Learning English can be a hassle, it takes time and effort to learn a new language. However, ELD students learn to become fluent in English as they continue to learn.
ELD students continue to improve, adjust, and prosper every day. In fact, ELD students teach us lessons about perseverance, support, and determination because they turn every barrier into an opportunity towards success.
For many in our English Language Development program (ELD), the typical day at school starts with more than just books and bells; rather, it starts with the challenge of learning a language that remains foreign to them.
Through traversing the same corridors as all the others, for ELD students, there are often the added burdens of live translation and understanding.
There are students from diverse backgrounds in the ELD program, but they have an evident common objective to become proficient English speakers to be able to succeed academically and have the confidence to use English fluently. The hardest part for some students to get accustomed to may be participating in classroom discussions.
An interviewed student who has been in ELD for two years. They have been getting better in writing in English by doing warmups every day, but would have their moments in speaking the language towards other students and translating.
Some students in Mrs. Olamit’s ELD classes have talked about their first experience in ELD as being welcoming.
However it is worth noting that such a sense of comfort is often accompanied by struggle. Thus while one student admitted, “I felt like I didn’t understand English.”
A student said “Those who don’t know the language and are starting from scratch are like a newborn baby who knows nothing about the other language.”
Another student also added, “I felt very frustrated because I don’t understand anything in English. Speaking English feels terrible.”
However despite all these difficulties, the students always portrayed ELD as a supportive environment, all the students agree that ELD is where their growth begins. Teachers were also cited as one of the key sources of support particularly for students who came with little to no English.
