ESL Students & Online School

With COVID-19 taking over the country and social distancing laws set in place, most U.S. schools have been forced to go online. With virtual learning, some students may struggle and others may thrive. In America, specifically in California, a particular group of students that has been negatively affected by this switch are the English learning students. English learners are already at a disadvantage in physical classrooms due to factors such as race and income and their differing learning needs from those of native English speakers. Only a few programs, in school and out, are available to help them and with the switch to e-learning, their need for aid has increased. The struggles of English Language Learners in the United States during the global COVID-19 pandemic are revealed in examining online learning for the general student population and for the English learner population. The research gathered reveals equity gaps in delivery and success of education. Consequently, it recommends measures to implement to prevent English learning students from falling behind in their academic work and progress because of a lack in English proficiency, exacerbated in the virtual classroom compared to the in-person classroom.  

The writers at the ESLTeacherEDU website clarify the students in the K-12 setting and non-native adults “who are not currently proficient as English speakers and are in the process of developing their English language skills” are often referred to as English Language Learners (ELLs) (“What Is an…”). The students who are considered ELLs are often put into English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. ESL programs are federally funded and are used to teach English to non-native students who speak another language. Amanda Morin of VeryWellFamily, a website offering reliable and fact checked advice on parenting explains “ESL programs are designed to give students special attention while learning and practicing English so they can integrate the language into a regular classroom” (Morin). States and school districts may choose different models of ESL programs for their schools which will be explained later in the paper. For now, we will be going over the needs and rights of ELL students while they are integrating into the American school system. ABC News’ Erielle Reshef states English learners make up “10% of public school students,” and therefore, it is imperative their needs are not looked over (ABC News). The most crucial requirement for these students is to learn the English language and American culture well so as to integrate into the mainstream educational setting as quickly as possible to avoid falling behind because of a lack of proficiency in English. Explained next is how English learning students best succeed in the educational system through keeping their native culture, feeling valued by the system, and how they learned at school before the global pandemic. 

A right ELL students have is the right to maintain their native culture and language as they continue their education in American schools. Journalist Amanda Morin explains that linking the native culture to the new culture is extremely important in the cultural and lingual development of students. Columnists at ESLTeacherEDU show many ESL teachers “help immigrant children adjust to American society and culture” by “[helping] students recognize the similarities between [their] two cultures” (“What Is an…”). By keeping their native culture and intaking American culture, cultural capital is built and maintained. Eugene García, author of Student Cultural Diversity illustrates cultural capital as “a person’s entire set of cultural relationships… across all the key social spheres” and justifies the necessity of keeping this knowledge and experience as it builds up to become a valuable asset (84). García continues by making clear that “for healthy human development to occur, caretakers and other social agents (including teachers) must offer children systematic opportunities to construct the relationships that build cultural capital” (84). In order for student’s to build and maintain cultural capital, it is the role of teachers in schools to build off of what incoming students already know and have, native or immigrant. Especially because immigrant students’ cultural capital may be different from native students, it is important for them to feel supported at school especially with their cultural and linguistic differences so their schooling experience may be as comfortable and successful as possible. 

English learning students necessitate the feeling of academic success in order to fully do their best. Beth Parent of YourDictionary, an online dictionary that offers related articles on grammar, education, and ESL Programs, mentions the students who are learning a second language may need an extra boost to stay motivated. Beth notes “that means valuing our students and offering them as much dignity as possible… And it means celebrating and affirming students’ efforts” by offering opportunities to take both linguistic and cultural risks (Parent). This does not mean lowering academic expectations or standards, otherwise known as el pobrecito syndrome. This idea causes many educators to believe language minority students necessitate sympathy more than education. In Student Cultural Diversity, García asserts that with el pobrecito syndrome, the “educational system actually begins going down the slippery slope of lowering expectations and academic standards and begins to devise selection methods that separate the deserving from the nondeserving, the smart from the dumb, those with from those without a future” (55). This belief is extremely disrespectful, but also very detrimental to the education of ELL students as they have enormous potential with two languages and cultures. The organization Sobrato Early Academic Language (SEAL) is an association with hopes of helping ESL teachers and parents in the educational path of the English learning students. In their YouTube video, “Bilingual/Dual Language Education - Families,” they remark how “at first, it looks like those students in English only classes are better academic achievers. But in the long term, bilingual program students end up surpassing those in English only programs” (5:32-5:50). Because bilingual students do better in the long term, author Eugene García writes that it is imperative “educational programs, teachers, and administrators who serve these students well respect them for what they bring - their language, culture, and world view” (55).

