When Scarborough High School senior Sihui Pan arrived in America less than three years ago from China, she did not speak English and was immediately placed in an English as Second Language program in New York City.

The following year she moved to Scarborough and still had not fully grasped the English language. After two years of dedicated study, she can now speak fluently, write well and comprehend the language in class enough to allow her to be accepted to two competitive colleges.

Pan’s experience is not unique in Scarborough, and, according to those who teach English as a second language in the district, there are 60 to 70 foreign students speaking some 20 languages in Scarborough schools.

The increase in students enrolled in Scarborough’s English as a second language program has prompted the school district to add a part-time position to the program in this year’s budget proposal. The addition would bring the program to three full-time positions.

The foreign students enrolled in the program not only face the challenges of succeeding in school and being held to the same benchmarks as their American counterparts, but must do so while trying to learn English and the complexities of American life and culture.

“It was really tough, and I didn’t know what was gong on,” said junior Queeni Li, about her first experiences in the Scarborough School District.

However, during the five years Li has been in the district, she gained a strong understand of English, and she too is hoping to attend college after graduating next year.

In many ways, students whose second language is English have to work much harder than their American counterparts simply because there is so much to learn, teachers said. English aside, they also must learn things that many take for granted, such as the name of the first American president or the person who discovered America.

“They are so motivated and study so hard because that is the only way they can make it,” said high school and middle school teacher Leah Zuch.

Treasuring education

Most of the students in the program moved here because their families wanted to provide a better life for their children in a society that offered more opportunities than could be found in their native countries.

This drive to succeed is seen in the students’ parents, some of whom often tell the ESL teachers that their children do not receive enough homework. But these parents see education as the key to success in their lives.

“They really treasure education,” said teacher Rae Cote, who helps children in the primary schools. “This is their ticket.”

This ethic has rubbed off on their children, and Zuch said nearly every graduating senior from Scarborough’s English as a second language program has gone onto higher education.

Pan has been accepted to Connecticut College and Rensselaer and is still waiting for responses from Cal Tech and Tufts. Senior Calvin Do, who is originally from Viet Nam, but has been in Scarborough for five years, has been accepted to the University of Maine at Orono, University of New Hampshire, University of Southern Maine and Suffolk University.

The district’s four ESL teachers try to help students with their questions about school and other issues that may arise during the day. Even the older students who have been in American schools for several years still have questions about English and American society.

Depending on the student’s level of need, the teachers may attend classes or remove the student from certain subjects, such as English, to help the child in the more intimate setting of the ESL room.

No easy task

The assistance from the ESL teachers makes learning English and transitioning into American school much easier. Van Ly, an educational technician in the ESL program, herself a native speaker of Vietnamese, said students are sometimes scared in the classroom, especially at higher levels like the middle school where classes involve a lot of reading.

Learning English is not an easy task and how well students do relates to a wide range of variables, such as their understanding of their native language, their previous experience with English and their own intelligence.

“They come with no English, but they come with knowledge,” said Sally Boardman, who teaches English as a second language at Wentworth.

Students arriving in grades three to five are perhaps the most prepared to learn a second language, Boardman said. When they come younger, they have not built-up the necessary knowledge of their own language to transfer to English. If they arrive later, they have to work hard to catch-up and begin to understand the more demanding academic schedule in high school.

The approaches the teachers take in instructing English to these students varies depending on the individual’s knowledge. Some forms of communication are as simple as using visual aids and simply repeating what things are. Another common teaching technique in the lower grades is board games. At other times, the students do not know the alphabet so the teachers start there.

A loss of culture

One issue of concern for some students is the loss of their native language and possibly their cultural identity. The teachers work to ensure this does not occur and often times tell parents to speak their native language at home so their child does not lose it, said Cote.

Part of the problem, she said, is that often their parents and other family members do not speak English so the native language is lost along with the chance to communicate with their family.

Still, mixing native cultures with American cultures is not always an easy task. Boardman said she had an Indian student who could not eat any food served at the cafeteria because of his specific dietary needs.

The high school students all share a concern about losing their culture and do their best to preserve their language and customs while also trying to become more Americanized.

Junior Tenni Vargas moved to Scarborough from Mexico City about five years ago and is so concerned about losing her Spanish that she is taking an advanced placement Spanish class this year.

Loss of culture also is a concern for Pan, but she said the change might be beneficial as she is exposed to new concepts and ideas.

“It’s good to integrate both cultures because not everything in Chinese culture is good,” Pan said.