View Single Post
Old 01-24-2008, 09:28 PM   #331 (permalink)
Banjo
Mr. Movie Guy
 
Banjo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 5,129
Blog Entries: 1
Quote:
Originally Posted by jillio View Post
Unfortunately, in the States, that is a problem with many of the Bi-Bi programs, as well. I think shel can attest to the fact that many of the students she gets are referred after having been labeled "oral failures" or have begun to experience problems with academic content that don't show up until the the 4th or 5th grade, approximately.

That is a problem if they are only offering English as a second language without offering things such as composition classes or literature classes. The whole purpose of learning English as a second language is to make the student able to access literature and to develop proficient writing skills. If students who have English as a first language take classes in formal English use and reading, then students who have English as a second language most certainly should, too. I would never advocate for ESL as being the only English classes offered. My committment is to ESL techniques being used to facilitate learning in classes focused on things like composition and literature. Certainly, once a child has gained a strong foundation in English as an L2 language, they should be receiving class work that will allow them to use those skills and refine them.

BTW, you have obviously overcome the problems with the system, and found opportunities on your own to refine your skills.
I definitely overcame the problems with the system. No doubt about that and I can thank my parents for playing a big part in it. You may be unaware of the fact that there are in fact, 2 separate high schools on the same campus. One is ran by the Halton School Board and one is ran by the government. You can guess which one is ran by the government.

Anyway, the one being managed by Halton is much better in comparison to the government-funded school. There is a special program where they let the deaf students take courses in the other school with interpreters. It's basically an integrated program that is shared by both schools to the deaf student's benefit. They both share the same building, though we don't really socialize with each other that much. We do prefer to socialize with our own kind due to the fact that we can sign in ASL.
Banjo is offline   Reply With Quote