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Teaching English takes long term Researchers warn Medford schools not to shortchange ESL students By Vicki Guarino Educating Hispanic students and others who don�t speak English takes years of specialized instruction, nationally recognized researchers warned Medford school administrators. No matter how diligent the teacher, or comprehensive the curriculum, students enrolled in English as a Second Language programs will need at least four to six years of special instruction, said researchers Virginia Collier and Wayne Thomas of George Mason University (Washington, D.C.). Their presentation to Medford school district administrators Wednesday capped three days of lectures to teachers and administrators throughout the region. Their seminars began Monday at Southern Oregon University. Some 300 teachers from around the state attended the presentation � the first of its kind in Southern Oregon. The program was coordinated by Medford schools� ESL coordinator, Zuna Johnson, and sponsored by the district, the Jackson Education Service District and SOU. Using data from their own research and research they conducted for the federal government, Collier and Thomas said the best and most promising of specialized ESL instruction develops both native and English language skills. "It�s a matter of learning English and catching up in the curriculum," Collier said. "That�s what takes such a long time." The stature of Collier and Thomas made the program significant for teachers as well as policy makers, Johnson said. "These are some of the most renowned researchers in the country ... on the issue of second-language learners," said Johnson. The team addressed the learning needs of youngsters who speak little or no English and the hot national debate over their instruction. Leading the political debate is the California initiative that ended most lengthy ESL programs that emphasized development of native language along with English. Thomas lambasted state reports, and the media reports that ensued, for skewing the academic impact of the measure. The reports showed rates of academic achievement among ESL students � predominately Spanish speakers � had improved once ESL instruction was shortened and students mostly attended classes in English. Thomas said those reports were statistically flawed and, nonetheless, showed that gains among English language learners were not keeping pace with gains among their English-speaking classmates. He noted that California educators in the past few years invested heavily in reducing class size and reforming curriculum, expecting academic gains. The results showed modest gains among English speakers, and smaller gains among non-English speakers. Thomas accused the reviewers who reported benefits from the California initiative of "cherry picking results." "This is a gross misrepresentation of what is going on," he said. What the California record shows, said Thomas and Collier, is that non-English speaking students are falling behind other students. Thomas coupled those statistics with his research over several years showing that once a gap in achievement appears, it widens to a point were the student can�t qualify for a diploma. "That�s really unconscionable," Thomas said. From their years of research, Thomas and Collier said, they�ve found that the best programs for students are those that help them develop their first-language skill and teach subjects in the first language as well as English. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.