PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND
ANALYSIS OF DATA
This chapter shall provide the findings of the study
based on recent literature and studies. This chapter shall be divided into
three parts. The first part shall consist of the different strategies that
teachers of ESL employ to teach the language to students. The second part shall
discuss the advantages and disadvantages of ESL courses for Asians. The third
part on the other hand will be assessing the performance of the Asian ESL
students based on past studies.
Strategies
Employed In Teaching English as Second Language (TESL)
There are numerous procedures that teachers of ESL
utilize to maximize the learning process of the student. However, one problem
with tutoring ESL students is that tutors often use too many words to explain a
point. (
1999) Often, the student may still be processing the first explanation while
the tutor offers a second explanation meant to clear up any confusion. Three
solutions present themselves. The study of
fewer words, use gestures and facial expressions, and use silence. Of the
three, the last is the most highly recommended. In addition, ESL students
anticipate that they will have difficulty with articles and modifiers; having
the tutor correct these in silence will allow the student to reflect on the
reasons for the corrections. In a best-case scenario, tutor and student will
take turns correcting the errors.
In the study made by Beckett and Haley (2000), it
spoke of curriculum alignment for ESL instruction. ESL standards can have a
significant impact on ESL student achievement by integrating academic language
into the ESL curriculum. This student population needs to focus on goals of
academic competence, focusing on areas such as literacy, vocabulary, critical
thinking, and social skills and learning strategies. The ESL standards provide
structure and guidance that can help to increase student academic success. By
linking the ESL standards to state academic standards, one can ensure that ESL
students will receive high quality instruction in English language and content
areas.
Several strategies are offered by the authors to
develop competency in social use of English. They suggest the use of seating
arrangements (such as round tables, quads or pairs) to encourage social
interaction. (Beckett and Haley, 2000) Teachers can also try to structure
opportunities for students to use English outside of the classroom. Cooperative
learning encourages the use of language in a social manner. Positive social
interaction can help students perceive the classroom as a comfortable and
friendly place, where they will feel safe using their new language skills and
where they may find intrinsic motivation for communicating in English.
Moreover, the authors stated that in order to enhance academic achievement,
teachers can: create a language-rich classroom; provide students with advance
organizers; label everything in the classroom to build vocabulary and help
students make connections to their native language; and have different media
available for student use (books, magazines, newspapers, audio-tapes, video
tapes, computer software) to address different learning styles and also help
build connections. To help students to use English in appropriate ways,
teachers should teach what language is appropriate in what setting so students
can determine when to speak and in what way (for example, formal speech or
slang). Teachers should also recognize diversity and sameness in their
classrooms, incorporate multicultural literature into the curriculum, and
invite parents/family members to share their cultures and talents with the
class. Students need to develop an understanding of and appreciation for others
considering the diversity of society.
Another system used by the ESL teacher is by using
written measurements to allow the development of the students. In a study made
by Cogie, Strain and Lorinskas (1999), it is apparent that while the tutor's
role as cultural informant can help the ESL student gain understanding of
English, sometimes that role seems to translate into one of
proofreader--especially when whole-essay issues are absent. The study presents
the value of an ESL composition as an essential tool for language acquisition.
Nonetheless, the study uncovered that editing both
contributes to passivity in a tutorial and fails to help the student take
charge of the students’ own writing. By using such tools as learners
dictionaries, minimal marking, and error logs, the tutor can help the student
become a better self-editor. These tools may take up more time initially, but
will ultimately enable the student to become a better writer and not to mention
a better grasp of the English language.
This finding is supported by Kroll and Schafer
(1978). Their study discussed the connection between error analysis--using
errors as indicators of mechanical or conceptual patterns--and a process
approach to writing. It also discussed the possible sources of errors in ESL
writers and shows how an understanding of the source of an error can be applied
to helping the writer move toward the correct form. Moreover, a study of
Matsuda (1999) purported that although ESL students constitute a significant
number of students enrolled in writing classes, these students are often overlooked
in composition studies. One reason for this oversight stems from the historical
development of both disciplines. Teaching English as Second Language (TESL)
grew out of the "scientific" work of applied linguists, while
composition studies grew out of a "humanist" tradition. As a result
of the two different institutional paths, compositionists fail to see the
importance of incorporating insights from ESL writing into their research and
theories.
