Elementary-age students are like sponges, so foreign children quickly soak up the English language and the mannerisms of their peers. State tests indicate there is a gap in achievement between ESOL students and those who were born in the United States. But the gap closes the longer students have been learning English. Some students enter high school on the second-grade level and still have to take and pass state exams. But while they are learning, the mere presence of foreign students enhances a school's atmosphere, Kirby said, opening American children's eyes to other cultures, languages, foods, religions and traditions.
Some teachers take advantage of the diversity.
In classrooms at Skycrest Elementary School in Clearwater, students teach their peers how to recite the alphabet or count in Spanish or Vietnamese. When teachers read stories aloud, sometimes foreign students translate passages into their languages. In Colleen Harbaugh's kindergarten class, the students learn the days of the week in Spanish. Other than struggling to learn to rhyme, Harbaugh says her foreign students keep up well with the other children. She pairs them with advanced students, who are eager to help, and does a lot of group singing to draw them into participating.