As many high school students understand, moving from state to state or even city to city is an intimidating process no matter how old. But while this may be difficult, fewer students can comprehend the challenge of immigrating to a whole new country.
“At first, the culture [in America] really confused me. Everything was really different and I had to learn quickly,” Talia Choi said. “I remember one time when I was in P.E. class, we were playing baseball. Everyone started chanting ‘We want a pitcher, not a belly-itcher.’ Small things like that were what I really needed to get used to.”
Choi, a senior who moved to Lake Zurich from China when she was ten years old, immediately skipped fifth grade when she moved here and had to adapt to the American way in order to fit in with her peers.
While trying to understand the culture of new peers, Choi stresses the importance of learning to adapt while staying true to her roots.
“At school I do the same things that my friends and other students do, but at home I honor my parents’ heritage. When I’m with my family, it is really important that I respect [Chinese] culture,” Choi said.
In addition to finding an equal balance between their new and old traditions, young immigrants must also learn to communicate with their new peers in a new language.
“I learned English pretty quickly when I moved here because I was so young,” said Anabell Castañeda, senior, who moved to America when she was five years old. “But for my mom, it was very difficult to learn. She told me it was very hard because she had no choice but to learn it. If she didn’t, she would have been incompetent. She used to be scared to go out without my dad because of her insecurities.”
The English Language Learner (ELL) program is designed to help new District 95 students from other countries learn English in addition to the standard curriculum.
When Choi started school at Lake Zurich Middle School North, she began the ELL program.
“ELL really helped me learn English,” Choi said. “I think the best part of the program for me was knowing there were other people around who were going through essentially the same things and were there to support me.”
Stacie Noisey, director of curriculum, oversees the ELL program for the District. Noisey knows it is very beneficial to those new LZ students who are not accustomed to the English language.
“We monitor students’ progress by the Access test. Similar to the ISAT or PSAE, the Access test is a standardized test that all ELL students take between January and February,” Noisey said. “We use a student’s scores to determine how they are doing in the program. We also monitor students’ grades to determine how much support they need during school.”
Choi was in ELL for a year and a half before she took the Access test and was permitted to join students in standard English classes. Although she says her new classes were intimidating at first, Choi adapted and got used to the new setting.
Noisey plans to improve the program’s curriculum in the future with Lesly Ravenscraft, the primary high school ELL teacher.
“One change that will happen is that Mrs. Ravenscraft will team-teach with a social studies class,” Noisey said. “I would like this to happen more often and for more students. It can give students a more sheltered and education program.”
The ELL program continues to assist students with the English language, although Choi and other students utilize even more avenues for learning their new language.
“When I moved here, I watched a lot of movies,” Choi said. “I listened to the English and turned on the subtitles. It helped me catch on quickly.”
While the program helped Choi a lot, she still catches herself speaking and writing in her native language.
“Sometimes, when I write papers, the languages get confused in my mind. When I would write it looked fine, then all of a sudden I would see it and say ‘Uh-oh, it is in two different languages,’” Choi laughed. “I need to think about what and how I’m writing to make sure it comes out correct.”
Overall, Choi’s experience helped her learn more about the world and experience different cultures.
“I have learned that learning a new culture and language is really fun if you live in the right environment for it. I went to a boarding school in the past, and a lot of people were trying to learn English,” Choi said. “But they didn’t speak it every day and it was much more difficult for them to learn, so the more you speak [English], the more you learn it.”