on spelling, sentence structure, and grammatical lessons. The teachers stress appreciation for native cultures and discuss American social and cultural issues. They feel reinforcing the correct behaviors increases the ability to speak English more rapidly (M.Fidler, personal communication, June 9, 2001). Teaching techniques such as saying words slower and more enunciated, spelling or drawing information on the board, and lots of one-on-one instruction are included daily in the primary classsroom for ESL students. The teacher’s speak only in English, though fellow students speak Arabic, Azerbaijan, Chinese, Finnish, Hausa, Hebrew, Korean, Malaysian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Swedish, Turkish, and Ukrainian. Due to this high degree of diversity most students are friendly and helpful, and teachers seat ESL students next to English only students and use peer tutoring to help both participants learn from each other. Most teachers felt that once students like Arzu have a firm grasp on the English language, they set the standards for success and motivate English-speaking students to strive harder (M.Fidler, personal communication, June 9, 2001). Of Arzu’s fellow schoolmates, twenty-one out of twenty-five say they would choose this school if they had a choice and two reply “maybe”. The primary reasons cited are to learn English well and stay with friends. The fact that learning English is best done at an English speaking school is recognized by 100% of the people polled. 72% of these students are involved in extra-curricular activities such as Art, Homework Club, International Club, and Sports. 68% have been at this school one year or less and grades range from second to eleventh. There is no single class that accounts for the hardest or easiest subjects among them. 12% of ESL students’ parents do not speak English. The remaining 88% speak a little English or only one parent does. This greatly reduce...