Before the COVID-19 pandemic started, the “federal and state governments [had] instituted numerous programs to promote integration and to assist members of minority groups in their efforts to attain educational and economic equality of opportunity” (García 141). This means American public schools had multiple English learning programs to choose from for the specific needs of their students. The programs are known as the ESL programs and they are available in every state. The two most common models of ESL education are the pull-out model and the pull-in model. The models are between spending time either outside (pull-out) or inside (pull-in) of the regular classroom to improve English language skills such as reading, writing, spelling, etc. If English learning takes place outside of the regular classroom, the amount of time students are pulled out depends on their proficiency in English. Reporter Amanda Morin explains this means the students “who know little or no English may spend most of the school day in an ESL class” (Morin). As proficiency increases, students will be integrated into regular classrooms more often. Top Education Degrees, a website offering information on schools, degrees, programs, scholarships, etc, anything related to education wrote an article titled, “What Is the Difference Between ESL and ELL?” In it, the authors wrote about models of the ESL program that have English learning taking place inside of the regular classroom the pull-in method. They explain the schools can be either completely dual immersion or have certain classes specific for English learners. In both cases though, it is mentioned the classes containing ELL students must “have teachers who are certified to teach both ESL and a content area… [and are] adept at presenting information in a way that simultaneously teaches the content and builds language” (“What Is the…”).  

Although the models of the ESL program are only available in schools, there are many organizations offering English learning help outside of schools. Many extracurricular programs have been created throughout the United States and in other English-speaking countries to help pupils learn English quickly and efficiently by practicing outside of school. These outside school programs are often only available wherever they are created, but their concept can and should be put into motion anywhere English learners require help. Some of these programs include the ELL Lab and CommuniCreate.

A program created for university students, but whose approach could be applied for lower grades is the ELL Lab at Northeastern State University (NSU) in Oklahoma. Student journalist at NSU, Omar Vega, writes this initiative has the goal “to help all kinds of students whose first language is not English who are struggling with their schoolwork” (Vega). Whether in person or virtually, due to COVID-19, Vega says the ELL Lab at NSU has the purpose of “offering tutoring and understanding the multilingual and multicultural perspective in trying to help [students] succeed in a university setting” (Vega). Private and specialized types of help is often offered at schools though tutoring programs, but this specific program has an emphasized support for English learners that is helpful and enticing to ELL students. 

CommuniCreate is an extracurricular program created at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Canada that could benefit ELLs in ways other than through schoolwork. Karissa Ketter, news writer at the university’s newspaper, The Peak, reveals the CommuniCreate project was created by her fellow university mates at SFU in her article, “SFU students and alumni create program to aid ESL learning.” She says this program was put in place to “support immigrant and refugee youth… to learn English, become involved in the community, and exercise life skills in a safe space” (Ketter). This program has bi-weekly meetings with equal numbers of youths and mentors, who are SFU students. To support the students, Ketter points out “these meetings include roleplaying real life scenarios, interactive videos and worksheets, games, and one-on-one connection with a mentor” (Ketter). CommuniCreate will also be talked about further in the paper as it was adapted to be a virtual program when the pandemic started affecting North America.

