Public Schools Need Successful ESL Programs

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Because America is such a diverse country, public schools are faced with the challenge of providing students from all over the world with a quality education. As Chen points out “public schools have embraced the linguistic challenge presented by immigrant students” (¶1). Then, No Child Left Behind law was approved, and it required every public school should have an English Secondary Language (ESL) program that will provide the “academic support” for English Language Learners (ELLs). ELL parents are happy that their children are getting education help from the school, but it has raised the question of how successful are the ESL programs? Do ESL programs provide enough “academic support” to all ELL students? Do ESL programs have enough tools to help students learn English? Some ELL parents complain that ESL programs do not help their child learn English. A successful ESL program is not based solely on the test scores, but also the ability to connect parents, teachers, and students together to strengthen tools that will help ELL students to learn a new language in reading, writing, and speaking. Every year, the number of immigrants in the U.S. has grown “significantly.” Chen predicts that by the year of 2020, public schools will have at least 50 percent of students that are non-English speakers (¶5). This shows that it is important that public schools have a successful ESL program. The purpose of ESL programs is “to enhance” ESL students learning, to help students’ “emotional well-being”, and to accelerate students’ ability to learn the new language. According to Chen, some district schools have failed to support ESL students’ learning. For example, Chen stated that “...[some] school districts [have been] accused of not meeting t... ... middle of paper ... ...pply for scholarships just like their classmates. ESL programs can be successful with strong parental support and excellent academic support for ESL students. Works Cited Chen, Grace. "Inclusion or Exclusion? The ESL Education Debate - Public School Review." Public School Review - Profiles of USA Public Schools. 07 Apr. 2009. Web. 01 Feb. 2011. ---. "Immigrant Students and Public Schools: A Fluent Fit - Public School Review." Public School Review - Profiles of USA Public Schools. 15 Apr. 2010. Web. 01 Feb. 2011. Lueck, Cynthlae. "ELL Parents' Perceptions Matter." Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin 77.1 (2010): 9-16. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. Roessingh, Hetty. "The Teacher Is the Key: Building Trust in ESL High School Programs." Canadian Modern Language Review 62.4 (2006): 563-590. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 31 Jan. 2011.

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