. But after those stressful years, I started to feel comfortable here and be able to communicate with most of the people. As a fluent student at college, I thought it was going to be hard to waste my time in ESL classes, but now I feel more comfortable spending time with other foreign students because I have found out that my English is not as good as some of the people, and the ESL classes are good for me to improve my English. For a more fluent student, being in the ESL classes with other recently immigrated students is kind of a good thing because it makes you feel comfortable with the class and the people. This is because of the knowledge that you have about using words and you are not afraid of saying wrong words because you know you are one of the best speakers in the class.
Hyuk Choe, a U.S. high school graduate originally from Korea
Even though I have learned six years of English, I never had any chance to learn about grammar. I think because I was in a regular English class, they never taught me the basic skills. What I did in high school was reading, writing projects, and presentations. After I graduated from high school, I began attending Orange Coast College. The first step was to take the placement test and my result was not how I expected. I was surprised and ashamed that I had to take ESL class again. I asked my sister about this and she told me that I don’t have to be ashamed because college class teaches more detail about grammar. After attending my ESL class, I was noticing that I had made the right choice. I knew I had poor writing skills and really wanted to learn about grammar. The first week of the semester, I thought it might be easier for me than for the others because I had been in the U.S. for a longer period. But lots of people in my class knew more rules about grammar. I found out that they already had studied about grammar in their own country for several years. Also, I was amazed when I found out several people in my class had only been in U.S. for two weeks and they were speaking English pretty well! International students are more motivated to learn, so they study harder and study more than people who have lived in the U.S. longer. Also they respect others more. I think I should put more effort into learning English like the international students. The teachers, Sarah Sarkissian and Greg Conner, comment on this project. Return to: Collaborative Projects Integrating Technology | Home Page
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