Before the pandemic, I believe the American school system was steadily increasing its ability to help language minority students. Schools were finally understanding how English learners were learning and how their educational pathway often needed to be community-based. Although there was a limited amount of extracurricular resources, I also think the number of outside programs was going up especially with the significant rise in immigrants coming into the United States. Before delving into the programs that exist now because of the pandemic, we’ll first explore online learning, what it is, its benefits and disadvantages, and what it’s been like to have online school through the pandemic for the general student population. 

In Joshua Stern, Ph.D.’s paper, “Introduction to Online Teaching and Learning,” online learning is described as a new form of education consisting of “Internet-based courses offered synchronously and/or asynchronously” (Stern). It is a type of distance-learning and can be referred to as “e-learning” or “virtual learning” as well. Course Management System (CMS) software is often used by instructors to create their virtual classroom. Stern says this allows them “to deliver course content, enable communications, and conduct evaluations” (Stern). There are many benefits to online learning as there are also many disadvantages that cause struggles for students. Some of the benefits of e-learning for the general student population are the learning needs met by the non-traditional classroom setting such as enhanced learning and convenience. 

Virtual learning meets the needs of those “who cannot or prefer not to participate in traditional classroom settings” (Stern). It is more of a student-centered learning approach that addresses the different learning styles of students. There is “less passive listening and more active learning” which may allow for more student-to-student and student-to-teacher interaction and discussion (Stern). E-learning also allows for the enhancement of skills like writing, technology, time management, independepence, and self-discipline. Stern affirms there is also an “increased depth of understanding and retention of course content” because of the more meaningful discussions between students and teachers due to the extra time given “to think and reflect before communicating” answers and thoughts (Stern). 

For some, the most decisive aspect of virtual school is its convenience, specifically for courses that are offered asynchronously. It can be done wherever and whenever as long as the student has access to a computer and Internet. The pupil can then decide when doing schoolwork best fits their particular schedule if they are busy with work, family or if they just want to do their school at hours that are convenient to them. “The ability to access a course from any computer with Internet access, 24 hours a day, seven days a week is a tremendous incentive for many of today’s students” (Stern). For synchronous courses, this freedom would be restricted to where the pupils want to learn. This is still great for busy students who may not have time to make it to school or in-person classes. Although their classes have a scheduled time, they can do it anywhere they would like as long as they have a computer and Internet available.  

As we just saw, online school has some extremely desirable advantages that helps it be very appealing to a certain type of student. Unfortunately, there are also some disadvantages that must be considered when making the decision to be an online student. Some of these struggles include delayed questions-answers, stressfully learning life skills, feelings of isolation, and the possibility of failing technology. 

During online courses, an immediate answer is often not possible if a student has a question. Although most online teachers try to make themselves as available as possible, students may have to wait for a professor’s working hours to receive a response. It can be tough to continue school work without an immediate answer, therefore students may be slowed down in their work due to this adverse effect of e-learning. 

Stern mentions in his paper that virtual learning increases students’ life skills in the long term, but Aaron Lawrence, a student-focused writer for Rasmussen College, writes in his article, “14 Struggles Only Online Students Would Understand” that in the short-term, it can be hard having to learn these skills alone. He explains the difficulty to be promptly successful if skills including self-motivation, focus, and organization aren’t already achieved. Lawrence notes “online students need to be self-motivated because [they] won’t have [their] peers or instructors leaning over [their] shoulder holding [them] accountable” and this can be difficult for those who haven’t fully acquired these skills yet (Lawrence). By not being in a learning- only environment, students may experience an increase in distractions. These can range from inanimate objects in one’s room or house to family members that are also living and working in that space. Similar to self-motivation, there is no teacher to get a student’s attention back to the work. It is up to them to ignore or avoid distractions during their learning time. Some say to “[set] up a clearly defined office space and [maintain] ‘office hours’ in your home for learning” (Lawrence). Another struggle students may experience is lack of organizational skills. Skills like organization are often taught in traditional classrooms, but online, assignments may be accidentally forgotten about or students may underestimate the amount of time a task will take. Both neglecting and underestimation of assignments may cause lower grades until a student masters these important life skills. 

