The Challenge of Social Studies for Limited English Proficient Students.

As students with limited proficiency in English transition from English-as-a-Second-Language or bilingual education classes to mainstream classes, they are usually first enrollea in physical education, art, and music classes, and then math or science classes. Later, these students are placed in the more challenging mainstream social studies courses. This article examines some of the challenges that social studies presents for LEP students and one effort undertaken to increase the meaning and relevance of this core subject to students who are learning English while they are learning social studies. Social studies.courses focus on the culture of American society and on activities that allow students to share their native cultures. However, social studies is closely bound to literacy skills, writing tasks are very challenging, and classes usually are not replete with hands-on and manipulative activities that LEP students can use to learn and reinforce concepts. In response to these issues, the National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning has developed a history unit for LEP middle school students that incorporates content, language, and thinking and study skill objectives with student-centered activities. The infusion of cultural diversity is another important feature of the unit. (Contains 8 references.) (JP) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made ft-cm the original document. *********************************************************************** An edited version will appear in a future volume of Social Education. 1 The Challenge of Social Studies for Limited English Proficient Students Deborah J. Short Center for Applied Linguistics, 1993 Introduction The changing demographic picture of students in American elementary and secondary schools is well-documented. The fastest growing sector of the school-aged population is that of minority students. Within that group are ever-increasing numbers of language minority student students whose first or home language is not English. These language minority students are doubly burdened, struggling to learn English and the subject matter from various content courses. Language minority students who are limited English proficient (LEP) are often placed in English as a second language (ESL) classes, or bilingual education classes where available. As the students from ESL classes transition to mainstream classes, they are usually first enrolled in physical education, art, and music classes under the assumption that these hands-on classes are less dependent upon language than the core curriculum classes. In general, students next enter math and/or science classes.1 The math placement is guided by a belief that math is computationbound and therefore easier to manage. (This assumption is inaccurate, but nevertheless drives instructional programming for LEP students in many schools.) As for science, LEP students tend to be successful in science classes that provide a lot of manipulative and hands-on experiments, especially if the teacher has been trained to adjust instruction and adapt materials to suit the academic needs of LEP students. They are later placed in mainstream social studies courses which are more difficult. This article will examine some challenges that social studies presents to LEP students and one effort undertaken to increase the meaning and relevance of this core subject to students who are learning English while they are learning social studies. The Challenge of Social Studies At first blush, social studies classes seem to be likely candidates for LEP students to atte;:d in a mainstream track. For one reason, many ESL and bilingual teachers focus on culture, even vs they teach language. They help students adapt to the culture of the school and of American society. They create lessons that describe the historic backgrounds of holidays like Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. They also plan activities where students can share their native cultures and some history from their native countries. These topics are natural components of social studies curricula 41 and fit the needs of LEP students. For another reason, social studies 1s appealing because of its (NI I For more information on program design, see the curriculum guidelines for English as a Second Language in such states and districts as California, Hawaii. Arizona, Texas and the District of Columbia. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS u s DEPAIRTMEN I MAIE.PIAL HAS BEIN GRANTED BY Eck,. at.,,na ReSra, And .enee, E DUCA TIONAL RESOURCES ,, r, STION CENTER ,ERIC. dOt amen! has Deer, eel A. fp, e.ved tql, the pets( 2. 0 of(JA^ hal 0.p.nabng 0 C Ra,nor, haages ha.e her,^ade ,c ar wove fetvnfiu( 110a Ot an? , Points 01.ew e oconons state,: .e irs dOC TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES lurnouierinsi rptuTDA 1PAInI An edited version will appear in a future volume of Social Education. 2 narrative structure. Telling a story is a universal teaching method with its origins in the ancient past. All students are familiar with this approach to teaching and learning. The reality of social studies curricula reveals a more complex picture, however. Social studies is closely bound to literacy skills. Beginning at the piwer elementary level, the amount of reading and writing expected in social studies classes surpasses that of most math or science classes. Furthermore, most of the readings are expository, not narrative, in style. Long reading passages are filled with abstract concepts and unfamiliar events and names. Checking a bilingual dictionary for "representative democracy," for ,-;xample, will probably not help a student who has recently arrived from Cuba where the concept is not demonstrated in Cuban society. In addition, research has also shown that many history textbooks are not well-written, often lacking coherence and cohesion between sections. (See Beck, McKweon and Gromoll 1989, and Crismore 1985, for a fuller discussion.) Social studies writing tasks are also very challenging. In many classes teachers pay little attention to paragraph development because they may consider writing processes as the domain of the language arts teacher. Yet, LEP students frequently need assistance in organizing information within the context of an academic subject. Essays 'written on social studies events or phenomena often require considerable background knowledge and higher order thinking skills, such as summarizing and analyzing. Some students, and not only LEP students, have had little training in composing a summary or interpreting an event. Moreover, even though "cause and effect" and "compare and contrast" are common rhetorical styles in historical writing, LEP students may not have had experience with such writing tasks. Imagine an LEP student who emigrated to the United States two months ago, was placed in a world studies class, and was given the following for homework: "Compare the Nigerians' methods for achieving independence with the American colonists' methods. " This student would be hard pressed to respond, if he or she never had an American history course before. Although these types of assignments are inevitable, a teacher needs to realize that LEP students may lack the background knowledge to make such a comparison and should make appropriate accommodations. Unlike mathematics and science classes, social studies classes, especially at the middle school level and above, are not replete with hands-on and manipulative activities that LEP students can use to learn and reinforce specific concepts. Fracfion bars or three-dimensional polygon shapes, for example, can help students grasp certain mathematics concepts, but no similar instructimal tools are available for social studies teachers. Some social studies teachers are able to include role plays and diorama constructions in their lessons, but in general, LEP students, many of whom have learning styles that prefer hands-on approaches, are at more of a disadvantage in social studies than in science or mathematics.