Challenges for the Non-Standard Australian English Learners - Case Study Example

Challenges for the EAL/D learner Name College Date Introduction EAL/D is an acronym that is used to refer to those students whose dialect is not the Standard Australian English (SAE). These students require additional support in developing proficiency in SAE. In most cases, EAL/D learners are placed in Australian schools at the year appropriate for their age (Michel, 2002). Their overall cognitive development and life experiences often do not correlate with their English language proficiency. As a result, there are numerous challenges facing each EAL/D student in learning in and through English. For example teachers and parents fail to see the importance of having an aboriginal child learn his or her native language in addition to English. As a result, the child experiences culltural conflict in learning in and through english. This paper will examine three EAL/D student case studies with the aim of analyzing and discussing some of the most significant challenges facing each student learning in and through English (Gibbon, 2002). According to researchers, effective teaching of EAL/D students is facilitated by understanding the individual needs of each student (Chapelle, 2010). This paper will examine the individual characteristics of each student in each case study including their learning needs and typical pathways of development. The particular challenge of EAL/D students in these case studies is that they all need to concurrently learn in and through English. Several scholars have developed different resources to support teachers as they build up personalized teaching and learning programs in the Australian Curriculum. One of the most commonly used teachings manual is the “English as an Additional Language or Dialect Teacher Resource” which was developed by the Australian curriculum Assessment and reporting Authority (ACARA). According to ACARA, Socio-cultural factors are among the biggest challenges facing EAL/D learners. Socio-cultural factors therefore have to be considered when teachers are planning their lessons (Coyne, 2010). Case study 1: Jared Most scholars have suggested that EAL/D learners face a plethora of problems as they begin building their new lives in a foreign land. In this case study, Jared is sixteen years old and an aboriginal Australian. Apart from english, Jared speaks Wadja and Gungaloo. He lives in a community that has a significant number of Indigenous people, as well as, groups from German, Cantonese, Italian, Filipino and other backgrounds. Jared mother is constantly in and out of prison for substance-abuse and other related offences. According to his teachers, he has delayed literacy and numeracy skills and is disruptive in class (Fries, 2005). Jared also portrays an angry, resistant attitude particularly to literacy and numeracy-related tasks but has developed a strong bond with his Art teacher. Most of Jared problems came primarily from social and cultural differences. In this case, Jared teachers and foster parents should have paid more attention to his traumatic and emotional experiences that his parents has taken him through. According to psychologists, children who are neglected by their parents tend to portray a violent behavior towards their peers (Hammadou, 2002). This might explain why Jared is disruptive in class. One of the biggest challenges that Jared faces in learning in and through English is his aboriginal backround and the community in which he lives in (Chapelle, 2010). this was a major chalenegs because recent statistics have suggested that, over 85 percent of aboriginal learners in Austratlia struggle in learning English (Healy, 2011). Another challenge facing Jared in learning in and through english is the failure of his teachers in identifying any signs of child neglet and appropriatly addressing these issues. Parents and teachers should watch out for signs that might suggest a child has been negleted. This would assist in developing strategies that offer treatment and suportt to the child. According to reserchers, lack of attention to such issues leads to lack of concentration and also inhibits a childs ability to lkearn new things (Hockly, 2006). This explians whay Jared literacy and numeracy skills were poor. Another significant challenge that faced Jared learning was the negative forces in his life. Studies have revealed that EAL/D students alienate themselves from their peers, as well as, their culture in an attempt to assimilate. Jared comes from a community that has a significant number of indigenous people (Hsu, 2010). The community also has different groups with different backgrounds such as, German, Cantonese, Italian and the Filipino. Cultural conflict in such a community is relatively higher as compared to a community with fewer cultural backgrounds. As a result, Jared may be a victim of stereotype in his community. Been raised in a community with different cultural backgrounds and moving from one country to another might has significantly contributed to the challenges Jared faces in learning English. This is because he has never settled in his entire life. According to psychologists, such children feel as if they cannot talk to their peers or teachers because they believe their teachers and peers cannot stand their difficult accent and name (Kafanabo, 2010). Challenges such as these Jared go through along with the increasing number of immigrant children entering Australia point out to an urgent need to prepare teachers on how they should welcome EAL/D learners into classrooms (Kafanabo, 2010). In this case study, Jared is faced with numerous challenges as he struggles to fit into a new society, learn a new language, as well as, acclimate to a new school. Jared’s teachers should focus at creating a positive learning environment (Kafanabo, 2010). This will significantly increase Jared’s ability to learn in and through English. Case study 2: Sara According to recent studies, one of the most common challenges faced by EAL/D learners is lack of support in their English language development (Swan, 2001). Most learners lack the much needed support in developing both their spoken and English literacy. Sara has been in Australia for 16 months and can speak simple English well. However, she has difficulties in reading or writing in English. Sara’s challenges in reading and writing in English are a widely recognized phenomenon among EAL/D learners. This is because EAL/D learners develop fluency in everyday conversation in English more quickly but take considerably longer to develop competence in Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS). According to her teachers, she is dedicated and co-operative, as well as, extremely motivated (Swan, 2001). Sara also stays behind after class and request