Pupils also often endure feelings of isolation by working and learning by themselves in their room. The majority of youths make friends at school, therefore online students don’t necessarily have a place to get to know people and for some, it can be extra difficult to reach out to teachers and other students if they are shy. Having a hard time reaching out to others can cause sentiments of seclusion which is not beneficial to one’s learning. In a USAToday article by Erin Richards titled “Kids’ mental health can struggle during online school. Here’s how teachers are planning ahead” she confirms this feeling of aloneness has dramatically increased due to schools going online, and will be talked about further in the paper. 

The final disadvantage to virtual school is the constant possibility of a fail in the technology or a limited access to it. In Lawrence’s article about online students’ struggles, he writes “online courses are dependent on technology and the reality is that technology isn’t always reliable” (Lawrence). Although most educators understand this struggle, it can be extremely stressful to be in the situation of having a malfunctioning computer or Internet when trying to finish or submit homework. Finally, there is also the economic cost of e-learning. The necessary tools for it can be costly and therefore restrictive towards those with lower incomes. 

Online learning is a wonderful alternative to the common academic pathway in face-to-face classrooms, despite its disadvantages. However, being forced to take this pathway with little other possible choice and in a matter of days can be severely taxing. The ongoing pandemic has caused a huge shift in how people around the world lead their lives due to overwhelming life changes including community lockdowns and social distancing. Since March, students in America have had their educational tracks and school work disturbed because schools were required to go virtual. For many, the sudden changes in academic structure, expectations, and environment, the lack of parental support and emotional trauma has caused an absence in motivation for school. 

With American schools ordered to go online, there have been major changes in the structure, expectations, and environment. Karina Andrew, author of “Struggles at Home Hold some Utah County Students Back from Online Learning” reports students have “had to make serious adjustments when schools went remote, and adverse home circumstances may be making at-home classrooms a more difficult learning environment for some students” (Andrew). Further in Andrew’s article, it’s detailed that certain schools and teachers have been dropping academic standards to aid pupils in difficult situations like those “who have limited access to the internet and technology to access the internet” or those who have been directly impacted by the pandemic (Andrew). In another article, “Struggling With Remote Learning, Some Families Cut Classes” written by Leslie Brody for the Wall Street Journal, it’s mentioned that for those who have been only slightly impacted, “parents say… [the lower standards make] it more tempting to skimp on schoolwork” (Brody). Parents are allowing their children to “ditch most assignments” or are even considering dropping certain classes or withdrawing from schools because “the remote instruction lacks substance”(Brody). Although it is understandable, Brody explains that dropping out of school is not necessarily a good alternative to the unfortunate lowering of expectations. When academically well-equipped students drop out of certain classes or school as a whole, it is unfavorable to society and to the students. In most countries, a high school diploma or higher is almost indispensable to obtain any job. An independent adult without a job will struggle immensely throughout life, and society will have to financially help them out. Therefore, for both society and the student, dropping out of school is not a good idea.    

For students who have been directly impacted by the pandemic, the last few months have tested and tempted them to give up school to deal with life complications.  In Karina Andrew’s same article, she brings up the fact that “some [students] are caregivers for younger siblings and others are overwhelmed with life - family members with COVID-19, family members losing jobs or out of work due to COVID-19 or a thousand other family traumas” (Andrew). After interviewing multiple educators, it’s concluded that many teachers have “attributed the lack of contact and assignment completion to the difficulty of at-home schooling, not an unwillingness to work” since countless amounts of pupils decided to make school a secondary priority after their own complications in life (Andrew).

With all of the changes COVID-19 has brought upon families, certain parents are more unavailable than usual. Circling back to Brody’s Wall Street Journal article, she reports “some parents say they can’t manage instruction at home while doing their own jobs” leading them to being unable to help and support their children through school (Brody). Paloma Esquivel of Los Angeles Times described many of these working parents whose work has “prevented them from overseeing their children’s schoolwork at home” are most often Black and Latino and will be talked about further in this paper (Esquivel). 

