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Jazmine Galvan

English 101

Professor Batty

27 March 2019

English is my Second Language; Education is my First

Around twenty years ago, I can recall a time when I encountered my grandparents who

are ESL learners acquiring their citizenship. It was because of a college counselor who was a

friend of my aunt who had suggested that my grandparents gain their citizenship through a

particular enriched program. Instead of calling it quits my grandparents took that opportunity and

used it in a way that benefited them for the years to come. Till this day I always use this story of

their triumph as an example for motivation because if they did it so can anyone else who's in the

same predicament. At a very young age I understood their commitment because I would go to the

classes with them, I witnessed them as they learned English.

Personally I saw at first hand how hard they worked and how happy they were once they

accomplished their goal which was becomong an American citizen .I wish I could thankk that

college counselor that told him about the opportunity because those are the type of counselors that

are making a difference . That's who I aspire to be one day. Attending community college opened

my eyes as far as pursuing any long term educational goals. I know that for some people its easier

to get started in the educational process and others really have a hard time sticking to their guns.

For every student deserves an equal opportunity especially when it comes to obtaining a higher
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education. So finding help is a necessity and sometimes hard to come by ,for students who speak

english as a second language they want to achieve and be successful in school, so finding help isn't

proven easy for them. A few ways to help these students find their way are by attending a certain

amount of helpful workshops, meeting requirements from an educational contract, and attending

mandatory counseling with counselors who can relate to their specific language barriers or

circumstances. Carefully thought out solutions to a common problem that many students who use

english as a second language come across, that could be easily managed if more counselors came

together and helped these students.

For students that use English as a second language many opportunities don't come as easy

to them as they do to others. Whether it comes down to race or gender someone is always biased

towards helping them. They tend to work a lot harder because things such as learning English can

be a stress inducing struggle. People feel broken down if they dont have the right type of support

during this educational stride and tend to just give up. Enrichment Workshops are helpful in many

ways because they bring you to an environment with other like people in the same familiar

situations. According to the community college consortium for immigrant education “Community

colleges enroll almost half of all U.S. undergraduates, or 6.5 million students, and one-quarter

(24%) of these students come from an immigrant background.” which let's us as a people know

that there are definitely students who are esl and want to be given the same opportunities as other

students when it comes to obtaining a higher education.

To help these students stay on task an educational contract can be constructed along

side a counselor with intent that it is followed and has options accommodating to the students

specific needs. The students are then paired up with counselors who are bilingual because it

provides a certain level of trust, when following through with an important step in higher
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education. The feeling of acknowledgment during process like this is important for student's self

esteem as well. As with everything their are rules that need to be followed so of course the students

cant undermine the contract because it could be anulled if not pursued. Responsibility plays a big

factor with these commitments because it builds character for the student as well as gaining life

experience through an educational standpoint.

One of the most important concerns while being a student is having counselors that support

you and really make a difference in your life regardless of what language you speak. According to

Tia Brown she touched on many key points about multicultural esl students who come from

different backgrounds and how to help improve their student success. They believe that

educational leaders should have the same goal so students can be more focused in the classroom.

"The article examines the role of community colleges in the U.S. in ensuring that its students are

successful." (McNair, Tia Brown, et al.) This really needs to be implemented into school programs

because it is important for educational leaders to be on the students good side instead of having

them worry whether if they can or can't pay for school financially.

In conclusion I believe many students deserve the same opportunities because one persons

mind could hold the key to the next big discovery whether it be a medicinal cure or an engineering

breakthrough with future technology. It is infuriating enough that these students feel scared and

like misfits because of there language barriers. Acceptance and security is what these English as a

second language students need so that they can thrive and be resilient among the rest of us who

have it a little easier than most and don't have to struggle as much. So including language barrier

workshops, educational student contracts that have to be followed, and adding a counselor who

has your best interest at heart through it all really makes that much more of a difference. Everyone
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involved feels good about it at the end of the day knowing that they did their part to help a student

who needed that extra push.