English as a Second Language Essay

The United States has long been viewed as the Land of Opportunity for many decades. Despite the numerous challenges that the country had to face within the recent years, this image of the United States has not wavered. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world continue to flock to the United States to try their luck, and to provide their children a brighter future than what they could ever have in their respective countries of origin. The continuous stream of immigrants into the country, and the fact that most of these immigrants come from countries where English is not the national language, it is no longer difficult to come across an individual in the streets who either speaks no English or has a limited mastery of the language. This is despite the fact that there has now been a rise in the number of countries that have now started programs to help train the younger generations, and even adults, to become fluent and adept to speaking, reading and writing in the English language. In many states in the country, particularly those located along the U. S. – Mexico border, the number of individuals who are unable to speak, read, write English fluently outnumber those that do (Carreira 2000; Lipski 2004; U. S. English Foundation 2005). As a result, the U. S. government has taken measures to establish a set of guidelines and standards for faculty teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in schools within the United States, especially in public school systems situated in areas within the U. S. – Mexico border such as South Texas. This paper aims to present and evaluate the standards that have been applied in the country with regards to the teaching of ESL in schools in the United States. The paper would also present the ideal classroom setting, standards and method of teaching of ESL in school facilities in the country. These ideal standards would then be compared to the current standards and methods that is observable in ESL teaching facilities in the country. Based on the discrepancies, recommendations would then be provided at the end of the paper in order to ensure that the ideal standards are realized. The Academic Achievement Gap Issue In order to understand the importance of the evaluation of the standards and method of teaching ESL in classrooms implemented by the U. S. government, a background on the different events that have led to the creation and implementation of these standards should first be provided. The population of students enrolling in school systems around the country has been dramatically changing since the 1990s. Because of the rise of the number of immigrants relocating in the United States, the ethnic backgrounds and origins of these students have become more diverse such that the ratio of the number of native English speakers in classrooms against non-English speakers is 1:10 (Short 2000). The diversification of the students in terms of their ethnic backgrounds has resulted to an observable division between English-speaking and non-English-speaking students, particularly when it comes to the level of their performance in academics. Research studies have shown that non-native English-speaking students constantly struggle in achieving the same academic performance and standing as compared to their native English-speaking peers, which has come to be known as the Academic Achievement Gap. Based on the studies conducted in reference to determining the factors which has resulted to the presence of this gap between students in school systems of all year levels, researchers have determined that the primary factor for the presence of this gap is due to the lack of proficiency of the English language on the part of the non-native English-speaking students (Jia, Eslami & Burlbaw 2006; Lavin-Loucks 2006; Rumberger & Anguiano 2003). The Implementation of ESL Standards Since its discovery, the U. S. government has made addressing the Academic Achievement Gap one of its major concerns. This has then resulted to the passing of the Educate America Act in order to cater to the needs of non-native English-speaking students to increase the standards of their academic performance within the classroom. As a result of the passing of this act, the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) developed a set of guidelines to serve as standards which would be implemented within the classroom setting (Short 2000). Altogether, there are nine ESL guidelines that have been established by TESOL to be implemented in academic institutions throughout the country. These guidelines were created in order to meet three specific objectives. The first of these three objectives is to provide non-native English-speaking students the ability to communicate within their social settings. Because of their limited mastery of the English language, non-native English-speaking students become withdrawn and non-participative in classroom discussions. Through the ESL standards established by TESOL, these students would be able to develop speech act behaviors which would, in turn, allow them to participate more during class discussions, comprehend the subject matter being discussed by the instructor and be able to convey themselves during social settings (Hafemik, Messerchmitt & Vandrick 2002; Short 2000). The second objective is to allow non-native English-speaking students the ability to achieve and excel within the academic institution. Regardless of the ethnic background of the students being handled, the expectations held by instructors to their students remain the same. By being able to provide the needs of non-native English-speaking students, they would be able to meet these expectations which include the completion of assignments through both written and oral methods (Hafemik, Messerschmitt & Vandrick 2002). The third objective TESOL aims to achieve through the implementation of ESL standards in academic institutions in the United States is to provide non-native English-speaking students the ability to use the English language in a manner that would be considered by their native English-speaking peers as socially and culturally correct. While it is true that a number of immigrants relocating in the United States have some form of mastery of written and oral English, the manner as to how the language is used by such immigrants may be considered by native English-speaking individuals to be rude and unacceptable. As such, the guidelines established by TESOL aims to correct the misuse of the English language in this manner by guiding non-native English-speaking students not just in becoming fluent and adept to the English language. The guidelines and standards would also aid in the teaching of the proper means of communicating using the English language such that their native English-speaking peers would regard as proper and appropriate (Short 2000).