ESL Students Overcome Language Barrier
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Three of them no longer even have accents.
The other three got started later in life, but through sheer hard work and determination, they've been making up for lost time.
All six will graduate from Warsaw Community High School this year.
What do these seniors have in common?
They all entered Warsaw Community Schools speaking little or no English. Not only did they have to master the curriculum, but they had to do it in a language and a culture that were totally foreign to them.
Kasia Adamczyck, Maria Truong and Maria Valverde had the advantage of beginning English as a second language, or ESL, classes when they were in elementary school.
Adamczyck, whose father was already here when she came from Poland in 1987, said her father got her and her sister involved in ESL classes right away.
"I don't know what I would've done if that wasn't available to me," she said.
Truong's father also got her and her brothers involved in ESL, but took it one step further.
"He would have us sit in front of the stove," she said, "and he used the front of the oven as a blackboard," drilling the kids on vocabulary and parts of speech.
Valverde lived in Oregon during her elementary school years and had some ESL classes there. She came to Warsaw in the early 1990s already somewhat familiar with the language.
School has been much more difficult for Patricia Lopez, Laura Espinoza and Cesar Lopez (no relation to Patricia). They started their WCHS careers not knowing any English.
"It's easier to listen and read" than to speak and write, Patricia said, adding that sometimes teachers speak too fast, and that slang can further complicate the issue.
Cesar said just understanding announcements, such as when and where to eat lunch, were difficult at first, as was making friends and dealing with peer pressure.
Espinoza lived in Texas for a year, where she spoke no English, and Illinois for two years before coming to Warsaw in 1996.
"I have to learn how to talk, how to read," she said.
All of the students credited their success with the language and with school to the ESL program by Warsaw Community Schools, and to ESL Director Wendy Long in particular.
Long said some of the highlights of the program include giving ESL students extra time for tests, allowing peer tutors and highlighting main points in lessons. ESL students also attend special classes at the high school or get one-on-one tutoring at the elementary and middle school levels.
According to Long, there are now more than 200 students in Warsaw schools to whom English is not a native language.
Of these six graduating seniors, all said their native languages are still spoken at home by parents and families, but some of their parents and family members are also taking ESL classes at the Alternative Learning Center.
They also said being in the classroom, watching TV, repeating friends' expressions and getting involved in extracurricular activities helped them become proficient with English.
And each of them was eager to thank Long and all of the teachers who helped them master the language.
All six hold down jobs besides going to high school. After graduation Adamczyck will attend Indiana University and Truong will go to Ball State; Valverde will go to International Business College; Patricia Lopez plans to study art; and Cesar Lopez and Espinoza will continue working until their future plans are more concrete.
Just having these six students at WCHS has been an advantage to all high school students, said principal Paul Crousore.
"They have done a wonderful job. They've worked hard," he said. "In terms of cultural diversity, you couldn't ask for a better situation. ... It demonstrates that families and schools work well together."
Still, most of the work has been done by the teen-agers, and it hasn't always been easy. But maybe, along the way, they've learned lessons they can use long after they graduate from high school.
Adamczyck summed it up: "You really have to be determined if you want to succeed." [[In-content Ad]]
Three of them no longer even have accents.
The other three got started later in life, but through sheer hard work and determination, they've been making up for lost time.
All six will graduate from Warsaw Community High School this year.
What do these seniors have in common?
They all entered Warsaw Community Schools speaking little or no English. Not only did they have to master the curriculum, but they had to do it in a language and a culture that were totally foreign to them.
Kasia Adamczyck, Maria Truong and Maria Valverde had the advantage of beginning English as a second language, or ESL, classes when they were in elementary school.
Adamczyck, whose father was already here when she came from Poland in 1987, said her father got her and her sister involved in ESL classes right away.
"I don't know what I would've done if that wasn't available to me," she said.
Truong's father also got her and her brothers involved in ESL, but took it one step further.
"He would have us sit in front of the stove," she said, "and he used the front of the oven as a blackboard," drilling the kids on vocabulary and parts of speech.
Valverde lived in Oregon during her elementary school years and had some ESL classes there. She came to Warsaw in the early 1990s already somewhat familiar with the language.
School has been much more difficult for Patricia Lopez, Laura Espinoza and Cesar Lopez (no relation to Patricia). They started their WCHS careers not knowing any English.
"It's easier to listen and read" than to speak and write, Patricia said, adding that sometimes teachers speak too fast, and that slang can further complicate the issue.
Cesar said just understanding announcements, such as when and where to eat lunch, were difficult at first, as was making friends and dealing with peer pressure.
Espinoza lived in Texas for a year, where she spoke no English, and Illinois for two years before coming to Warsaw in 1996.
"I have to learn how to talk, how to read," she said.
All of the students credited their success with the language and with school to the ESL program by Warsaw Community Schools, and to ESL Director Wendy Long in particular.
Long said some of the highlights of the program include giving ESL students extra time for tests, allowing peer tutors and highlighting main points in lessons. ESL students also attend special classes at the high school or get one-on-one tutoring at the elementary and middle school levels.
According to Long, there are now more than 200 students in Warsaw schools to whom English is not a native language.
Of these six graduating seniors, all said their native languages are still spoken at home by parents and families, but some of their parents and family members are also taking ESL classes at the Alternative Learning Center.
They also said being in the classroom, watching TV, repeating friends' expressions and getting involved in extracurricular activities helped them become proficient with English.
And each of them was eager to thank Long and all of the teachers who helped them master the language.
All six hold down jobs besides going to high school. After graduation Adamczyck will attend Indiana University and Truong will go to Ball State; Valverde will go to International Business College; Patricia Lopez plans to study art; and Cesar Lopez and Espinoza will continue working until their future plans are more concrete.
Just having these six students at WCHS has been an advantage to all high school students, said principal Paul Crousore.
"They have done a wonderful job. They've worked hard," he said. "In terms of cultural diversity, you couldn't ask for a better situation. ... It demonstrates that families and schools work well together."
Still, most of the work has been done by the teen-agers, and it hasn't always been easy. But maybe, along the way, they've learned lessons they can use long after they graduate from high school.
Adamczyck summed it up: "You really have to be determined if you want to succeed." [[In-content Ad]]