Multi-lingual school helps students adapt

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - When 11-year-old Isaac Seong enrolled at University Elementary School last year, the sixth-grader who grew up in South Korea was a little nervous.

"I was kind of scared because everyone was saying English, but I couldn't speak English," he told The Herald Times (http://bit.ly/T896H1 ). "I thought I could not do well in school, so I was scared the first time."

But Isaac quickly learned he was not the only student at University who was from another country or who was not proficient in the English language.

In fact, the school is known for its diverse population and the way it embraces diversity.

"When I came here, there were two Korean students in my fifth-grade class, so it was OK," Isaac said.

As a whole, Monroe County Community School Corp. has 744 language minority students, 336 of whom are limited English proficient students. University has one of the district's largest populations of international students. Of University's almost 500 students, 112 are considered language minority students.

Almost 30 languages are represented at University, with the largest population, 25 students, speaking Korean; 19 students speaking Mandarin/Chinese; and 10 students speaking Spanish.

Other languages spoken by University students this year include Arabic, Cantonese, Chin, Dari, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Luganda, Malay, Malayalam, Persian, Polish, Pushto, Russian, Swahili, Tajik, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Twi and Uzbek.

Of the 112 language minority students, about half are fluent in English, while the other half have limited English proficiency.

That's where Collette Eno, teacher of English Language Learners at University, comes in.

Eno's day is divided into 35-minute increments, which focus on one grade level per period. Each class varies in students' native languages and English proficiency.

For example, in Eno's current third-grade class, three students are from South Korea, one is from China and one is from Indonesia. Her kindergarten class consists of students from Poland, China, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Taiwan.

Eno does not speak the almost 30 languages represented at the school, but with the help of teacher's aide Angie Whitmer, technology, and good old-fashioned pictures and drawings, Eno and Whitmer do their best to communicate with every student.

"It's a variety of me using (a computer) translator, my teacher's aide helping to translate, using a lot of pictures and examples and trying to get at what they already know about (a skill) in their own language and then transfer that to that skill in English."

For Muhammad "Taqi" Faizal, who moved here last year from Malaysia, not being able to speak the language was what worried him the most about starting school. But Taqi soon realized that although his fellow students might not be from the same country, there were many students who were new to America and the English language.

"There's a lot of other students from other countries (who) came here, too," he said.

Eno said that, although learning the language can be the first barrier to adjusting to a new environment, staff and students at University also work diligently to help ease students into their new surroundings.

In fact, Eno said, one of her favorite parts of the job is watching English-learning students not only grow and learn, but then help other students new to the school and country.

"It happens almost every year with the older kids," she said. "You have kids explain to other kids that everybody understands and we're going to help you."

Although University strives to provide English language skills to non- or limited-English speaking students, Principal Michiko McClaine said it is not only the international students who are receiving an education.

In fact, McClaine said, one of the best parts of having a diverse population is the reciprocal learning that takes place among students, staff and parents.

"The students and families are always learning from each other in terms of acceptance and understanding of various cultures," McClaine said.