【Abstract】The purpose of this research is to explore and identify ways that a student’s first language can be used to support and facilitate academic learning among Chinese elementary students in a U.S. school. The paper first investigates what the school did， then provides suggestions for educators. Data is collected to help answer the following question： What steps can schools and parents take to gain favorable results for ESL students？ The data will be collected through daily observations， teacher and administrator interviews， and transcripts of classroom discussions.

【Key words】First language； English as a Second Language （ESL）； academic learning； applied linguistics

【作者簡介】王杉杉，中原工學(xué)院。

Introduction

This case study has been done based on the observation at an elementary school in western Massachusetts. I will describe what the school did to help Chinese students overcome language difficulties. I will also examine both the policy and the instructional dilemmas that now surround the education of Chinese ESL children in U.S.

What the School did

Respect， Tolerance and Welcome environment. In the first grade classroom， the teacher sticks Chinese sentences on the door， saying “歡迎來到我們教室（welcome to this classroom）”， “我很高興你在這里（I am glad you are here）”， he always give foreign students chance to talk and being very patient to wait and listen. For the ESL teacher， she asked me to teach her some simple Chinese words， so that she can build internal connection， and give directions to the kids.

English Language Learning Programs. The regional schools hire around 30+ interpreters to work with students in the classrooms， supporting them by clarifying instruction. In addition， some of the interpreters serve as translators during meetings with parents.

Counseling. Because of the communication problem and the brandy new environment， many of my students feels overwhelming. One of the ADHD students， he gave the teachers a lot of hard time by distracting a lesson， ignoring directions， arguing with classmates etc. The counselor collected the evaluations of every teacher at the end of the school， and put the form into his backpack to let his parents know his behavior of the day.

Suggestions

Being More Aware of the Importance of First Language Input. Sonia Nieto （2009） mentioned in her book that Effective teaching is based on the fact that learning builds on prior knowledge and experiences. She continued to point out that the real problem may be the “obsession with speaking English”， if this is the case， the way in which teachers and schools view students’ language may have an even greater influence on their achievement.

Reinforce Peer Support. Peers can play a role that teachers and counselors could not replace， they can emphasize the instructions， help each other with exercise， reduce the feeling of marginalization etc. There is a need for one to one peer support， which may be very helpful for the new students to adapt to the school life. The teachers can do a better job to guide the peer support among students， not just arrange their seats together.

More Clear Goals Step by Step. In January 2014， when I first start to work at the school， I interviewed an ESL teacher wondering how they teach students in the ESL classroom. She gave me one thick book that has 10 units and said it was the content they were supposed to teach， but they barely fulfill the plan. When I asked whether they have a periodical goal in teaching， she said no. Most of the materials the teacher uses is pieces of paper， which they download from the Internet. Every day， he got different papers， and there is no connection between these papers.

If the teaching goal were designed to be clearer and periodically progressive， the learning effect would be much better.

References：

[1]Cummins，J.Bilingual children’s mother tongue：Why is it important for education？ Sprogforum，2001，19：15-20.

[2]Nieto，S.Language，Culture and Teaching：Critical Perspectives， （second ed.）New York，NY： Routledge，2009.