:: Article Review #1 :: 'ESL Parents and Teachers: Towards Dialogue?' ::

Article Review #1

In ‘ESL Parents and Teachers: Towards Dialogue?’, authors Yan Guo (University of Calgary) and Bernard Mohan (University of British Columbia) investigate “conflict and miscommunication between English as a Second Language (ESL) parents and teachers” (Guo & Mohan, 2008).  Guo and Mohan use an ESL Parents Night (PN) held at a Canadian high school as the focus of their research, considering the differences in communication between the Canadian teachers and the parents of the ESL students, largely from Taiwan and China.

Yan Guo, University of Calgary

Bernard Mohan, University of British Columbia

The authors begin by stating different studies that show that the “limited communication between ESL parents and teachers is a serious problem” (Guo & Mohan, 2008). The authors then go on to use the PN as a framework to consider three possible methodologies (or ‘views’, the term the authors use) for practical improvement of positive ESL parent-teacher communication. The three views are intercultural communication, Taylor’s ‘dialogue across differences’, and system functional linguistics.

The authors quote Lustig and Koester’s definition of intercultural communication as occurring when “large and important cultural differences create dissimilar interpretations and expectations about how to communicate competently” (Guo & Mohan, 2008). ‘Dialogue across differences’ is based on the philosopher Charles Taylor’s proposition that “‘practical reason’ offers the possibility of a rational arbitration of differences between conflicting views in culture, ethics and other areas…” (Guo & Mohan, 2008). ‘Dialogue across differences’ is developed to find points of similarity between two parties, and building a relationship which allows for mutual understanding and consultation. The final view, system functional linguistics, is about ‘text in context’; this requires the contextualization of events, following Halliday’s proposition that “language is understood in relation to its environment” (Guo & Mohan, 2008). The research here serves as a building block for Yan Gao’s future studies of the use of PNs as the focus of home-school communication and relationships, drawing particularly on the “communication processes between recent Chinese immigrants and Canadian teachers” (Guo, 2010).

Historically there have been several elements in ESL culture and linguistic theory that has impacted on home-school communication, including lack of motivation to understand different cultural backgrounds, lack of importance placed on ESL education, and ESL theories that weren’t student-centered and contextual.

The PN that Gao and Mohan describe is organized by parents and school administration in an attempt to counter the historical lack of understanding between different cultural backgrounds. This can also be seen as a push-back against the ‘submersion’ theory, where ESL students were expected to interact only in English and adapt entirely to the US (or in this case, Canadian) culture without any respect being offered to their own backgrounds. Bilingual and sheltered instruction programs are gaining increasing recognition and offering greater respect to students’ first language (L1), acknowledging that it is often the only language spoken at home and carries with it “the history, the culture, the traditions, the very life of a people” (Crawford, 2004). Further to this, Jim Cummins’ work on bilingual education has had a resounding effect on the ESL education system, including his research on the importance of “working with communities, face-to-face” (Cummins, 2001).

The article also discusses the lack of importance placed on ESL education. Like many areas of the United States, high school ESL learners are highly likely to fail to graduate. Guo and Mohan quote a longitudinal study from Calgary that claims an overall failure rate for ESL students of 74%, with those entering Grade 9 with little English failing at a rate of 90% (Guo & Mohan, 2008). These statistics create a particularly tense and anxious atmosphere for parents. At the PN, many parents who had been in Canada for more than six months were aware of these statistics, and desperately wanted their children out of the ESL program and into ‘mainstream’ classes (Guo & Mohan, 2008). Historically the education system has failed to acknowledge the role of ESL classes, and this has affected the educational achievement of ESL students.

The article also brings up important practical elements for ESL educators to consider, most importantly, creating a strong home-school relationship and communication patterns. Natasha Agrawal, an ESL teacher at an elementary school in Trenton, NJ, has held culture nights for parents to attend, which allows them to exhibit their cultural heritage and enter into discussions not only with teachers, but also with other parents, creating a stronger community and greater support network for their children to achieve (Agrawal, 2014).

KaHlaw Meh, a participant in Natasha Agrawal's culture fairs

In my personal experience of ESL education, I have seen profound positive implications for ESL students when the teachers have good communication and relationships with the parents. By creating a strong home-school relationship, ESL students are much more likely to feel supported and not conflicted in their language use, and have a more coherent, holistic view of their academic goals. Communicating with parents empowers them to be more active in their child’s education, and empowers parents to help their children achieve.

As Guo and Mohan stated in their article, PNs are just a start; they are an appropriate forum for discussing the different elements and aims of a school’s ESL program with new parents, but not to “negotiate conflict” with “experienced” parents who want their children to exit ESL and move into mainstream (Guo & Mohan, 2008). It is important to establish relationships early, and maintain them, in order that PNs do not become the only platform for parent-teacher communication.

Bibliography

Agrawal, N. (2014, January). But I Can't Speak English. Retrieved from NJ TESOL/BE: http://www.njtesol-njbe.org/voices/vcsv43n1/Features.html

Crawford, J. (2004). Educating English Learners: Language Diversity in the Classroom, 5th Ed. New Jersey: Bilingual Educational Services.

Cummins, J. (2001). An Introductory Reader to the Writings of Jim Cummins. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Gao, Y. (2010). Meetings Without Dialogue: A Study of ESL Parent-Teacher Interactions at Secondary School Parents' Night. School Community Journal, 121-140.

Guo, Y., & Mohan, B. (2008). ESL Parents and Teachers: Towards Dialogue? Language and Education: An International Journal, 17-33.