Peer tutoring and community integration for ESL students

Strategic Visualization: Worst-Case Scenario

Today, university-level education is faced with more academic and social demands than ever before, but also with higher cists. This university has an ambitious plan to make Spanish-speaking students become an integrated part of the college community through an ESL student support program. But what if the school does not have enough funding to adequately staff remedial classes and study sessions with tutors to ensure students will be able to keep up with their native English-speaking peers? One possible solution is to enlist students as volunteers to tutor ESL students in English.

This plan will serve two important goals: one, it will be more cost-efficient, as the students in question will not be paid professionals. Secondly, given the recession, students of all backgrounds are finding it difficult to obtain internships and bolster their resumes. Acting as a tutor and helping coordinate and implement a new ESL tutoring program will better prepare the volunteer students for the working world and make them more attractive employee prospects. From the ESL student's perspective, working with their fellow students on their language skills will improve their social connections and help to make them feel more integrated into the college community, more quickly.

A secondary aspect to the 'worst case' scenario would be if most of the students were not sufficiently prepared to enter the college-level environment, based upon their proficiency in English. While testing for English proficiency is part of the university's academic admissions program when dealing with international students, some students exhibit a strong listening and reading comprehension level but struggle with writing, or with learning subjects such as math and science in English. Speaking with professors in these subjects, to prepare them for student comprehension difficulties, is one cost-effective way to deal with the problem. Professors, particularly in technical subjects, might be able to schedule special review sessions specifically designed to cope with the challenges of ESL students.

Students from foreign nations often need transitional support in adjusting to the new environment. Having students from the existing Hispanic community create support groups and cultural activities, as well as a special orientation sessions to address ESL student's unique challenges would enable students to bond together in their common struggle, while still allow them to connect with others individuals outside of the ESL community.