ESL Instruction, Cultural Awareness, and Islamic Education

Introduction

Education in English as a Second Language (ESL) has become increasingly important in the United States, as many people arrive from non-English-speaking countries seeking greater opportunities. These children are eager to learn, but they often struggle because they do not understand English well. Even those who can speak English reasonably well sometimes have difficulties, because there are many subtleties in the language that ESL students do not fully recognize. The purpose of this paper is to discuss ESL education as it occurs in the Western world, as well as the ESL education that Muslim students experience.

The similarities and differences between these educational contexts will be examined, including the experience of Muslims who come to America. It is important to understand how both cultures teach their ESL students and how Muslim students who come to America fare when taught in the unfamiliar Western educational tradition. This is a significant issue because all cultures teach their children differently. A Muslim student who comes to America must contend not only with culture shock but also with an entirely different pedagogical approach. This can be very confusing and distressing for these students. Even students who remain in their own culture but must learn English often struggle with feelings of inadequacy and an inability to keep up with their peers.

It is important to look first at cultural diversity in America and how it affects ESL education. After that, the discussion turns to Muslim students who come to America, and finally to Muslim students in their own countries who must learn English as a second language. By following this progression, it becomes easier to see the similarities and differences across cultures and the special challenges that many educators face when teaching ESL to those who are unfamiliar with the surrounding culture.

Another important issue is that American education has little to do with religious understanding or practice. Muslim education, by contrast, is centered on religion. Muslims who come to this country often have difficulty with the strangeness of a society that does not organize daily life around religious devotion. This difference is important not only for those being taught, but for those doing the teaching as well. Teachers must understand the cultures of the students they teach, yet many do not. This challenge is not unique to America; it is true in other countries as well.

American Philosophies and ESL Education

Muslim schools found in countries that are not traditionally Islamic also face difficulties because many teachers do not appreciate the central importance of religion in the lives of Islamic people. Teachers who do understand this often have difficulty persuading their administrations of its significance, leaving Muslim students in those settings feeling misunderstood and unsupported.

There are many different perceptions held by educators, and these perceptions often differ significantly from those held by the students they are trying to teach. Six levels of cultural adaptation are relevant here, as they help explain how students and educators can work toward mutual understanding so that ESL instruction can be carried out in a way that maximizes learning. These levels trace a progression from basic unawareness of cultural difference to complete versatility in more than one culture. Working toward this ideal, even if it is never fully achieved, helps educators and students understand more about each other's beliefs and practices.

Intercultural sensitivity is becoming increasingly important in classrooms today, given the high degree of ethnic diversity found in many schools (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Unfortunately, there is still very little awareness across cultures (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). This does not mean only that Americans fail to recognize other cultures; people from other cultures also frequently fail to recognize American culture when they find themselves living within it (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). It is not suggested that newcomers must abandon everything familiar and "become American," but only that understanding different cultures is important in a country that is such a mixture of different ideals and beliefs (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Learning about someone else's culture and trying to respect it is not the same as becoming part of it — a distinction that many people misunderstand (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000).

Many believe there is a "new breed of student" and that, while students have become more widely diverse, educators have become less so (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). This only magnifies the difficulty and causes greater unhappiness for both educators and students (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). It is also upsetting to parents who feel that their children are being treated unfairly or being pressured to conform to a culture that their teachers refuse to acknowledge (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000).

One of the main problems teachers have when teaching ESL students is that they treat them as essentially the same as American students, recognizing only surface-level differences. The common assumption is that because everyone is human, everyone is basically alike. This is largely untrue. People from other cultures often have different ways of doing things, learning things, and thinking about things (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). These are significant differences, and educators who cannot recognize them struggle to understand why a student cannot simply change their behavior or attitude (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). It is not that simple, and this misconception continues to harm Western ESL instruction (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000).

There is also debate about whether cultural sensitivity has been appropriately emphasized or overemphasized (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Those who do not appreciate the subtleties of cultural difference tend to see cultures as either very similar or very different, with no middle ground (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Those who take more time to understand other cultures begin to see that many differences are subtle and that the same is true for similarities (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). These subtle differences are often overlooked because people are not culturally sensitive, and this hurts both teaching and learning (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000).