On the other hand, Powers (1993) described the
difficulties encountered in tutorials with ESL students at the
students, tutors were more commanding, didactic, and intrusive, than with
native speakers. This was seen as a problem because of the center's Socratic,
nondirective philosophy. The study proposed that instructors accept that
nonnative speakers need more and different things from tutors. Moreover, the
study also suggests that the students’ questions do not stem from laziness, but
rather from a lack of knowledge. She also added that the ESL students might
have learned different rhetorical strategies in their native languages.
Moreover, she noted that the students might not be able to benefit from the
methods of teaching editing used with native speakers.
Alternatively, Segedy (1999) introduced in her study
the concept of Lit Pal, a letter writing project targeting the ESL
student population in which ESL students were matched up with a peer tutor. ESL
students and peer tutors exchanged a series of six letters focused on specific
literary issues associated with the required reading for specific literature
courses. Both students and instructors reported that they felt the program was
a success. Some pointers about how to set up a similar program and how to focus
the letters are included.
Furthermore, a study of faculty intolerance, or
tolerance for that matter, of NNS errors was conducted by Janopoulos (1992). In
his study, the faculty was given twenty-four (24) sentences that contained
common Non-native speaking students (NNS) errors to rate for acceptability.
Half of faculty was told they were rating NNS sentences, the other half native
speakers (NS) sentences. Results suggest that faculty were slightly, but not
significantly, more tolerant of NNS than NS errors.
In addition, TESL Canada Action Committee (1981)
published a position paper regarding the proper TESL of Asian immigrants. The
paper is based on the discussed recommendations of a 1980 symposium on English
as a second language (ESL) programs for Southeast Asian adult refugees and
immigrants in Canada, along with six principles toward a Canadian policy for
providing ESL training to this population. Ten major points of the 53
recommendations of a position papers of Teachers of English to Speakers of
Other Languages (TESL)
are presented, along with a brief introduction to TESL Canada and
background information to the TESL Canada position paper. It is
recommended that language training be recognized as the key factor in immigrant
integration and should be made explicit through new federal language-training
policy that integrates social and employment rationales. A two-stage
post-arrival model is also advocated that would involve a full-time, 3-month
(300-hour) reception program combining survival English with native-language
orientation services, as well as occupational assessment and career counseling.
It is recommended that the new Canadian language-training policy should adhere
to six basic principles set out by TESL Canada: accessibility to ESL
training, flexibility and sufficiency, coordination, support for settlement
services, Canadian content in the ESL Program, and the key role of the ESL
profession. Appendices include: a 1981-1982 TESL Canada Directory, a
list of recommendations from the 1981 Greater Toronto Southeast Asian Refugee
Task Force Report, a summary of recommendations to the federal government, and
a bibliography.
Advantages and Disadvantages of
ESL for Asians
English
is still the principle vehicle for international communication. This being the
case, there are any number of good corollary reasons why it is becoming
increasingly essential to learn the English language. Further, a global culture
continues to develop based on shared entertainment, the Internet, and other
forms of mass communication. The English language tends to be the key to
participating extensively in this shared culture. Then, of course, there is the
realm of international business and commerce for which English remains the
principle tool for communication. Concurrently, the English language is neither
inherently better nor worse than any other language, albeit for a variety of
historical reasons it has evolved into a lingua franca. There is an emerging
recognition of “world Englishes” and the many and diverse environments they
reflect. Thus, many people in the world
are learning English not to assimilate themselves to the Anglo-American norm of
behavior, but to acquire a working command of the language of wider
communication and whereby to express their national identity and personal
opinions. In other words, no one is forced to abandon his or her native culture
and behave Anglo-American in order to acquire proficiency in English.
some adaptation to a different form may still be necessary for effective
communication to take place, the shift is horizontal not vertical. In other
words, English as spoken in a given community has its own inherent value. Like
languages in general, it is neither better nor worse than that spoken
elsewhere. These views allow us to pursue adaptive communication skills and
strategies without losing a sense of who we are in the process.
