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Jazmine Galvan

English 101

Professor Batty Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman

27 March 2019

English is my Second Language; Education is my First

Around twenty years ago, I can recall a time when I encountered my grandparents who

are ESL learners acquiring their citizenship. It was because of a college counselor who was a

friend of my aunt who had suggested that my grandparents gain their citizenship through a

particular enriched program. Instead of calling it quits my grandparents took that opportunity and

used it in a way that benefited them for the years to come. Till this day I always use this story of

their triumph as an example for motivation because if they did it so can anyone else who's in the

same predicament. At a very young age I understood their commitment because I would go to

the classes with them, I witnessed them as they learned English.

Personally I saw at first hand how hard they worked and how happy they were once

they accomplished their goal which was becomong an American citizen .I wish I could thankk

that college counselor that told him about the opportunity because those are the type of

counselors that are making a difference . That's who I aspire to be one day. Attending

community college opened my eyes as far as pursuing any long term educational goals. I know

that for some people its easier to get started in the educational process and others really have a

hard time sticking to their guns. For every student deserves an equal opportunity especially

when it comes to obtaining a higher education. So finding help is a necessity and sometimes

hard to come by ,for students who speak english as a second language they want to achieve

and be successful in school, so finding help isn't proven easy for them. A few ways to help
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these students find their way are by attending a certain amount of helpful workshops, meeting

requirements from an educational contract, and attending mandatory counseling with

counselors who can relate to their specific language barriers or circumstances. Carefully

thought out solutions to a common problem that many students who use english as a second

language come across, that could be easily managed if more counselors came together and

helped these students.

For students that use English as a second language many opportunities don't come as

easy to them as they do to others. Whether it comes down to race or gender someone is always

biased towards helping them. They tend to work a lot harder because things such as learning

English can be a stress inducing struggle. People feel broken down if they dont have the right

type of support during this educational stride and tend to just give up. Enrichment Workshops

are helpful in many ways because they bring you to an environment with other like people in the

same familiar situations. According to the community college consortium for immigrant

education “Community colleges enroll almost half of all U.S. undergraduates, or 6.5 million

students, and one-quarter (24%) of these students come from an immigrant background.” which

let's us as a people know that there are definitely students who are esl and want to be given the

same opportunities as other students when it comes to obtaining a higher education.

To help these students stay on task an educational contract can be constructed

along side a counselor with intent that it is followed and has options accommodating to the

students specific needs. The students are then paired up with counselors who are bilingual

because it provides a certain level of trust, when following through with an important step in

higher education. The feeling of acknowledgment during process like this is important for

student's self esteem as well. As with everything their are rules that need to be followed so of

course the students cant undermine the contract because it could be anulled if not pursued.

Responsibility plays a big factor with these commitments because it builds character for the

student as well as gaining life experience through an educational standpoint.

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One of the most important concerns while being a student is having counselors that

support you and really make a difference in your life regardless of what language you speak.

According to Tia Brown she touched on many key points about multicultural esl students who

come from different backgrounds and how to help improve their student success. They believe

that educational leaders should have the same goal so students can be more focused in the

classroom. "The article examines the role of community colleges in the U.S. in ensuring that its

students are successful." (McNair, Tia Brown, et al.) This really needs to be implemented into

school programs because it is important for educational leaders to be on the students good side

instead of having them worry whether if they can or can't pay for school financially.

In conclusion I believe many students deserve the same opportunities because one persons

mind could hold the key to the next big discovery whether it be a medicinal cure or an

engineering breakthrough with future technology. It is infuriating enough that these students feel

scared and like misfits because of there language barriers. Acceptance and security is what

these English as a second language students need so that they can thrive and be resilient

among the rest of us who have it a little easier than most and don't have to struggle as much.

So including language barrier workshops, educational student contracts that have to be

followed, and adding a counselor who has your best interest at heart through it all really makes

that much more of a difference. Everyone involved feels good about it at the end of the day

knowing that they did their part to help a student who needed that extra push.