The English Language Learners (ELL) classroom at Dublin Coffman High School echoes with giggles as five Japanese and Chinese girls take turns posing for silly perspective photos, pretending to squish each other’s heads and throw one another across the room with super powers. A boy named Mohamed from Sudan joins in the fun for a few pictures as the girls make bunny ears over his head, and their laughs continue.
Most people respect Dublin City Schools for its challenging academics, top-rated teachers and stellar sports programs. But did you know that there are about 1,300 Dublin students enrolled in the district’s ELL program? These students represent approximately 45 countries and speak more than 60 different languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, Korean and Telegu. Every school building offers on-site ELL support, including 19 teachers in the elementary schools and 13 in the middle and high schools. There are also 23 bilingual aides who help bridge the gap between the students/parents and the school staff.
Courtney Bryant, an ELL teacher at Coffman, says it takes three to four years for most students to reach social proficiency in English, but it can take seven to 14 years to reach academic proficiency. That is why the high school offers ELL students an English class, a resource class with bilingual aides, a literacy and content class to help with science, math and other core classes, and a class to assist the students in studying for the Ohio Graduation Test. English-speaking high school students can volunteer to be peer collaborators and work in the classroom for one credit per semester.
“Most of our students adjust well and pick up English quickly,” says Courtney. “The biggest hurdle is when kids come to us from a refugee situation, haven’t been to school in years and are not educated in their first language, and we have to teach them subjects in a second language.”
Tests to determine proficiency levels are administered when students arrive at school and several times throughout the year. Clubs encourage the students to gather and socialize, including the multi-cultural club and the Muslim Student Association. Once a quarter, the ELL students and teachers bring in food from their native countries for a potluck luncheon. The tables are filled with pho from Vietnam, sushi from Japan, naan and saag from India, and more dishes than you can name.
Listening to the ELL students talk about their backgrounds compared to their new school life is fascinating. Juri Uchida moved to Dublin three years ago because of her father’s position with Honda and they will stay here for another one to three years. She didn’t know any English when she moved to Ohio but learned quickly when she started playing volleyball at Sells Middle School. “I like the Dublin schools and feel like they are very diverse,” Juri says.
Sandy Lin moved from China to New York in 2009 and to Ohio in 2011. Her father is a chef, but Sandy says he doesn’t cook much at home because he’s tired and cooks all day long. She munches on a bag of shrimp chips at lunch while she explains that math is the easiest subject for her. History is the most difficult because it’s tough to memorize all the details, she says.
Aya Salman moved to the U.S. five years ago from Iraq. She says high school here has many more classes and choices than back home. “In Iraq, we only have six classes: Arabic, math, science, history, English and
art,” Aya says. Her favorite things to do at Coffman are watch sports, especially soccer, and hang out with her Arab friends in the multi-cultural club.
Kaho Takahashi says school days in Japan are much longer. Japanese students attend classes from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. They don’t bring food for lunch from home, but instead have “kyushoku” at school. Kyushoku is designed to help children understand what constitutes a nutritionally balanced meal while learning the fundamentals of proper eating and table manners. Each week, students are appointed as lunch staff and must prepare, serve, eat and clean up after the meal. Kaho packs her lunch at Coffman and usually brings a rice ball, egg roll or kara-age, which is a Japanese version of fried chicken. “In Japan, students also cannot bring snacks or their cell phones to school or the teachers will take them away,” says Kaho.
Watching the girls giggle as they make faces and take selfies reminds me how similar kids are around the world. Their challenges and family life may differ, but they still enjoy camaraderie and making each other laugh. “We can’t be afraid of our differences,” says Courtney. “These are great kids who are happy to be here, willing to work hard and just need our help.”