Finally, emotional trauma has negatively affected students throughout the US as they now face a global pandemic and daily virtual school. When students know how to control and deal with their emotions, they do academically better, therefore it is vital to worry about and look into students’ mental and emotional health. Reconsidering Richards’ article on kids’ mental health during COVID-19, she interviews Michael Rich, a Harvard Medical School professor. During their talk, Michael Rich claims he has “seen a rise in young patients with anxiety and depression during the pandemic” (Richards, “Kids’...”). Some of these patients are currently in or needing counseling and/or therapy. He continues by announcing “the children most hurt… are those who were already disadvantaged by food or housing instability, domestic violence, unsafe neighborhoods, fragmented families or absent role models” (Richards, “Kids’...”) and these students are once again mostly Black and Latino. Because of the rise in mental health issues and having the priority be peace and happiness in homes, many of the parents who are allowing their children to drop classes “stress they are grateful to teachers working hard to shift to distance learning, but say it doesn’t work well for children who rely on in-person interaction and motivation from peers sitting next to them” (Brody). Students who especially require in-person interaction and motivation are ELL students and the change to e-learning has had a negative effect on them, more than one would think since they are not just battling English, but a mound of other stresses as well. 

With the switch to online school, there has been a rise in the difficulties English learning students face academically both in terms of learning a new language and in terms of the equity gap already in place that is widening with the pandemic. In another USAToday article by Erin Richards titled, “Coronavirus’ online school is hard enough. What if you’re still learning to speak English?” she states teachers “are up against a confluence of social, academic and financial pressures that make the progress of English learners precarious right now” (Richards, “Coronavirus’...”). The overlapping effects of learning English, race, and poverty are taking an immense toll on the academic development of English learners who are predominantly POC and/or low-income. Zaidee Stavely, an education journalist for EdSource, an online resource for educators in the American school system, wrote the article, “Teachers struggle to recreate language-rich classes for English learners online” to give a spotlight to the many educators that have expressed that “it’s hard to virtually create the language-rich environment that [is known to be] necessary for students who are learning English” (Stavely, “Teachers…”). Some aspects of the physical classroom feel impossible to replicate online including the in-person practice, the motivation students give one another, the sense of community, and the parents’ ability to help their children.

An in-person environment is crucial for ELLs to talk and practice freely in English with their peers. Stavely also wrote an earlier article titled, “California teachers worry gap widening for English learners during school closures” where she discloses that “to learn English, children need a lot of practice speaking aloud and interacting with others. Many of those opportunities to practice interacting in English were lost when school campuses closed in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic” (Stavely, “California…”). Sitting silently behind a computer will never be enough for students who need to actually speak and interact to learn English. There is a need for encouragement and personalized lessons that online courses cannot offer. In face-to-face classrooms, students “can go off track with a human [teacher or peer] to make sure [they] learn the language points most immediately necessary for [their] needs, but not so much with computers” (Beck). Having a designated environment where peers are in similar situations helps students relate to one another, feel comfortable and in a safe space to talk in a mix of languages and ask for help. 

Joan Lachance, educator and director for UNC Charlotte’s Teaching English as a Second Language Programs explains “interaction between students can help facilitate skills like problem solving, not to mention the fact that students are more willing to try speaking in a second language if they are doing so with other students focused on the same task” (Granados). Regrettably, as Richards points out in her article on ELLs, “the approximately 5 million [students] who are English learners” are at home like everyone else, and due to that, “many are not conversing in English as frequently” as they were when attending class in physical classrooms (Richards, “Coronavirus’”). Erielle Reshef of ABC News acknowledges that for pupils, being able to collaborate and connect with peers is crucial for the learning of a language and with “no peers to lean on for modeling and support,” students’ ability to interact in English becomes extremely limited and they may become distressed when they must speak in English (ABC News). During my interview with principal, Dr. Rosa Hernandez, of local Lakeview Middle School in Watsonville, she mentioned the interaction between pupils like they had in physical classrooms is unlikely to happen online because “most students are not comfortable turning on their cameras” to speak in a language they don’t know well (Hernandez). She goes on to explain that although services like Zoom offer teachers the ability to break up students into “breakout rooms”, they can only supervise one group at a time and therefore cannot facilitate discussions between students and help them (Hernandez).

