EL, ELL, ESL, etc.

Walking around my alma mater earlier in the day was a bit trippy. I wanted to write a blog entry describing how I felt walking here and there. Something about the effect of walking the same grounds exactly ten years ago as a freshman wondering how tough college was going to be and pondering what and where I'd be after graduating. One thing is for sure, I never thought that I'd be back to earn a teaching credential to teach high school science. I can go on and on on how young the students look, how much certain areas on campus changed, which buildings I took classes in and which building I never stepped a foot in, etc., but I won't. My first night class of three was held today and completely intrigued me, who are California's English Learners and their corresponding programs?

English Learners (EL), English Language Learners (ELL), English as a Second Language (ESL), Limited English Proficient (LEP), Fluent English Proficient (FEP), Re-designated Fluent English Proficient (R-FEP), Cross Cultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD), Bi-cross Cultural Language and Academic Development (BCLAD), and there's seven more. There's more acronyms for English Learners and their appropriate programs than FDR's New Deal. Seriously! They're all different names to label students on how little or how much English they know. But why so many labels? All to determine different English teaching styles and programs to receive federal funding. Good thing or not? Hmm, I'm not quite sure yet.

I'm intrigued but at the same time flabbergasted at all the nonsensical acronyms for testing students and labeling them. It's great that there are many programs to teach non-native English speakers English but there aren't programs for poor speaking native English speakers. Remember the whole controversy over Ebonics? Poor inner city blacks speaking their own version of English, does that ring a bell? What about them?

This is just a little snippet of what's to come for my Literacy and Language Development for L2 (English) Learners class. Simply put, this class will certify me to teach students whose primary language isn't English. There's a lot of reading involved in this class and a lot of writing assignments. Is it crazy to say that I'm actually looking forward to it?

Tomorrow: Science Methods.