Therefore, if the ESL/Bilingual class is perceived as a 'remedial' class, then the students in that class are viewed as 'dummies'. In remedial ESL class, the objective is to mainstream ESL students into monolingual English classes as soon as possible without regard to helping the immigrant student retain/learn about his L1 or his L1 culture. The phenomenon where the ESL student loses his L1 while gaining his L2 English is called Subtractive Bilingualism.
"In transition all bilingual classes, students are not were not yet proficient in English receive instruction in their native language in all subject areas as well as instruction in ESL but only for limited number of years typically two or three with a gradual transition to an all English instruction. Native language academic work is provided to keep students on grade level while they are learning English. Such a short-term program offers fewer opportunities to include English speakers, so this is generally a segregated model. The highest priority of most transition all bilingual programs is teaching English, with the goal of transitioning mainstreaming students integrate level classes as soon as possible. In transition all bilingual programs students have made greater gains than ESL pullout programs, but students have been much more academically successful in English in bilingual programs such as the Immersion, Two-Way and Developmental Orderly Exit. (Ovando, 32)
Case Study Jae Kim
Jae is in an ESL Pullout class. The goal of this ESL Pullout/ESL Content Remedial class is to help Jae with his English Writing, English Reading, and also to help him understand academic content classes that are heavy in English text reading. Jae has been in the ESL Pullout class since 8th grade. In the beginning, Jae knew very little English, but after a couple of years, Jae advanced to the more advanced ESL classes where he just needs remedial help in History, Biology, and English classes. Jae does not like school. He misses Korea where he was a straight A student. He hates being told not to speak Korean and he hates having to read long English texts. He tends to be sullen in English. He truly does not like being in an ESL Pullout class viewed as remedial by other students because the other students make fun of him and think he is a 'dummy'. Jae is quiet and doesn't like talking in class because students also make fun of his thick Korean accent. He feels awkward in class and he can't wait for school to finish. The mainstream content area teachers never make Jae feel like he is important because they never ask Jae about Korean culture even when the Social Studies teacher was doing a unit about the Korean War in his American History class. Instead, the Social Studies teacher just made the class read the long history unit about the Korean War in the history textbook. Jae has trouble reading history so I am there to teach him ESL reading skills.
It is a shame I think to waste Jae's knowledge about Korean culture. Rather than ask Jae about Korean culture or ask him what he knows about the current state of affairs between North and South Korea to add cultural enrichment to the history class, the history teacher just rushes through the unit and complains about Jae's low reading scores and the need for Jae to 'fix' his English 'problem' by having Jae take the ESL Pullout Academic Content class making Jae feel like a dummy. Jae would be more motivated to learn and stay in school if teachers included him in their teaching.
Jae has a lot of knowledge about Korean culture, Korean food, Korean history and Korean values. A fascinating discussion about the difference between Korean family values and American family values for instance, would yield precious and fascinating insight into other cultures for American students allowing students of both cultures to bond and trust each other by learning from each other and allowing Jae to feel like a part of the class thus motivating Jae to stay in school and like school. Excluding Jae has alienated him from school and he is graduating next year with a negative impression of American culture and American schooling. Such a shame to waste the opportunity to learn from students like Jae.
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