I believe that tutoring and small group ESL/ELA courses play an important part in the educational system especially for bilingual students. As a bilingual student where English was not my first language, I was very fortunate to be offered free tutoring and ELA classed throughout my elementary grades.
When I was in elementary school, we had bilingual classes. I was able to attend school in Spanish, class lectures and homework was all provided in Spanish. It was easy for me as my native language was Spanish and my mom spoke Spanish. My mother was able to help me with homework and when she couldn’t help me. I would be able to ask my brother for help. When I was going into the 3rd grade, Bilingual students were entering an all-English class with no prior preparation. I remember taking an English assessment exam during the summer which I’m pretty sure I failed, but no tutoring or preparation was provided prior to entering 3rd grade.
The English-speaking teacher I was assigned didn’t really have time to sit one on one and hand hold us throughout the class. I had a million questions, and I couldn’t really relate my questions to her because of the language barrier. We would use hand gestures to get our message across if that or she would just be frustrated and ignore me. It was to the point that I didn’t even bother attempting to ask a question. Big mistake! I remember her saying “wait til home” (that I understood) as in “wait until you get home to ask for help”. Little did she know that my mother couldn’t really help me because she didn’t speak English herself. I felt like we were all set up to fail and a lot of parent did too. I remember crying to my previous teacher and telling her how much I hate English if I can go back to her class. The change was horrible.
Before the ELA/ESL program was put in place, Bilingual teachers came together in the evening and provide free tutoring and English reading lessons to students and parents. The program back then was called SFA (today it is called ELA/ESL). SFA was a life safer not only because it was run by the bilingual teacher’s we were familiar with but because the teacher made it a fun learning experience. The during school hour program was strictly for students. We were allowed to get a lunch pass to sit in the SFA class during lunch hours. Some students were pulled from gym class or the auditorium (movie time) because they needed more help. The one on lessons were specifically for those students.
The evening class were my favorite. It allowed both students and parent to take the class together. There is nothing funnier than hearing Spanish speaking adults read in English with their heavy accent. I remember knowing some of the words and the adult not knowing them so we would correct the adults and not get in trouble; hysterical. Not only did we learn English, but I feel like mixed tutoring/ELA helps you bond with your parent. It definitely played a big factor in my education.
ELA/tutoring is an important factor in the educational system, not only for students but for adults as well. However, it should be offered to students at an early age so they can be prepared for the years to come.