The six stages of cultural awareness are central to understanding how ESL learners and educators interact. The first stage is ignorance (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). At this stage, someone from one culture completely fails to recognize that any meaningful cultural difference exists (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Teachers who assume their foreign students are just like their American students are often in this stage. There are two primary reasons for this: a lack of understanding that cultures differ, and a lack of interest in accepting that cultural differences must be taken seriously (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Many long-term American residents find it easier to ignore what they perceive as an alien culture rather than try to understand it (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Similarly, students from other cultures often associate only with members of their own group and remain largely uninformed about the American culture surrounding them (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). The cultural exchange that would be mutually beneficial never occurs, and because of this, it is much harder for students to learn when they feel their cultural needs are not being recognized, or worse, are being mocked (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000).

When people are persuaded to acknowledge that foreign individuals have culturally important differences, they move on to the second stage: rejection (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). This rejection often stems from culture shock. Educators may avoid students from minority cultures because those students do not conform to behavioral patterns the educators consider mainstream or normal (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). These educators often end up negatively stereotyping such students, noticing only the differences they choose to see (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000).

In the third stage, the educator sees foreign students as reasonably similar to American students and becomes uncomfortable with intercultural observations (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Educators may also misidentify students' cultural backgrounds and, because they do not ask, fail to appreciate how important these distinctions are. Being mistaken for a member of a culture one does not belong to often breeds resentment (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Because people sometimes minimize the importance of cultural diversity, it becomes easy to misunderstand customs from different cultures (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Even educators who are reasonably well-informed about cultural differences may hold incorrect assumptions about how many values different cultures actually share (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000).

In the fourth stage, people begin to grow more comfortable with both the similarities and the differences between cultures (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). This helps to enable cross-cultural relationships between educators and students. Even though much intercultural behavior is recognized at this stage, many of the values underlying that behavior are still not fully appreciated or understood (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Individuals in this stage may recognize another culture's customs without wishing to participate in them (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000).

In the fifth stage, educators and students move on to approval (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Culture shock is no longer present, and many behaviors exhibited by foreign students or educators are seen as favorable (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). A Westerner may adopt certain non-Western customs and even enjoy them (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Because of this appreciation and understanding, intercultural relationships become genuinely viable (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Educators who reach this stage can manage a multicultural classroom effectively because they embrace the cultural diversity it contains (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000).

In the sixth stage, versatility is achieved (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). This is difficult to attain, as it requires complete adaptation to life in at least two cultures (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). ESL students who have lived in the United States for many years often adapt to American culture quite thoroughly — changing how they dress, the language they speak, and even their mannerisms and body language (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). Unfortunately, many of these individuals lose the ties they originally had with their home culture (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). This loss can cause anxiety and confusion about cultural identity and can be genuinely painful (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). They may feel lost and disoriented (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000), having abandoned the values and customs of their homeland while feeling pressure to assimilate into the dominant American culture (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000).

Intercultural development is attracting growing interest, and educators are not fully prepared for the global society that is rapidly emerging (Peregoy & Boyle, 2000). One of the main challenges educators face is providing sheltered instruction to students with limited English proficiency (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). With a content-driven instructional method, it is possible to make much of the core curriculum accessible even to students who have limited English proficiency (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). As more students arrive from other countries, educators are finding they need many different strategies to help these individuals learn English while also keeping pace with the core curriculum (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996).

Some researchers have indicated that the most effective method of instruction for these students is delivery in the language the student knows best — their native language — which makes it very difficult for many instructors, as they do not speak that language (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). Students who work with ESL teachers begin to develop what is termed a "surface proficiency" in English (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). However, surface proficiency does not give students the depth of language they need to succeed academically. These students are still often unable to draw conclusions and synthesize information when it is presented to them in English (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). Many ESL students are confronted not only with the surface and deeper features of their native language, but with two different levels of English proficiency as well (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). They can communicate in their native language for everyday purposes but may lack grade-level academic proficiency in either language (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996).