extra help or ask questions. This has significantly assisted her in speaking fluently in English. However, her development in Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) will require more effort, as well as, support from her teachers. According to some studies, CALP is equivalent to academic English but its development is highly dependent on the learner’s ability to control their academic literacy (Swan, 2001). Sara might face significant challenges in developing control of specific genres within the English language. This is because she is yet to learn how to read or write in English. Sara is in grade 6 and schools at a mainstream school. Been an EAL/D learner in a mainstream school, Sara is expected to achieve equitable access to curriculum knowledge. However, most mainstream schools lack the much needed high levels of differentiated support to address each students needs (Michel, 2002). Research has found that mainstream teachers working with EAL/D learners require a second key requirement that prioritizes intellectual challenge of foreign students. Though Sara’s teachers are supportive, they might not offer the much needed legitimacy, as well as, emphasis on deep knowledge in learning in and through English (Kafanabo, 2010). Most mainstream schools do not offer programs that are tailored to address specific intellectual challenges faced by EAL/D learners. Sara attends a school in western Sydney where 90% of students come from LBOTE backgrounds. Her teachers are therefore expected to have an extensive knowledge of the various processes in program planning and high support that addresses each student’s needs. This will ensure that each student regardless of their cultural background goes through an interactive learning process (Hsu, 2010). Learning in and through English and literacy is often rightly fore-grounded in most Australian mainstream schools. Mainstream schools build their English curriculum around three major interconnected strands. The first one is language which addresses the type of knowledge about literacy required by students (Kafanabo, 2010). The second one is literature which addresses learner’s ability to interpret, evaluate, as well as, appreciate literary texts. The third strand is literacy which addresses a learner’s ability to comprehend and create a growing repertoire of written and spoken English (Fries, 2005). In summary, Sara is faced with fewer challenges as compared to Jared in learning in and through English. This is because she is more dedicated and co-operative in class and is also motivated. Her biggest challenge is developing her proficiency in cognitive language. This is because the development of her cognitive language depends on her ability to control her English literacy which she is yet to fully develop. Sara’s challenges in writing and reading in and through English are common among EAL/D learners and take a considerable amount of time to develop (Fries, 2005). Case study 3: Youssef In this case study, Youssef is sixteen years old and was born in Iraq then later moved to Greece before coming to Australia. Youssef is making good progress in school but requires a lot of support especially in reading and writing. His specific challenges as an EAL/D learner are developing reading and writing skills in English. As discussed earlier, most EAL/D learners might take up to two or three years before their cognitive language skills and proficiency in writing and reading in English are fully developed (Healy, 2011). Youssef faces another challenge in learning in and through English which is; he cannot understand or use vocabulary in most of his class topics (Kafanabo, 2010). This is mainly because his language and literacy are yet to be fully developed. Another reason as to why Youssef is facing challenges in understanding and using vocabulary in his classes is lack of an in-depth knowledge of the curriculum content. Youssef teachers should focus at developing and implementing high challenge and high support programs that target the specific needs of Youssef. There are specific socio-cultural factors that pose as a challenge in learning in and through English for Youssef. According to his teachers, Youssef tends to socialize only with children who are from refugee backgrounds in his school. Also expresses frustration at having few Australian friends (Hammadou, 2002). Youssef’s inability to socialize with other children from his school is mainly because of cultural conflict that mainly arises from language barrier. As a result, he is more comfortable socializing with children from refugee camps whereby the cultural conflict is not as great as with his Australian peers (Hsu, 2010). Cultural conflicts can have a significant impact on an EAL/D learner’s ability to learn in and through English. This is because the child may be frustrated by his or her inability to effectively communicate with others. One of the most common problems associated with cultural conflict is ineffective communication (Swan, 2001). Youssef was born in Iraq and comes from a community whose ideologies are more reserved as compared to the outgoing Australian culture. As a result, some words or gestures used by Australian may be regarded as been rude by Iraqis. EAL/D learners may be withdrawn in class mainly because of depression. This depression may be brought about by culture shock which has a significant impact on a Childs ability to learn in class. Conclusion and recommendations While acknowledging the challenges faced by the three EAL/D learners in learning in and through English, this paper has also addressed the place of English as an additional Language to students in Australia. Jared, Sara and Youssef require additional support from their teachers in developing proficiency in English and literacy. In all the three case studies, each learner’s cognitive development and life experiences did not correlate with their English proficiency. As a result, they were all faced with numerous challenges in learning in and through English. References Chapelle, C. (2010). English Language Learning and Technology: Lectures on Applied Linguistics in the Age of Information and Communication Technology. New York: John Benjamins Publishing. Coyne, M. (2010). Effective Teaching Strategies that Accommodate Diverse Learners. Liverpool: Oxford Press. Fries, C. (2005). Teaching & learning English as a foreign language. california: University of Michigan Press. Gibbon, P (2002). Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning. Teaching Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. Portsmouth Heinemann. Hammadou, J. (2002). Literacy and the Second Language Learner. New York: IAP. Healy, J. (2011). Different Learners: Identifying, Preventing, and Treating Your Child's Learning Problems. 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