Third, teachers who went from teaching in physical classrooms to teaching virtually have been having a difficult time trying to replicate the sense of community and connectedness that most ESL classes create for students. English learners are often recent immigrants and may be experiencing culture shock. They are learning and integrating into a new culture in which they may not have much reference to, and on top of that, they are also learning a new language. A sense of belonging is especially important for ELLs since many of them “have left their countries … [and] they’ve left a place where they belong” and are looking for a place and community to be a part of and socialize as any other developing child (Parent). 

Lastly, around 23 percent of students nationwide and 43 percent of students in California come from families where English is not the primary language spoken at home (“Children Who…”). This means that many parents cannot help their children with English homework or any homework that is given out in English. As explained further in this paper, many immigrant parents are essential workers and unable to even try and help their kids understand instructions in English. This means pupils are at home, on their own, and teachers have had to “[adapt] online learning activities so that even young students can complete them without parental assistance” (Andrew). The language barrier between the parents and the schools is extremely disadvantageous for students. Coming back to Stavely’s article on California educators, she mentions “teachers have a hard time communicating with parents when they don’t speak their language” (Stavely, “California…”). That relates to her other article in which she interviews Cecilia Casas, a parent in California who has argued that it’s difficult for her and other parents to help their children because “they haven’t received much information in their native languages from schools about how to help” (Stavely, “Teachers…”). 

By now, we should understand how online school can be difficult, stressful, and feel impossible to do for certain English learning students and their families because of the language barrier and the loss of an important in-person environment. Following that, we’re going to look into the reasons why ELLs and their families may be having an extra hard time because of the equity gap due to racial barriers, and more visibly, economic barriers. These obstacles many ELLs are facing are similar to those other students are facing, especially those who are people of color (POC) and/or low-income. Making the bridge between “race, income, and learning needs” is vital as these have overlapping consequences on students and cause for academic burden (Esquivel). 

In the United States, there is an equity gap that can be seen in POC and/or low-income students. For a long time, they have been disproportionately affected, especially academically, and the ongoing pandemic has done nothing but widen the gap. Los Angeles Times’ Paloma Esquivel reveals “previous surveys have shown that many families of color and low-income families at first lacked computers and internet access” (Esquivel). This proves online school is not necessarily an equal alternative for everyone, specifically for low-income families who may not have the technology or ability to help their children or even, who need their children to work instead of go to school. 

Esquivel then displays how “low-income students and Black and Latino students showed participation rates between 10 and 20 percentage points lower than white and Asian peers. English learners, students with disabilities, homeless students and those in the foster-care system had [even] lower rates of online participation” (Esquivel). These lower rates of participation are not attributed to laziness or unwillingness to do the work, but rather they are attributed to the economic barrier that many ELLs face. In the ABC News video, Erielle Reshef reveals the pandemic has immensely affected the “roughly 60% of ELLs [that] come from low-income families,” noting that three-fourths of all ELLs are Latino, and most of whom, Esquivel says “disproportionately work as essential front-line workers, frequently in low-paying jobs that have exposed family members to health risks and prevented them from overseeing their children’s schoolwork at home” (ABC News, Esquivel). Because so many parents are out of the house during the school day and ELL children are at home trying to learn English, many of these students have lost a lot of ground. Journalists Daisy Zavala and Jim Allen of the Spokesman Review in Washington write that the students worse off currently are those who have limited access to technology like computers and the Internet. They state for teachers, “it’s been a challenge to make sure that students have access to technology and teachers can communicate with their families through the language barrier” (Zavala).

