Language Learners and Standardized Testing

"Whit Johnstone of Irving ISD: Students with limited English skills pose special challenges for testing" appeared as an interview between columnist McKenzie and Dr. Johnstone--a testing director of a Texas school district--on the Opinion column of the online Dallas Morning News. Though not a traditional "news" article, it presented some very interesting research. The article, for example, mentions that English-learning students who have previously "had some native-language instruction before entering a U.S. school" could "reach parity in academic English" faster than those who have not, at a rate of five to seven years compared to seven to ten years.

(I wonder what Dr. Johnstone means exactly by "native-language instruction"--having learned your native language or having attended school in your native language. If he means the former, my mother would be triumphant when I forward this article to her. She used to always tell me: "As long as you learn your native language well, you will pick up others relatively quickly, no matter how different those languages may be to each other or to Vietnamese." I haven't yet attempted enough languages to confirm this statement. What does everyone think?

If he means "prior native-language instruction" as "having attended school in native country," this research dismisses all I have ever been told about learning English as a second language. Shouldn't it be easier to learn a new language if you start school fresh out with that language? Also, what about the age issue? If a student spent some years in school in his native country already before immigrating into the United States, he should generally be an older student. Don't older students take longer to learn and master a language than younger children?)

Alright, getting back on topic. The No Child Left Behind Act currently allows states to test new English learners in their native language in academic subjects for the first three years. Congress is considering extending this period to five years. If the research conclusion mentioned above is accurate, this would barely allow the average student with "prior instruction" enough time to catch up to native English speakers.

Now we say "average," because some students can and do pass through English-learning programs such as ESL (English as a Second Language) much more quickly than others, for a variety of reasons:

(1) the first language. Native speakers of languages similar to English such as Dutch or German will learn English faster than native speakers of, say, Chinese or Japanese.

(2) whether English is the SECOND language (or third/fourth/etc.) The more languages a student learns, the more language-learning skills he acquires, and therefore the faster he learns a new language.

(3) a student's attitude toward English and the associated culture. The more happy and comfortable a student is in the new environment, the faster he learns the language.

(4) teachers and classroom culture. If a student feels comfortable that his native values and culture are accepted by his teachers and friends, he will learn English more quickly as a second language.

(5) the student's personality. A confident student who is not afraid to speak up and take risks will learn and master a language more quickly than a timid student.

[Source: Questions about learning a second language]

(4) to me is extremely interesting. It is a great argument for a bilingual education in the teaching of English as a second language in the United States, but I don't agree that it is always true. At a school where an English learner is one of the only few native speakers of a certain language, an accepting environment may work to provide comfortable learning. But, in schools where a high percentage of English learners are from the same country, where students who can't communicate with English speakers can simply find and socialize with friends who speak their same native language, an English learner within an "accepting," open-minded classroom culture may not have any motivation to quickly learn English.