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Bringing English to everyday life: a look inside one ESL classroom in Marion

by: ashley wiehle
the southern

Monday, January 16, 2006 12:09 AM CST

MARION - Students in Vicki Huelsmann's ELL classes have many identifiers.

They are Japanese; they are Chinese; they are Hispanic; they are Arabic; and they are German.

They are American.

And on a recent Friday afternoon, they were playwrights.

Since 2001, small groups of students have been gathering in Huelsmann's classroom throughout the day, working diligently toward fluency in the English language. As a transitional program of instruction, English Language Learners (or English as a Second Language) serves students of all backgrounds.

The number of students in the Marion area learning English as a second language has increased drastically within recent years. In 1998, there were 18 students in Marion learning English; the number rose to 20 in 2000. There were 49 students learning English in 2005, according to statistics from the Illinois State Board of Education.

Currently, there are 32 students learning English as a second language in Marion School District 2. These students vary in their grade levels and ability to speak English, but the individualized nature of the program allows Huelsmann to work with students no matter their native language or

proficiency with English.

Because the program is focused on teaching children to speak English, Huelsmann is able to teach children who speak many different languages. Of her students, 16 speak Japanese; 10 Spanish; three Chinese; two German; and one Arabic.

No matter her students' first language, Huelsmann's unique approach brings English into an everyday life force - not just letters organized on pages.

Huelsmann utilizes four areas of learning - listening, speaking, reading and writing - to give students the best possible understanding of the English language. They aren't memorizing the words of others; they are comprehending what these words mean within their context and everyday conversation.

Students learning English visit Huelsmann's ESL classroom each day, for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. During their visit to the ESL room, the children are able to take lessons from other classes and apply them to their ESL studies, Huelsmann said.

"The teacher give me a copy of their plans each week," Huelsmann. "I find out what they're doing - tests and assignments - and I plan my lessons around them."

Having "content-based" lesson plans ensures that students learn vocabulary words that benefit not only their everyday English, but also emphasize material being taught in other classes. Students bring study guides and worksheets to Huelsmann's classroom, so they're sure to understand the more important points of the lesson.

The cross-curriculum approach to teaching lends itself to fun activities that teach the children without seeming expressly academic. On a Friday afternoon, three Japanese children were reading through a book with Huelsmann, tackling big words that could stump any fifth-grader.

They made it through with aplomb. The ESL students are typically very hard-working and enthusiastic to learn about their new country and its language, Huelsmann said.

"They're very school-conscientious," Huelsmann said, citing a young student who came to Marion without knowing even one English word. The student is now in first grade and at the top of his class, Huelsmann said.

"It amazes me what they're achieving," Huelsmann said. "They're very self-motivated."

Self-motivation and fierce energy seem to go hand in hand. While reading a story about fishing, the students were taking the book's content and writing a short play. Crafting dialogue for each of the four characters gave the students an opportunity to use their imaginations, practice their English - and learn about contractions and casual American speech.

"When we're talking, just casual talk, I wouldn't say this," Huelsmann said, pointing to the words "I am" on her students' chalkboard play. "How would we say it?"

A unison "I'm" came from each of the students, who listened intently as they wrote their play. Ryo Yamamoto stopped to take a pointer from the chalkboard and sat in a chair, getting into character and pretending to pluck fish from their invisible lake.

Making her classroom a safe haven was perhaps the most important aspect of Huelsmann's ESL lessons. When the children first came into the Marion school district, they arrived with little or no proficiency in English. With so many people addressing them in languages they don't understand day after day, it was imperative that the children feel safe and understood within the confines of Huelsmann's classroom.

"It's really important to just be flexible and empathetic," Huelsmann said. "My goal is for the ESL room to be relaxing so students will not feel threatened. In order to reach their highest level of proficiency, they must be able to take risks. They need a comfortable environment to be able to take risks."

Having administrators and teachers that welcome the opportunity to teach ESL students has made all the difference for her program, Huelsmann said.

"It's been a really good experience," Huelsmann said. "The school has put in all the resources to help them learn. The teachers have been so accommodating and patient. I can't say that enough."

School administrators welcome their ESL population. Many of the Japanese students are fairly recent arrivals who came to Williamson County when their parents began working at Aisin, a major manufacturer with three facilities in the Regional Economic Development Corporation.

"It's difficult to find a Japanese teacher," said Sue Easton, school improvement facilitator for Marion District 2. "We have tried. We want our students to be able to communicate. The majority of them are pretty well-spoken."

The students are making strides every day toward learning more proficient English while staying close to their own culture as well. Many of Huelsmann's students take Japanese lessons on the weekends, and her classroom is filled with books with multicultural titles “ "Japanese Children's Favorite Stories" and "Hispanic Holidays" are among the titles.

Shuji, created by the hard-working students, adorn the walls of the ESL classroom. The pictograms have titles like "peaceful" and "hope" “ two things that fill Huelsmann's classroom with abundance.

"We really want them to learn here, and to love to come to school every day," Huelsmann said.

ashley.wiehle@thesouthern.com

(618) 997-3356 x 5807