A Portrait of An ESL Classroom As a Shelter

A Portrait of An ESL Classroom As a Shelter

  An increasing number of English as a Second Language (ESL) students are enrolled in American public schools. ESL students tend to experience emotional struggles, such as insecurity, nervousness, fear, and loneliness, when placed in a new school environment. For a balanced development of ESL learners as whole persons, ESL education needs to appropriately address their emotional struggles. This study examined and interpreted classroom life in a third grade ESL class in terms of its relation to the children’s emotional development. Methods of data collection included five-months of classroom observation, audio- and video-recordings of classroom lessons, fieldnotes, and interviews with teachers, children, and parents. Data analysis revealed that the children, by and large, felt comfortable and secure in the class. To foster emotional development, the class served two major functions: a place of comfort and a liaison between school and parents or children. Students’ feeling of comfort was nourished by several factors, such as tailored instruction, provision of individual help, the presence of a bilingual teacher aide, and physical classroom environment. The class, or rather the ESL teachers, served as care-providers and “middlemen” working between school and parents or children. This study finally provides practical implications for Korean parents considering a foreign school for their children.