Jessica Chao for Grantmakers in Education reminds us that of the 10.7 percent of ELLs nationwide, “in every state, nearly 60 percent of ELLs live in families whose income falls below 185 percent of the federal poverty line” causing the income of parents to not be enough (Chao). Consequently, “teachers [across America] say teens are picking up jobs to support their families during the economic crisis, rather than attending classes” (Richards, “Coronavirus’...”). For these students, finding a balance between school and work can be extremely difficult and many choose to prioritize their jobs to be able to help feed their families. An ESL teacher interviewed by Erin Richards confesses the worries he has for his older students and how delaying their English learning now means “they’re even less likely to develop those skills once they’re out of school” (Richards, “Coronavirus’... ”). Again, many of those who are too young to work for pay are stuck at home often sharing their computers with even younger siblings and may even be caring for those siblings. This causes added stress to finish school work when they can’t even focus completely on it. When the pandemic started, recommendations for instructors and school districts started coming out to help them with their English learning students. It seems to me and the students these recommendations were made for, that they have worked well in their particular areas and could inspire other schools and districts to do similarly with their students. Some of these recommendations are providing families with the right technology, supporting families with native language instructions and keeping a high academic standard for students all while reaching out individually. 

It is crucial for schools to provide low-income families or anyone with limited access to technology with computers and other necessary equipment to continue to allow equal educational opportunities during online schooling. In Zavala and Allen’s article, it's mentioned the “access to such electronics and the internet is proving vital to minimize the barriers students in bilingual courses face and improve communication with teachers” (Zavala). Here, in Santa Cruz county, the Santa Cruz School District, Pajaro Valley Unified School District, and Cabrillo Community College have offered Chromebook, laptop and hotspot distributions. They also offer tech support and webinars for both students and parents “to help those without access to technology devices” (Cabrillo College). 

In Zaidee Stavely’s EdSource article, she says it is recommended “teachers supply parents with resources in their home language” through manuals, webinars, Zoom meetings, etc (Stavely, “California…”). By offering help in the parents’ language, it increases opportunities for parents to guide and help their children all while decreasing feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Zavala and Allen in Washington disclose that some of their state’s districts have “[developed] at-home learning kits with printed materials for families without access to online learning” and others have set up technology services free of charge so as to not inhibit the learning of low-income students (Zavala).

Something else that has proved extremely helpful in certain schools is having teachers reach out individually to each students’ family. Although this may seem impossible given the amount of duties teachers already have, an occasional short check-in like a regular parent-teacher-student conference may be what it takes to encourage students to come to class and do their work as “personal attention makes all the difference” (ABC News). Stavely confirms this in her article by saying how an alternative or addition to personalized attention would be to “do more synchronous online classes for English learners… [and having] instruction in small groups or on-on-one is ideal with activities that get students talking in English” (Stavely, “California…”). Larry Ferlazzo of Education Week also endorses live synchronous classes affirming they are immensely beneficial because English learners “need as much live English input and social-emotional support as possible” and being able to connect with teachers and other students can “help create a joyful communal atmosphere” which will in turn better the students’ academic and emotional well being (Education Week). 

Something else that is vital to students’ academic success is for educators to not lower their expectations from ELL students. During my interview with Dr. Rosa Hernandez, Lakeview Middle School’s principal, she explicitly said that the most important tip to remember during online school is “No pobrecito syndrome!!!” (Hernandez). This is the idea teachers have that they must lower their academic standards for English learners out of sympathy for their difficult situation. Dr. Hernandez believes this year’s “decrease in ELLs passing the fluency test is inevitable due to COVID-19,” but she goes on to emphasize that the action of lowering levels is actually a huge disservice to the students (Hernandez). Educators “say easing off too much on academics could hurt students’ performance over the long term” (Brody). Passing the test because expectations are lower in no way means that the student has learned and is fluent in English. Dr. Hernandez says “that’s not how it works” (Hernandez). Something that could help students become more fluent in English, though, is practicing outside of school hours through tablet apps or through different organizations. 