Students in these situations need an educational program delivered in their native language while simultaneously working with ESL teachers to develop English skills (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). Once students have attained sufficient background in English and acquired basic literacy skills, they can transition to being instructed in English (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). Bilingual teachers are needed in most schools throughout the country, and there are not enough of them (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). Many committed teachers do not speak other languages and therefore cannot provide as much support as they would like (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). Moreover, so many different languages are represented in many schools that simply knowing Spanish or another commonly spoken language is not sufficient (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996).

One approach being used to address this challenge is sheltered instruction (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). This method makes lessons more comprehensible through controlled vocabulary, hands-on activities, slower speech rates, and other techniques, and it appears to be working for students who struggle to learn English while keeping up with academic content (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996). Students and teachers can communicate more effectively in this way even when they come from diverse language backgrounds, and because it is content-driven it differs somewhat from other ESL approaches (O'Malley & Valdez-Pierce, 1996).

When students learn through sheltered instruction, they begin to absorb the content material they need while also developing English skills (Wall-Thonis, 1988). The curriculum is just as challenging as regular instruction but is presented in a more accessible fashion (Wall-Thonis, 1988). This is accomplished by contextualizing lessons and simplifying language as much as possible (Wall-Thonis, 1988). The same expressions and terms are repeated so that vocabulary is more tightly controlled than in a standard classroom (Wall-Thonis, 1988). Speech is delivered at a slower rate with clear enunciation so that students understand what the educator is saying (Wall-Thonis, 1988). Only when students have attained intermediate fluency, however, can they engage productively with sheltered instruction (Wall-Thonis, 1988).

Specifically, there are six steps utilized in sheltered education lessons. The first is establishing a target vocabulary (Wall-Thonis, 1988). Several words or terms critical to the lesson are selected and defined at the beginning, then posted so students can refer to them visually (Wall-Thonis, 1988). A word bank is created, and vocabulary from each lesson is added to it continuously (Wall-Thonis, 1988). Previous lessons are built upon in subsequent lessons, so as the word bank grows, students learn both more English words and more content (Wall-Thonis, 1988).

The second step is main concept selection (Wall-Thonis, 1988). Most lessons have only one or two key concepts, and the lesson focuses exclusively on those concepts (Wall-Thonis, 1988). Readings are outlined or reduced to smaller, more manageable segments, making content more accessible to students who do not read English well (Wall-Thonis, 1988). When students fully understand the main ideas and have the vocabulary to support them, they retain information more meaningfully than they would from a cursory overview of every detail (Wall-Thonis, 1988).

The third step is to create a context (Wall-Thonis, 1988). This requires considerable creativity from the teacher (Wall-Thonis, 1988). Facial expressions, bulletin boards, props, sketches, gestures, and real objects can all be used to help students understand the concept being taught (Wall-Thonis, 1988). By demonstrating what a lesson is actually about, teachers give students experiences that add meaning to the material they are studying (Wall-Thonis, 1988).

The fourth step involves making connections (Wall-Thonis, 1988). Students are encouraged to relate their past experiences to the topic being discussed (Wall-Thonis, 1988). Teachers may need to learn what questions to ask in order to elicit responses that can be connected to the lesson at hand (Wall-Thonis, 1988). When students can link something they have actually experienced to what is being taught, the instruction becomes far more meaningful (Wall-Thonis, 1988).

Are Educators Doing a Disservice to These Students?

In the fifth step, the teacher checks for understanding (Wall-Thonis, 1988). This frequently requires clarification, elaboration, and repetition for ESL students (Wall-Thonis, 1988). By revisiting vocabulary and concepts often, an educator can determine whether students are actually grasping the material (Wall-Thonis, 1988). A variety of question types must be used so that students are not limited to yes-or-no responses (Wall-Thonis, 1988). Being supportive and helping students feel comfortable participating in lessons and asking questions is one of the most powerful ways a teacher can ensure that learning takes place (Wall-Thonis, 1988).

