ICSD provides an extremely valuable resource for students: the English as aNew Language (ENL) department. Many students come to the district withlimited English proficiency due to the fact that they speak a different language at home or have recently immigrated to the US. Coming to a new school is always terrifying, but it’s even more difficult when one doesn’t speak the language used by students, teachers, and staff. The Tattler spoke with Joe McMahon, a teacher’s assistant (TA) in ENL (students call him Mr. Joe or just Joe). He’s the only TA in ENL this year and works alongside two teachers, Jennifer Johnson and Brian Kane. The entire department consists of four people, with Kane serving as the department chair. McMahon noted that the number of students who enroll in ENL varies from year to year, but it’s always a huge responsibility for this small department in which everyone is overwhelmed and overworked. There is no dominant language in the department; students come from all over the world. When McMahon began working here, many students were Burmese and spoke Karen. Now there’s an influx of students from Ukraine. The demographics of the ENL classroom are always changing, and the teachers continue to work hard to support them.
Before COVID-19 shutdowns, ENL had a large room in K- building to which all ENL students could come during their free periods and their lunch. McMahon shares that this was “a safe space, a comfortable space for them. They didn’t have to worry about having an accent or not knowing the right word…because everybody was pretty much in the same boat.” In this classroom, students helped each other out and built a beautiful community with their peers.
However, as the number of students enrolled in ENL went down, they were moved to a smaller space. Even though the numbers have since risen, they are still confined to a small classroom in the depths of E-Building. In some periods, there aren’t even enough desks for all the students present, and the ENL teachers and aides can’t comfortably move around the room. A lack of adequate space is a serious issue for this already overlooked department, an issue several other departments are facing, as class numbers increase across the board and classrooms become more and more crowded.
It is also difficult for the ENL staff to communicate with their students, who come from all over the world and sometimes don’t speak a word of English. Many of the teachers speak different languages, such as Spanish, but they encounter challenges when students come from countries that speak languages they’re not familiar with. Google Translate and other translator apps are used when working with students, but this is not a reliable method. We also spoke with Talia Kedar ’24, a Hebrew-speaking student who was enrolled in ENL in the 2021-2022 school year. She said that while it is difficult to work with these language barriers, everyone is doing their best and it works out fine. She did mention, however, that she came to the US already quite comfortable with English, which isn’t the case for several of the students this year and in years past.
Translators are sometimes brought in for final exams to support ENL students. Having translators all year long would greatly benefit the school, but tight budgets make this more complicated. However, given that ICSD is a financially well-off district, having translators should be worth our investment. Having a few more teachers in the department who are bilingual or trilingual in diverse languages could make day-to-day life for foreign students much easier.
In addition, many students within IHS speak languages other than English at home. IHS already has a math tutoring program that seniors can enroll in to get their math credit, so why not create a similar program for ENL? Having a team of students working with ENL students would foster a stronger community and lessen the burden of the staff. The student tutors themselves would benefit greatly from an experience like this, which provides skills that they may need later in life. ENL students would likely feel more comfortable learning with peers by their side, who speak their native language. When this idea was proposed to both McMahon and Kedar, the reaction was positive. Kedar also added that this would be a great way to make friends, which can be hard for new students. To make this program possible, English-speaking IHS seniors could meet with an ENL teacher and student to demonstrate their proficiency in the given language. If the student mentor and mentee are able to communicate effectively, the English-speaking student could be assigned a period where they can work with the ENL student to translate what the teacher says, what homework is assigned, and more. This would be a great program to implement in the 2023-2024 school year and could take the place of an English or World Language elective.
McMahon also offered another solution: one guidance counselor for all ENL students. In our current system, students enrolled in ENL are assigned to counselors the same way all other students are —by last name. This means that the schedules of individual students aren’t organized efficiently; for example, McMahon spoke about years in which multiple ENL students have been in the same subject but different classrooms at a given time, creating challenges for the already overextended staff. If there was one appointed ENL guidance counselor, schedules could be planned in a way that puts ENL students together, so one TA can sit in on that class and assist. This would also be beneficial because the guidance counselor would be well versed in the process of being enrolled in ENL, and know exactly how to support their students. From year to year, this counselor would become more and more comfortable with the inner-workings of the department, and be the individual that students and parents can rely on.
In addition to students in ENL, there are many students that may have some language barriers but don’t fully qualify for ENL. Emma Mori ’25, a student from Japan, told The Tattler about her experience coming to IHS five months ago. She requested support from ENL for understanding specific English vocabulary in her classes, but they told her they were unable to provide this. Emma spoke English, but her entire education had been in Japanese so there were terms in Science and English classes that she needed translated. ENL can’t be criticized for being unable to provide support for students in this sort of position—they simply don’t have the staff—but it’s a concern nonetheless. Thankfully, Mori ended up receiving support from the Reading and Writing Lab, another vital resource for both foreign and local students.
The ENL department has been working with the administration for years, suggesting changes that may make everything run more smoothly. Mr. Joe says the administrators have helped the department, being very responsive to changes and issues. However, IHS wasn’t completely prepared for the current situation, in which the number of ENL students has sharply increased. ENL has been asking for a larger space for several years, and that problem has been further exacerbated this year. There’s certainly quite a ways to go until ENL has all the resources it needs to best support non- English-speaking students.
Despite all these struggles, ENL has done a commendable job at supporting the non-English-speaking students of IHS. Kedar told us about how grateful she was for the things ENL did for her, such as offering her a quiet room to do quizzes, explaining how the school works, helping her find her classes, and explaining technical terms in math and science. “ENL is a great place to meet new friends from all around the world, and see the development of individuals who sometimes come with little vocabulary in English and graduate like any of the other students,” says Kedar. This department has created a safe environment for students from all different backgrounds, and continues to put its all into its programs. Therefore, The Tattler Editorial Board hopes that IHS ICSD focus on making meaningful changes to support the ENL department, starting with hiring more teachers, creating a student- led tutoring/support program, appointing an ENL specific guidance counselor, and providing more physical space for the department. With these initiatives, IHS could truly cultivate a supportive environment for all its students.