Bearden serves as home to a multitude of students whose first language is something other than English.
Multilingualism may be challenging for these students as they navigate high school while also improving their English fluency.
“There’s 327 Bearden students who are non-native English speakers, but I think that number is larger for students who…never needed extra English support,” ELL teacher Mrs. Anna Saeli said.
Adjusting to a new school is no easy task, but it becomes even harder when that school is in a different country and follows a completely different schedule than a student is used to.
“When you come from another country, the school system is just different,” Mrs. Saeli said. “The schedule, the size of the school, the use of technology, and the fact that every kid is just handed a computer, is not typical around the world.”
Several Bearden students expressed that the beginning part of the process was the hardest.
“When you first come and…you don’t know anything, that was the hardest part for me,” native Kurdish speaker Arya Taha said.
Added native Spanish speaker Miguel Bonilla: “It was pretty hard at first because I didn’t understand anything, but with time you adapt.”
Along with adjusting to a new school routine, high school academics can become an extra challenge as bilingual students balance getting used to a new schedule, learning a new language, and keeping up with grades.
“Conversational language takes about 1-2 years, but then academic language, which you need to be successful at school, takes about 5-7 years,” Mrs. Saeli said. “We do have students who come and have never studied English before at all, and so they’re starting from zero, and they’re having to take Chemistry or Algebra 2, so I think the biggest challenge is taking…classes with everybody else even though they don’t have the same amount of English as their American peers.”
Along with academic challenges, these students sometimes find it difficult to build friendships and find a sense of belonging.
“At first, I was a little nervous because I was thinking that someone might be annoyed or confused by my accent,” Bonilla said.
Added Mrs. Saeli: “A lot of our students can go through the day and never have an American friend. It’s scary, you know, they’d rather talk with people they know, but the more American friends they have I think the better their experience is.”
As students face the challenges of having English as a second language, they also are able to find the benefits in being multilingual. Growing up speaking two languages allows for students to interact with a larger variety of people, and can possibly give them an advantage when it comes to opportunities for their future.
“The biggest benefit is…you can communicate to more people,” Bonilla said. “You have two idioms to think about; it’s pretty cool.”
Added Taha: “When I learned English, everything became easier. Now I can talk to my teacher and explain what I understand and what I don’t understand and I can make friends and I can talk with them.”
As Bearden’s population of students with English as a second language continues to grow, the school strives to become more welcoming and inclusive of all students.