[ HAWAII’S SCHOOLS ]
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Each week, Hawaii's teenage reporters and photographers tell us about their school. This week's school is Baldwin High School.Next week: Nanakuli
CASSANDRA LEALAMANUA / BALDWIN HIGH SCHOOL
In foreground from left, junior Grace Fajardo, senior Norberth Garma and senior Hatem Elwir recently wrote responses to a story they read in Baldwin's English for Second Language Learners program.
Easing the transition Imagine yourself moving thousands of miles away from your home to a new country, one whose language and culture are unfamiliar to you.
to English
Baldwin’s program aims to help students
By the numbers
who recently arrived from foreign lands
Teens must consider consequences of actions
By Cassandra Lealamanua
Baldwin High SchoolEach year, thousands of immigrant students come to our islands, some bewildered with the drastic cultural and language changes. Baldwin High School's English for Second Language Learners program helps student immigrants learn English and make a smooth transition from their native culture to Hawaii and American culture.
Students come from countries like Micronesia, the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, China, Korea, Japan, Israel and Mexico. These non-English-speaking students face challenges some people never even dream about.
Baldwin's ESLL department coordinator, Diana Nakoa, believes the cultural difference is the hardest adjustment.
"These students are generally coming from a smaller, more reserved country into a big, loud one," Nakoa says. "Of course, some things are going to be different."
Hawaii has one of the largest language minority populations nationwide. The only other states with equal or higher numbers are California and New York. The ESLL program serves 12,820 students statewide in Hawaii.
It is a federally funded program that includes students from kindergarten to the 12th grade. Any person who does not speak English as their first language is eligible for the program. Also, if students transfer from a Hawaiian immersion program to a regular public school, they must meet with ESLL teachers to determine their level of English proficiency.
In the classroom, the program seems similar to other English classes, except some instruction is modified to accommodate the students' English fluency level. One of the objectives for the program is to provide an environment where students can learn easily and receive help whenever they need it.
Regular curriculum teachers sometimes can be insensitive to students in the ESLL program, assigning homework without regard for whether they can understand it, Nakoa says.
For example, if a teacher assigns a worksheet for homework, he or she may not consider the task to be difficult. But for an ESLL student, completing the assignment involves language translation, analysis of grammar and syntax, deciphering letters, searching for meaning and trying to understand what is being asked.
Because of these challenges, ESLL teachers help students with homework in different subjects. Nakoa says she often helps her students with science, math, and history.
There are two ESLL classes on the Baldwin campus, one for students who have low English proficiency and another for those who are more advanced. There are about 22 to 24 students in a class.
ESLL students do their best to make a smooth transition when they move to a new country. Senior Hatem Elwir, from Palestine, has been in America since last July.
Elwir says he likes learning English, although it is difficult to speak and understand at times. He, like many ESLL students, feels the best way to learn English is by speaking to people, for they help by correcting mistakes.
But he noted that speaking to people often is difficult because people who do not face the challenge of learning another language sometimes make fun of him because of his accent, or when he makes mistakes while speaking.
"I would like someone else that speaks my language, but I'll just have to learn," Elwir says. "There are many different kinds of teachers for this program, but Ms. Nakoa, she's the perfect teacher. ESLL teaches a lot of things so we can go to regular classes and do well."
Junior Melody Yago came to America from the Philippines about three years ago. She says talking to friends makes learning English a little easier.
Yago would like to see the program expanded, adding that it would also be wonderful if the program could provide more materials to help students learn. Yago enjoys learning English, but like many other students who come from other countries, she comes across challenges every once in a while.
"People make fun of you because you might pronounce the words wrong and they embarrass you, but just try your best to speak English and don't feel ashamed about your culture," Yago says. "You just have to be patient."
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Newspaper: Baldwin Courier By the numbers
Editor-in-chief: Mandy Shinozuka
Faculty adviser: Linda E. Coleon
Address: 1650 Kaahumanu Ave., Wailuku, HI 96793
Phone: 984-5656
Date founded: 1939
Principal: Stephen Yamada
Enrollment: 1,700
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