Nonetheless, there are also barriers that
pose to become disadvantages for the ESL method. In a study of Thonus (1999),
it noted the circumstances present in academies. In college and university
writing centers, native English-speaking (NS) tutors working with nonnative
speakers of English (NNSs) face a series of dilemmas in their practice. First,
what is considered as effective tutoring may not be comprehensible. Second,
what is considered as comprehensible may be neither polite nor good tutorial
practice. Whereas tradeoffs between communicative success and linguistic and
pragmatic form also occur in interactions with NS tutees, the hazards of such
negotiations are considerably more marked in tutorials with NNS writers.
Results suggest that communication breakdowns of these types seriously threaten
the tutorial context.
On the other hand, Minami (1995) provided
her own study of 30 Asian high school students (9 males, 21 females), who were
in U.S. schools for a variety of reasons, ranging from extended visits to
families of relatives to temporary academic or occupational appointments of
parents in U.S. universities or corporations investigated student perspectives on
English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction and bilingual classrooms. The
subjects represented a variety of nationalities and educational backgrounds.
The students were interviewed, most individually, and all but one in their
native languages. They were encouraged to speak openly about their experience
in classrooms, with teachers, and with other students. It was found that ESL
classes offer a haven for student to relax and relieve some of the tension of
other classes, and also provide students with many more opportunities for
active participation. The students were sensitive about being understood. Some
negative comments reflect feelings of isolation and lack of incentive to learn.
Clear differences between bilingual programs and ESL programs were perceived,
and these students preferred an environment in which the teacher: (1) provides
good instruction; (2) is sensitive to their needs; and (3) tries hard to engage
them in the ongoing life of the classroom, school, and culture. This shows that
the apparent lack of adeptness of the ESL student imposes difficulties even
outside the classroom considering that they are required to interact with what
they consider as a foreign language.
Performance of
Students in the ESL Course
This part of the chapter shall provide a description
of the performance of the Asian ESL students in their respective courses as
provided by past studies and literature. A study of Ferris (1994), reports the
results of a study involving 155 students in two levels of a university ESL composition
program who responded to a survey. The study shows that students pay more
attention to teacher feedback provided on preliminary drafts than to final
drafts, and they appreciate encouraging comments. Furthermore, students find
feedback useful in helping them improve, but sometimes have problems in
understanding the comments. Teachers can overcome these problems by explaining
their responding behaviors to students.
On the other hand, He (1998) conducted a pilot study
addressing two related questions: do skilled and unskilled ESL writers
demonstrate different behaviors in responding to essay and personal writing
genres, and what are the different and identical strategies employed by both
types of writers when these behaviors are categorized into strategies? The
pilot described the processes of two male Taiwanese graduate students. Results
indicate that both writers did demonstrate different strategies for the
different genres and that each writer used fewer strategies for the personal
writing than the essay writing. In general, however, the skilled writer used
more strategies than the unskilled.
On the other hand, Kaplan (1980) discussed the
connection between logic and grammar, and describes typical linear, inductive
or deductive paragraph development in English. The study contrasts this with
rhetorical patterns typical of Arabic, Korean, French. Moreover, the study
concluded that each language has a paragraph order unique to itself, and that
part of the learning of a language is learning the standard paragraph order of
that language. Likewise, the study also gave the "movement of paragraphs
in the various languages" diagrams that are reproduced in Muriel Harris's
book.
In terms of specific English proficiencies, Vann,
Lorenz and Mayer (1991) conducted a study assessing the performance of ESL
students as perceived by their teachers. Two hundred and ninety faculty
responded to a questionnaire to determine reader response to three specific
errors in the written work of nonnative speakers of English. The authors
hypothesized that readers would have a hierarchical pattern of error
acceptability, and that reaction to errors may be predicted by the reader's
characteristics including academic discipline, age, gender, etc. Results
indicate that the hierarchy of acceptability is complex, yet not random.
Academic discipline is a predictor of response, although other factors are
weaker. Furthermore, although faculty operate with a hierarchy in mind, no
standard sense of this hierarchy exists, which suggests that ESL instructors
need to be careful about claiming that certain specific errors are more
acceptable than others.
