Cultural Gaps in Traditional ESL Education: A Research Proposal

Introduction

In an era where so many students are struggling to remain afloat academically — where standardized testing dominates national evaluation strategy and the costs of a college education grow ever higher — the pressure upon the individual student to succeed has never been greater. This is exponentially so for the English as a Second Language (ESL) student, who, in addition to facing all of these challenges, will typically also have a great deal of work ahead simply to make inroads into the use of the English language. Thus, for the ESL teacher, instruction is not only problematic insofar as the inherent difficulties of inducting a new language are concerned. There is yet the even greater matter of helping the ESL student prepare for the steps which traditionally follow elementary and primary education. The discussion, literature review, and research proposal hereafter consider the evolving nature of this problem and, within this scope, address the array of practical, theoretical, and pedagogical problems that underlie this overarching issue.

Statement of the Problem

Institutions of higher learning are contending with a serious crisis within their own student bodies. Many individuals who are part of the great influx of immigrant students face considerable difficulty making the transition into universities. Due to substantial linguistic deficiencies suffered by many such students, they tend to lack basic skills in speaking, composing, and comprehending that are required to address the more complex challenges of secondary and university-level education. A divide exists today between traditionalists and modernists on how best to address the basic challenges of ESL education so that students are adequately prepared, upon their exit from elementary and primary education, to contend with the more rigorous demands of secondary school or college.

Review of the Literature

The Statement of the Problem above identifies a critical area of need in the profession of ESL. Where the instruction of second languages in general is concerned, there is a significant gap between what is achieved in primary education and what is expected in secondary or college education, as well as what is expected in the job market and the professional sphere more broadly. The literature review below demonstrates a continuous call for improvements both in terms of pedagogy at the formative levels and in terms of support for students during the transition to subsequent levels of education.

The text by Burdett (1967) offers a foundational reflection on this issue, producing a number of recommendations on how to bridge this gap. According to Burdett, there is a need to improve recognition of the challenges unique to ESL students and to find ways of assisting in the transition to subsequent levels of the educational system. On this point, Burdett suggests that "if a more effective dialog were to exist between the college entrance examination board (CEEB) and secondary and college teachers, much could be accomplished in helping the testing service keep its measurement processes more realistically attuned to the trend in modern language curriculums of developing all four language skills; furthermore, CEEB could have a great impact nationally on improving language teaching practices by outlining the pedagogical theory and philosophy underlying its testing techniques" (Burdett, p. 39).

This recommendation is complemented by a number of additional suggestions, all pointing to the need for refinement in the approach taken to preparing ESL students for educational and occupational challenges ahead. Many of these relate to the modernist position that there is a need for the adoption of newer and more relevant texts, the development of more perceptive teaching materials, ways of taking the classroom outside of traditional laboratory parameters, and modes for the incorporation of improving teaching technologies. Most important among Burdett's recommendations, however, would appear to be the far-reaching assertion for greater boldness in the dialogue designed to improve the field. Burdett describes a certain timidity that, more than anything, threatens to damage the profession through stagnation and negligence. Accordingly, Burdett reports that "because foreign language teachers have not succeeded in criticizing openly the ills of the profession, a number of critical problems remains unsolved" (Burdett, p. 39).

A reflection on the text by Howatt and Widdowson (2004) helps to reinforce some understanding of this trepidation. The text provides an exhaustive and varied history of global instruction in the English language. In doing so, it helps to elucidate some of the reasons for the difficulty in changing approaches in ESL instruction. Namely, the history reflects on a wide variance of opinions, all converging on the notion that linguistic education has the power to be employed both as a cultural weapon and as an instrument for social advancement. Political, economic, and ideological implications all emanate from ways of using language. To this end, Howatt and Widdowson assert that traditionalist views on language education have attributed considerable importance to the "role of 'correct grammar' in a socially responsible system of education" (Howatt & Widdowson, p. 123). This implied a certain sociological imperialism where the use of the English language is concerned, such that its incorrect usage could be used as a marker of socioeconomic and cultural status. This inherently created a considerable sociological obstacle for those working within the scope of the English-based education system while simultaneously attempting to grasp the language itself.

According to Howatt and Widdowson, modernists have attempted to respond to the imperialist and ethnocentric implications of this orientation by recasting the philosophical implications of "bad grammar." Precluding discussion on the quality of grammar where ESL students are concerned, the text notes that "present-day egalitarianism encourages the notion that the standard language is merely one of a number of more or less 'equal' dialects — different but 'no better' than other varieties" (Howatt & Widdowson, p. 123).

This is a view which the text by Howatt and Widdowson appears to treat with some skepticism. There is genuine value in finding ways to bring more egalitarian philosophies into play where ESL education is concerned. There is a pointed prejudice in maintaining an educational system so inherently stacked against newcomers without making accommodations for their specialized needs. Establishing a more sensitive mode of encouraging the adoption of grammatically acceptable but also culturally relevant uses of language is critically important in helping to reduce opportunity gaps for ESL students. However, in weighing modernist egalitarianism against traditionalist formality in linguistic education, Howatt and Widdowson ultimately find greater credibility in the arguments favoring the latter. They conclude that "not only does this attitude have a harder cutting edge than the modern desire for a cooperative condominium of dialects, it is also more realist in its assessment of the workings of power" (Howatt & Widdowson, p. 123).

Indeed, it seems a greater deprivation to ESL students to be coddled by the educational system and exempted from language-usage principles in the interests of political correctness, when the ultimate consequence will be a significantly diminished ability to compete in the American economy upon exiting that system. This underscores a core imperative of the literature review and the consequently proposed research: a primary emphasis on improving the level of preparation used to ready ESL students for continued advancement in the educational and professional systems that are the primary determinants of long-term socioeconomic status.

