Every year, new students from all over the world arrive at Troy High School. Speaking English with people who have it as their first language can be a source of fear for them, especially if it is their first time facing a situation like this. They may struggle and try to adapt their language into the English grammar, and that could be a barrier for them to learn at school or even participate.
Renata Barrera, a freshman student from Mexico, who arrived no more than a month ago, claims that “It’s difficult for me to learn it because I can’t understand it very well. There are many things that, even though I studied a little there in Mexico, it’s not the same as here.”
(translated to Spanish: “Se me hace difícil aprenderlo porque no logro comprenderlo muy bien. Hay muchas cosas que, aunque estudié un poco allá en México, no es lo mismo que aquí.’’)
The international students usually arrive at the English Language Development (ELD) class, which helps students who speak a foreign language at home to practice and improve their English skills. Many students build strong connections with people inside this class even if they don’t speak their same native language. They find help with each other and have more confidence at school. The students who enrolled in these classes meet Christina Rick, the ELD Specialist that has been working almost ten years at Troy High School.
Rick is heavily involved in helping ELD students acclimate to the school. She explains how she pairs new students with current students to help guide them, specifically considering previous students she has had who speak the same language. Rick stated, “I message the [current] student on Schoology or I go to their classroom, and I explain ‘we have a new student who speaks the same home language as you. Would you like to walk them around for the day and be their helper person?’” When they meet their “guide” they feel more secure walking around the school, and also it is better for them to know more about the school by asking questions.
The students have to take a test called WIDA (World Class Instructional Design and Assessment) which helps students who are learning English in school. It provides tools and tests to understand how well students can speak, write, listen and read. The test is given every year to measure the student’s skills. Teachers can know what kind of support each student needs and help them to improve and succeed in their classes.
WIDA is a consortium of states, territories and federal agencies that creates standards, assessments and professional development for teaching and assessing multilingual learners. If they have a range of 1.0-3.0 score in the assessment they are automatically in the program of ESL and they are signed in the class of “EL Tutorial”, a class to support students with accessing academic content. It is to make them feel more confident, knowing how to do the things that they’re learning in all of their classes. The classroom is supported by two other teachers, Leticia Held and Sangita Sharma. With Rick, they are in charge of providing support as the students complete their assignments. They review concepts that students learned in another class, assist students in completing their assignments, help students study for a test or quiz, or simply provide support with comprehending a topic from school.
For example, some of the students used their iPad to communicate with others. Kwak Yejin shares, “I used my iPad for translation. If I have words that I don’t know, I use Google translation or ask chatGPT, and I use it more in physics and history.”
As Troy High welcomes students from across the world, each student’s journey is different, filled with challenges and goals. Behind every new face is a new story.