For extracurricular aid, there are available apps on tablets and/or computers that are designed to help people learn new languages. There are quite a few websites and/or mobile apps that are designed for users to learn any number of languages so long as the app offers it and some are specially designed for students to be “useful, easy to access and fun” (Educational App Store). Pupils can access them on their own time to practice their English skills or teachers “can offer these English apps to students in addition to their current curriculum. They can build on what students have learnt in class and assign tasks to them to complete outside of the classroom” (Educational App Store). Some of these apps include Duolingo, Babbel, Rosetta Stone, Hello English, Beelinguapp, and many more. Because school is already online, there should be no extra problems accessing these sites or apps and most offer free services and services offline if the Internet is unavailable. There have also been a few outside school programs to pop up here and there to help students, parents, and educators adjust to the new online learning setting. Although most programs have stayed in their local areas, they can be introduced in other areas of the United States. Some of these programs include nonprofit organizations like CommuniCreate, the Parent Institute for Quality Education, SEAL, and Californians Together. 

Explained earlier in this paper was the program, CommuniCreate designed by SFU students. Due to COVID-19, it has become virtual and the author of the article explaining this program, Karissa Ketter of The Peak, has revealed their “bi-weekly meetings are now held on Zoom” (Ketter). Although they were unsure of having their program available during lockdown, they knew English learners needed their help and they wanted to continue their goal to “remove any preconceived barriers or moments of stress that English language learners are often facing” (Ketter). This idea of offering interaction between pupils and mentors through roleplaying and community services can expand further than Vancouver and into the United States.

The Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) is a California-based organization offering “programs that engage, empower and transform parents to actively engage in their children’s education and strengthen parent-school collaboration” (PIQE). With schools going online, Stavely’s article on California teachers states PIQE has been holding “workshops and seminars for parents and schools to improve family engagement” (Stavely, “California…”). On their website, PIQE establishes they have been “supporting Californian families with online connectivity and navigation” and bringing resources available to bilingual families in their native languages (PIQE).

Another nonprofit organization is Sobrato Early Academic Language (SEAL). On top of PIQE, Stavely also mentions SEAL and how it “provides training and assistance to help elementary schools and preschools across the state [of California] improve how they teach English learners” (Stavely, “California…”). It is a program designed to help ESL teachers “cultivate the skills and mindset they need to become powerfully effective educators” (SEAL). To aid teachers during the pandemic, SEAL has published articles, blogs, videos, etc to give resources, support, help, and ideas for ways to teach virtually. 

Finally, the last institution that will be talked about is Californians Together. On their official website, Californians Together describes themselves as “a statewide advocacy coalition of powerful organizations from all segments of the education community including teachers, administrators, board members, parents and civil right non-profit groups” (Californians Together). During COVID-19, Californians Together has provided Zoom sessions for various groups to share “ideas for teaching English learners from a distance in a series of webinars” (Stavely, “California…”). Through these Zoom sessions, educators, parents, and others directly involved in students’ lives were able to grasp how school was going to happen with the pandemic and how they could help their students best succeed.

Together we’ve learned who English learners are, what their needs are and how they learned pre-pandemic. We also found out more about online school, its benefits and disadvantages, and how it’s been with COVID-19. With all of this, we discovered what the gaps, inequities, and struggles are with online school for ELLs and what it’s like to learn during the pandemic as an English learner. After studying the current learning process of English learners through their language and economic barriers, we explored the different ways to support and aid them, their parents, and their educators through school programs and through extracurricular organizations. Although the switch to online school has been difficult for everyone all around, learning a new language and how to use technology in that language simultaneously while going to school is immensely challenging. English learners deserve recognition for their hard work, but especially, they deserve the help and guidance they need from their educators, schools, and country.

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Photo Credits:

1. "ESL Students EB 2" by San José Public Library is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0