On the other hand, Hurley (1989) conducted a study
in the Rancho Santiago Community College District to track the academic
performance of 238 English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Asian students and 301
ESL Hispanic students for three semesters (fall 1987 through spring 1988). The
students had entered English 101 classes by way of ESL 110, the highest level
composition class for non-native students. The purpose of the study was to
determine whether these students were more or less successful in English 101
than their native English-speaking counterparts, to compare the success rates
of the Asian and Hispanic groups, to assess the predictive validity of ESL grades
for English 101 success, to determine whether the non-natives failing English
101 were as likely to fail other classes requiring moderate to heavy writing,
and to examine whether additional hours of ESL preparation would significantly
improve student performance in English 101. Asian students represented 16% of
the English 101 enrollments for the period under investigation, while Hispanic
students represented 20%. Study found that the no-pass rate was 20% for native
students, 15% for Asian students, and 23% for Hispanic students. Moreover, it
also uncovered that the grades in ESL 110 were not reliable predictors of
success in English 101, with A and B students failing at almost the same rate
as C and Credit students. Furthermore, a majority of the students who failed to
complete English 101 did succeed in other departments such as history,
political science, sociology, and philosophy. Likewise, it found out that of
seven current and recent ESL 110 instructors, all felt that current ESL
offerings did not provide adequate preparation for English 101.
Chapter 5
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Asians acquiring the English language through ESL courses. Specifically, sought
the strategies employed by teachers in educating Asian primary school students
on the English language; the advantages and disadvantages of adopting English
as a second language for Asians; the manner on how Asian primary students adopt
to English as a second language; and the level of effectiveness of the adoption
of English as second language in the development of the Asian primary students
in terms of academic performance and English language adeptness.
The primary source of data came from published articles from social science
journals, theses and related studies on ESL, education, and those concerning
the Asian migration and its concurrent effects in communication.
On the basis of the data gathered in relation to the
statement of the problem, the following are the significant findings:
ESL standards can have a significant impact on
ESL student achievement by integrating academic language into the ESL
curriculum.
Cooperative learning encourages the use of
language in a social manner.
In order to enhance academic achievement,
teachers can: create a language-rich classroom to address different learning
styles and help build connections.
Another system used by the ESL teacher is by
using written measurements to allow the development of the students.
Teaching English as Second Language (TESL) grew
out of the "scientific" work of applied linguists, while composition
studies grew out of a "humanist" tradition. As a result of the two
different institutional paths, compositionists fail to see the importance of
incorporating insights from ESL writing into their research and theories.
No one
is forced to abandon his or her native culture and behave Anglo-American in
order to acquire proficiency in English.
The
apparent lack of adeptness of the ESL student imposes difficulties even outside
the classroom considering that they are required to interact with what they
consider as a foreign language.
Conclusion
Students with English as a second language (ESL) constitute a significant
percentage of the population of schools. This population continues to increase
more rapidly than that of native English speaking students (Shore, 2001). The
language minority population has a high drop out rate. These students are also
among the lowest ranking in academic achievement and expectations. They
represent an at-risk population faced with a wide range of challenges
(Thompson, 2000).
Based on the findings of this paper, this
research came up with the several conclusions. First, the study posits that the
students of ESL are in a strange land trying to maintain a sense of identity
related to their native culture and become American. This is indeed a heavy
burden. Moreover, social and political issues surrounding immigration and
diversity complicate the seemingly basic task of learning English. The role of
schools in the integration of immigrant students is formally identified as
making them fluent English speakers.
However,
ESL students encounter many obstacles in their efforts to become proficient in
the English language. They often come to realize that in order to be fully
accepted, they must abandon their native language, surrendering an aspect of
their identity. They are caused to feel they must speak either English or
nothing at all. Thus, they become caught in a painful power struggle over the
use of English and their native language.
Moreover,
the English that ESL students are taught is academic English. They often lack
the ability to interact in social settings with English speaking peers because
they are in separate classrooms and often have limited opportunity to interact
academically or socially. They often have great difficulty learning the
"slang" and social English because they have no one to learn it from.
These children come to prefer English out of necessity, often abandoning their
native languages to fit in. They end up without comfort in either language and
may end up losing the ability to communicate with family members and friends in
their native land. It is the position of this paper that Asian ESL students
will remain torn between two worlds until society truly embraces diversity and
the notion that biculturalism and bilingualism are assets. What is considered
necessary in the education of ESL students is the development of English and
maintenance of their native language.
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