GLIMPSES INTO THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE EDUCATION: THE KAREN
Open Access
Author:
Rohrbeck, Jacqueline Nicole
Area of Honors:
Elementary and Kindergarten Education
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Youb Kim, Thesis Supervisor Youb Kim, Thesis Supervisor Jacqueline Edmondson, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
English as a Second Language (ESL) English Language Learners (ELLs) Karen low socio-economic status refugees literacy instruction
Abstract:
The purpose of this inquiry is to draw attention to a few of the issues and puzzles present in the world of educating English language learners in American Schools. The topics highlighted and discussed were inspired by original experiences of the author while teaching a group of Karen children, ages seven to seventeen, in North Hill, Ohio. The Karen are a relatively unstudied, low socio-economic status, minority language refugee people group that have settled in various locations across the United States over the past five to ten years. Included in this report are vignettes of the author’s experience working and living among the Karen that highlight some of the particularly pressing issues concerned with educating English language learners, specifically low socio-economic status refugee students. The issues included within this research are mainly issues related to reading and issues related the interplay of home and school. The author also includes pragmatic suggestions in each chapter to address topics where more insight is needed in order to more effectively aid the learning of English language learners like the Karen in American schools today.
