ELLs find language barrier biggest hurdle in acclimating to school

Editor’s Note: Given the rhetoric from presidential candidates on immigration policy, the Hatters’ Herald asked some of DHS’s English Language Learners about the challenges they have faced. Features Editor Natalie Ceciliano conducted the interviews in Spanish and translated them into English. We are identifying one student only by the name of Jason.

High school is tough on many students for many different reasons. But imagine walking the halls of a high school, going to class, communicating with teachers, finding your way around, and you can’t speak a word of English.

Suddenly the experience becomes far more intense. This, however, is what many of the 428 English Language Learners here at DHS face every day as they try to navigate foreign surroundings without the benefit of understanding English.

The high school plays up its diversity and the fact that so many different languages are spoken by students. In any given year, the school could enroll as many as 65 new ELLs, also identified as English as a Second Language (ESL) students.

Likely, as in past years, the students would come from Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. But they could also come from India, China, Europe and the Middle East.

No matter where they come from, though, the district is responsible for providing an education as comprehensive as to any fluent English speaker. Unlike those speakers, though, ELLs face unique and difficult challenges, ranging from not understanding a teacher’s instructions to not understanding new social customs, and to feelings of intense anxiety and isolation.

Stacey Brugnolo, ELL department head, said the district tries to make the students feel safe and supported by enrolling them in the correct classes. A test helps guide the enrollment, which the students take at the district’s reception center on Osborne Street.

“The center helps them understand the school system a little better,” she explained. “They come here and are placed appropriately in each of their classes; the teachers and students in those classes welcome them and help them understand what it’s like to be in this school.”

For many, it’s the language barrier that causes the biggest issues.

Diana Cazorla, junior, moved to the U.S. from Ecuador for a chance at a better life. She lists the difficulties she faced, not the least of which was learning English.

“I had to leave behind most of my family, I had to leave all my friends, but not knowing the language was the real roadblock,” she said. “I had only my father here. He had lived here for 14 years, so I hadn’t seen him since I was 3 years old.”

Barbara Machado, senior, relates to the difficulties faced by Cazorla.

“At first it was very difficult,” said Machado, a native of Peru. “I did not understand the language and I would get lost in the school. Not being able to communicate to anyone was the hardest part of coming to this school.”

She explains that she came to the U.S. with her mother and siblings but her father had to stay behind, which of course remains painful. Machado said the experience of just trying to find a place to live was anxiety-filled.

“We had to find a place to stay; we couldn’t stay with my grandparents because they lived at their job. We stayed with a friend for two days and then eventually found a  small apartment for my two siblings and my mother,” she recalled.

Jason, a junior, had to travel for weeks from Ecuador to get to the U.S., crossing the border illegally.

“I came to the United States because I wanted to become something, I wanted a better life,” Jason said.

“When I got here my parents didn’t want me to go to school, they wanted me to work,” he said. “But I want to get an education so that I can have a better life.”

Danielle Costello, an English teacher who instructs transitional classes, said the faculty and administration are trying their best to make ELL students feel welcome and safe while providing them with an education.

“I definitely think we do the best we can,” she said. “Where I see some gaps are when students come in from different countries where we don’t have someone in the building that speaks their native language.”

She explains the school has personnel who speak Spanish and Portuguese, therefore can help students who speak those languages.

“But when we have students that come here from the Middle East, or Bangladesh, or India we don’t really have someone here that can speak their native language,” she continued, “and I think that creates a sense of isolation for them.”

Costello and media specialist Traci Cook have discussed starting a project in which ELL students who are strong English speakers record welcome guides in their respective native languages. The guides would be similar to what one uses for self-guided tours in museums.

“I think that we need to find other ways to support kids that are not Spanish or Portuguese speaking,” Brugnolo said. “It’s just going to take time because they are just sprinkled throughout the school population. We try to get them devices that will help them translate.”

To serve the students, the district has six ELL teachers at the high school along with two bilingual teachers. Brugnolo says that’s not enough to serve the population.

“It’s absolutely not enough teachers,” she said. “We  currently have two ESL teachers each teaching six periods, and the two bilingual teachers also are teaching six periods each.” Most teachers at the school teach five periods a day.

Meanwhile, Brugnolo, counselors, teachers and clubs are working with ELLs to help them acclimate into the DHS community in the hopes of ending their feelings of isolation and anxiety.

For instance, ELL teacher Soraya Bilbao assigned a writing project that required her students to meet with and interview club advisers and members throughout the school. In doing so, she’s guiding the students “out of the nest” and helping them gain confidence in their ability to communicate in English. After learning about the different clubs, several of her students decided to join.

Also, the School Governance Council has a Student Engagement Committee that is working with BOG members and ELLs to “explore ways to further engage and connect all DHS students to the many wonderful resources that we have available at our school,” said Bilbao, a member of the SGC.

“We had our first meeting before the holidays and it was a success,” she said. “ After getting to know one another, BOG and ESL students shared their ideas with one another and later commented on how much they enjoyed working together.”

The committee’s work with the students continues, and the next step is identifying events and ways to engage all students at the school.

Costello said the school recognizes the challenges and is trying to overcome them to benefit the ELLs, ensuring that they feel safe and comfortable while at DHS.

“It’s a learning curve; it’s a slow process and it’s going to take some time,” she said. “We all recognize it’s very challenging because we have students from all over the world in this building.”