Dan Jia came from Chengdu, China three years ago. She is a child development major and an English as a Second Language student at Bakersfield College.
“I think the hardest thing about coming to a new country is learning the language,” Jia said.
“I appreciate the ESL program because it gave me a good chance to make a rapid progress on English study, and I really benefited from it so much,” said Jia who won the ESL Department award last year, regardless of the short period of time she has been living in the United States.
The ESL Department was created at Bakersfield College in July of last year.
ESL classes have been taught at BC for more than 20 years. However, they used to be part of the Foreign Language Department and then the English Department until last year when they decided to create their own department to serve the needs of their students.
Jia was one of the many students who benefited from the creation of the ESL Department.
The ESL Department served over 600 students last semester. ESL students at BC represent a vast diversity.
The students come from countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Bolivia, Colombia, India, Yemen, Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, Philippines, Venezuela, Brazil, Egypt and Chad among others.
“The mission of the department?is to help our students develop critical thinking skills as well as become fluent speakers, listeners, readers, and writers of the English language, in order to succeed in and contribute to the academic, professional, and social settings of their choosing,” said Jeannie Parent, department chair.
ESL students are challenged not only to learn a new language, but they also must adapt to new customs.
“ESL involves teaching language in context as well as teaching culture so that students better understand not only English but also American cultural norms,” said Parent.
Certainly, this is not an easy task for the ESL Department, which relies on the experience and high qualifications in Applied Linguistics or TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the faculty members.
Parent has been teaching ESL for 30 years and still enjoys “meeting and getting to know students from around the world and helping them navigate their way through a new language and culture.”
Parent mentioned that she keeps in touch with some former ESL students who have gone to universities. Some former students have even completed their master’s degrees.
ESL students are encouraged not only to learn English but also to continue their education and develop their full potential.
“I’ve had many students who have started in our lowest English class that we have on campus, ENSL B55 and gone on to graduate from BC or transfer to a four-year college,” said John Hart, who has been teaching ESL at BC for five years.
Experience is truly something that helps understanding the way students struggle to learn a new language and adapt to a new country.
“I can empathize with many of the frustrations that my students are going through with learning a second language,” said Hart.??????????????
Hart lived in Guatemala for two years serving in a mission for his church.
There he learned Spanish and then came back to the United States to earn his bachelor’s degree in Spanish from California State University Bakersfield.
Also, ESL teachers must adjust to the different backgrounds of their students to make the learning experience easier and adequate.
According to Hart, ESL students bring a variety of talents and skills from their countries of origin.
“I’ve had doctors, lawyers, dentists and Ph.D.s in my classes.? I realize that they are far more talented and skilled than I am in certain areas.? I am there to help them with their academic English, and I try to treat them with the respect that they deserve as I teach them,” Hart said.
Currently, the ESL department counts with five full time and eight adjunct faculty members. The ESL department office is located at Humanities 57.