On this point, the text by Wardhaugh (1967) identifies one of the early challenges facing educators in the field, who in the 1960s struggled with competing ideas on how best to bridge the gap between practical and conceptual language use. According to Wardhaugh, educational practitioners have debated the merits of language both as a system of habits and as a linguistic enterprise with more nuanced applicative elements. It has become increasingly evident that there is distinct value in integrating the two approaches, suggesting that the problem of conceptual orientation is best resolved through balance rather than pedagogical dispute. Wardhaugh indicates that "a language is more than a system of habits, for a native speaker has abilities beyond those which can be accounted for under most existing definitions of habit — for example, abilities to make judgments about such matters as grammaticality, foreign accent, deviancy, synonymy, and paraphrase. This is not to say that habit-formation drill has outlived its usefulness. Such drill can indeed teach control of the necessary surface skills, and the development of such abilities requires more than the use of existing stimulus-response or reinforcement drills in the classroom" (Wardhaugh, p. 21).

However, Wardhaugh warns that it has long been a habit in the field to assert that language instruction is largely arbitrary and that teaching the target language should be grounded in habit-formation above all else. Wardhaugh identifies a problematic tendency to overstate the capacity of this approach to produce practicable and usable linguistic ability. He takes exception with traditionalist ideas that argue "the single paramount fact about language learning is that it concerns, not problem solving, but the formation and performance of habits" (Wardhaugh, p. 21). The linguistic theorist rejects this principle as failing to acknowledge many of the more abstract contextual factors relating to the applicable usage of language. In particular, the influence exerted by culture, by regional dialect, by accent, by generational difference, by distinctions between formal, informal, or slang usage, and by a host of other less tangible factors cannot be introduced simply through habit-forming drills or techniques that rely singularly on rote practice.

Kanno and Varghese (2010) contribute research that endorses this more integrative approach, which may also be characterized as modernist in its interest in egalitarianism. Contrary to the softer standards implicated in the modernist ideology described by Howatt and Widdowson, Kanno and Varghese assert that a conceptual broadening of what is implied by an ESL program is required. Their research indicates that a critical problem in grammar school and primary education approaches to teaching English is the failure to address the extremely broad spectrum of difficulties faced by students attempting not only to navigate the educational system and learn a new language, but also to navigate a broader culture with a wide variance of challenging and unfamiliar customs.

To this point, Kanno and Varghese reference Bourdieu's cultural reproduction theory, which their article reports is responsible for the divergent socioeconomic trajectories of those with the capacity to acclimate and those lacking the necessary education, support, or resources. Accordingly, the article contributes not just this theoretical perspective to the broader research endeavor, but also the argument "that what inhibits ESL students' access to and participation in four-year college education is not simply their limited English proficiency but also the structural constraints unique to this population, their limited financial resources, and the students' own tendency to self-eliminate. Based on our results, we call for a shift in higher education policy from one focusing narrowly on remediating ESL students' limited English proficiency to a more comprehensive set of policies that address the structural and economic, as well as linguistic, factors that together inhibit ESL students' college access and participation" (Kanno & Varghese, p. 310).

This difficulty is only compounded by the challenges incumbent upon educational institutions attempting to retain ESL populations. As the study by Booth (2009) contributes, there are particular difficulties in socioeconomic adjustment that compound the challenges not simply of learning but even of remaining enrolled in schools. Students who are not provided with proper preparation in ESL education are far more likely than members of the native English-speaking population to be overwhelmed by the combination of academic difficulties and personal life responsibilities. On this point, Booth reports that institutions such as community colleges in particular have struggled to balance the priorities of rigorous, meaningful education and the demand to retain immigrant students. Accordingly, Booth notes that "retention is a problem in all higher education settings, but is especially important for community colleges because of their 'open door' policy. Community colleges enroll the highest proportion of new immigrants. Most come from low-income families, and more than half are employed full-time (Boswell, 2004), creating very challenging odds for retention" (Booth, p. 1).

This places a considerable imperative upon teachers of ESL students at preparatory levels, because it would appear, within the scope of the literature reviewed here, that there is a direct relationship between the lack of adequate preparation for ESL students and their confrontation of greater proportions of difficulty in college and beyond. The text by Flood (2003) offers a handbook that connects the many different strands of English education stretching across pedagogical approaches and levels of educational attainment. According to Flood, English curricula have persistently failed to adjust to broader influxes of ESL students, with the result being an unfair casting of immigrant students as inferior or less academically capable. According to Flood, "English departments in many institutions are just beginning to reflect new advancements; others continue to resist. Therefore, the incompetencies that the tests are revealing in minority applicants may more accurately show the failure of the traditional English curriculum to meet the needs of a diverse student population than they indicate that minorities are inherently inferior prospects" (Flood, p. 487).

Works Cited

Booth, N.B. (2009). English as a Second Language (ESL) learning communities: An approach to retaining ESL students in a community college. Rutgers the State University of New Jersey.

Burdett, B.E., & National Association of Independent Schools, B.A. (1967). Foreign language teaching: A review of current problems. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Celce-Murcia, M. (2001). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.

Flood, J. (2003). Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts. Psychology Press.

Howatt, A.P., & Widdowson, H.G. (2004). A History of English Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kanno, Y. & Varghese, M.M. (2010). Immigrant and refugee ESL students' challenges to accessing four-year college education: From language policy to educational policy. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 9(5), 310–328.

Wardhaugh, R. (1967). Some current problems in second-language teaching. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.