The sixth and final step is encouraging student interaction (Wall-Thonis, 1988). Sheltered instruction is highly interactive, giving students valuable opportunities to practice the language skills they are acquiring (Wall-Thonis, 1988). By designing cooperative projects that pair native English speakers with students who are still learning, teachers give ESL students a meaningful way to absorb common usage patterns and connect language to shared experience (Wall-Thonis, 1988).

Some argue, however, that educators are actually doing a great disservice to students by teaching English as a second language in the way that they currently do (Cortes, 1986). Teaching English to ethnic students as a secondary language is a common ideology in the United States (Cortes, 1986). This approach aims to maintain the students' native language as their primary language while allowing them to learn enough English to function in both cultures (Cortes, 1986).

Unfortunately, many problematic outcomes result from this approach, because these students often remain deficient in English compared to students who learn English as their primary or only language (Cortes, 1986). Despite this, ethnic populations continue to increase rapidly throughout America, and predictions suggest that this growth will continue (Cortes, 1986). Many ethnic students arrive with very little or no English and enter school systems in that state (Cortes, 1986). Some believe educators are doing these students no favors by teaching them English only as a second language (Cortes, 1986). It is important to examine both sides of this argument, because others maintain that English must be taught to these individuals as a primary, not a secondary, language (Cortes, 1986). No other country in the world treats its native language as secondary for immigrants (Cortes, 1986). In schools in other countries, including Muslim countries, the national language is always the primary language of instruction (Cortes, 1986). In France, Japan, Russia, and every other country, the native language is taught to incoming students as the primary language (Cortes, 1986).

It is not believed by proponents of this view that a student loses his or her identity by being taught English as the primary language in school (Cortes, 1986). Because the student has left his or her native country and now resides in America, learning English as a first language can be seen as enhancing rather than diminishing identity (Cortes, 1986). It is argued that ESL students taught English as a secondary language will always struggle, because their English skills will never match those of someone taught English as a primary language (Cortes, 1986). This does not mean immigrants can never excel in English, but only that they must approach English as a first language, in the same manner American children do, if they are to achieve the same level of proficiency and comfort (Cortes, 1986).

When living in America, strong English proficiency broadens the range of people a student can communicate with (Slavin & Yampolsky, 1992). By remaining primarily in their ethnic language and treating English only as a second language, students often stay confined to communities where their native language is dominant and English is not widely spoken (Slavin & Yampolsky, 1992). This limits their ability to engage across ethnic and linguistic boundaries (Slavin & Yampolsky, 1992). Since the current generation of students is largely being taught English as a second language, future generations will learn from this generation and carry forward the same deficiencies (Slavin & Yampolsky, 1992).

As ethnic populations across America continue to grow, there will be even more students who are not proficient in English because they have only been taught it as a secondary language (Slavin & Yampolsky, 1992). There is concern that the overall quality of English spoken in the United States will deteriorate, with misspellings, mispronunciations, semantic irregularities, and other problems becoming more widespread (Slavin & Yampolsky, 1992). The United States would, in effect, be lowering its standards for its own national language (Slavin & Yampolsky, 1992). Some believe this undermines much of what America has become, and there is additional concern that English could eventually become a secondary language in America (Slavin & Yampolsky, 1992). Individuals who cannot read, write, or speak English well often have few opportunities for advancement, as many colleges and universities require English proficiency (Slavin & Yampolsky, 1992). Because of this, many individuals may suffer long-term consequences stemming from decisions being made by educators today (Slavin & Yampolsky, 1992). It therefore seems important to examine and reevaluate the reasoning behind teaching English only as a second language (Slavin & Yampolsky, 1992).

Conclusion

As can be seen, there are many differences between the way American and other Western schools educate their students and the way Islamic schools educate theirs, and there are both strengths and weaknesses in each approach. Whether the focus is specifically on English as a second language or on education more broadly, many of the differences between these systems are rooted in culture and belief. Many differences are also shaped by the religious values and understandings of each culture. When American students enter traditionally Muslim countries, or when Muslim students enter traditionally Western countries, there is considerable culture shock and difficulty adjusting to the unfamiliar environment.