Bilingualism In ELL

1125 Words5 Pages
Parents of English Language Learner (ELL) or English as a Second Language (ESL) students have significant communication challenges impacting their lives. Imagine how different your life would be if you spoke no English, and your child was in charge. Social cultural influences effect how all people interact with one another. Children raised in the dominant culture understand what type of behavior is expected in school and other social situations. At home families' traditions, discipline styles, attitudes toward education, and prejudices are very different. ELL students are forced to cope with many changes new country, new home, new school and how their family decides to deal with living in a new country. If their family decides to try to assimilate to the American way and stop practicing their native traditions this creates an added stress for the child. At school ELL students struggle to learn a new language and the social expectations of their teachers and peers. The sociocultural pressures are increased if they do not have any other students from their native land in which to interact. The parents are influenced by sociocultural effects not only in dealing with a new society, but dealing with other members of their culture, and how they choose to interact with the new aspects of the culture. Parents can…show more content…
Teachers need to look at their ELL students as individuals with background knowledge, a culture, and prior knowledge. The goal of bilingualism is to teach the student English while appreciating their native culture including their ability to speak, read and write in their home language. Students, who continue to develop their native language while acquiring the English language, learn the second language faster. Due to this fact it is very important to get the student's parents involved in the education of their child, and to create a working relationship with their
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