(This is the fourth instalment in the North Shore News! ja-depth series on multiculturalism by News reporter, Kate Zimmerman, Today's feature ‘looks at local training in English as a Secand Language. Next Sunday, in the last instalment of the series, the News will look at the services available to immi- grants who-settle on the North Shore.) ; DIANA TRAFANOVA speaks ‘English shyly, in a halting fashion, but she has no trouble pinpointing how tong it’s been since she arrived here from Bulgaria. By Kate @ immerman _ News | Reporter : The ‘11-year-old student at Queen Mary elementary school landed in Vancouver with her fami- -ly eight-and-a-half months ago, she said, and has been taking English as a Second Language (ESL) ever, since, 2 Even though she isn’t comfort- ; able with the language yet, Diana‘ impressed her school principal just last week by translating for yet - another newly arrived Bulgarian family. *. "In 1993-94 in B.C. there were 54,578 students enrolled in ESL, constituting nearly:10% of the stu- dent population and representing an increase of 200% since 1989-90. --Lastvyear,; the: Ministry of Educa- ‘tion funded ESL programs to the tune of $47.3 million. , Queen:-Mary ‘is a “centre school”: one of five schools in North Vancouver that caters to chil- dren requiring English language: instruction. “When immigrant students enter the North Vancouver school sys- tem, they are interviewed, tested : and categorized according to how Index HB Classified... eS i" Doug Collins..csesersecse - 88 Cocktails & Caviar.........51 ‘B Crossword... 43 a) Inquiring Reporteronn.-I2 © BB Kids? Stuff.sscsssssossecBO : i. News of the Weird........34 ‘BH What’s Going On..........28 Weather Monday and Tuesday: cloudy with chance of showers. High 18°C, low 8°C Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement Number0087238 much ESL training they appear to need, If they are new to English, they are sent to a centre school for at least a year belare being allowed to enrol in the institution closest to their home. The neighborhood around Queen Mary is already so multicul- tural the school doesn't need to import ESL students from other areas, Its population is already 50% ESL students — 150 this year. Though this factar demands amazing organizalional and sched- uling feats, the wildly assorted cth- nic mix suits principal Cathy Molinski just fine. “The children are wonderful and they do work hard and what they learn in a few years is unbeliev- able,” she said. ' For example, 11-year-old Leyla Tafreshi came to Vancouver from ‘Iran three years and three months ago. Arriving in the middle of - there are 8.5 full-time ESL equiva- 66 The children are wonderful and they do work hard and what they learn in a few | years is unbelievable. 99 _+ Principal Cathy Molinski_ Grade 3, she spoke only Farsi. Now she and her whole family speak English —- Leyla fluently. Diana is on a heavy daily sched- ule of English language training. Leyla has reached the point where she no longer has to study English and has switched to language three, which is French. Queen Macy has two ESL teach- | Breakin WHILE IMMIGRANT chil- dren slog along at school learn- ing the three R’s and English as a Second Language, many of their parents are also attend- “ing, school. By Kate Zimmerman News Reporter North Vancouver’s Lucas Centre is one of the adult education centres on the North Shore that offers English training to adults. Many of the adults know several languages, none of which is English. The Lucas Centre conse- quently calls what it offers English Language Training (ELT) rather than ESL. . “Qur objective is to have people be able to function in the communi- y and participate in Canadian life,” -gram on a per-student basis:: NEWS photo Mike Wakeftoid QUEEN MARY schoo! has a such a multicultural student body t that 50% of Its puplis take Engilsh as a Second Language. Here, teacher Hoather Morgan is surrounded by her primary ESL. class as the children point out on a map of the world their countries of origin. ers — one for’ Grades 2 to 4 and one for Grades 5 to 7. In the North Vancouver clemen- tury school system there are 12.5 full-time equivalent ESL teachers; in the secondary school system tents. Some of the teachers stay at one centre school; some move to neigh- boring schools. “The mandate is to facilitate the acquisition of the English language and to mainstream the youngsters : aS soon as we are able to do that,” . said Jay Merilees, coordinator of student services for the North “Vancouver District 44 School ‘Board. “The logistics are immense, and we’re constantly discussing it.” ' The ministry funds the ESL pro- ‘District 44 gets provincial block funding of $5,362 per pupil, plus another $800 a head for special- needs students. ESL students, who are consid- ered special-needs students, require more educational resources than non-special-needs students. Inde- pendent schools receive partial per- pupil funding from the provincial government up to $2,681 in North Vancouver or $2,746 in West . Vancouver. ‘They receive no addi- tional funds for ESL students. Each public centre school does things a little bit differently, = At Queen Mary, while some Grade 6 students ure studying ancient Greece, ESL students like Charles might take a matching class with their ESL teacher, learning the sare subject but. with English lan- guage assistance.’ Walk into any classroom at Queen Mary, and the mix is imme- diately evident, with a rainbow of skin tones and accents. There are 50 First Nations’ students enrolled in the school as well. Children who artive from non-English speaking ‘countries when they are in kinder- garten or Grade | are simply inte- grated into the schoo! system. |. “At that point, ‘says 'Molinski, ‘the teacher is already emphasizing socialization and language acquisi- tion, so the kids don’t need special English training. “We've found that younger chil- dren ... pick up the language quick- est,” said Merilees. But if they arrive a little later j in ‘their schooling, like Leyla and Diana, their first year involves a heavy workload of ESL.’ After that, they are removed from “direct Ser- down language said Barbara McBride, the program administrator for ELT. The centre employs 22 teachers and offers both day and evening classes in three sessions: September to December, January to March a ang April to June. In each term, 460 people are rep: istered, some of them in more than one course. The factors affecting how quick- ly they pick up the language include how much education they’ve had in their home country, whether they have children at school and how much time they spend in class. The demographic of those class- es is shifting. “Two years ago I would have said the Iranians dominated the group in the classrooms,” said McBride. “In the past year or-so there have been more Asians in the classrooms than Iranians.” The Asian students include Koreans, Taiwanese, Japanese and people from Hong Kong. There are two categories of stu- dent. One is landed immigrants who speak almost no English. These people can take courses that fall under the sponsorship of the Language Institute for Canadians (LINC), in which the federal gov- ernment covers the fees. For those immigrants paying fees, a small subsidy from the provincial government relieves the burden somewhat So classes cost just $2.50 an hour. (This fee will likely rise to $3.50 to $4 in the fall.) Refugees also have to pay. “B.C. is one of the toughest provinces on refugees,” said McBride. She said the thinking is that refugees are likely to be sent back to their own countries and therefore - CALL US: THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: 983-2208 Do you believe Quebecers’ views are accurately reflected by Bloc MPs? vice,” but a system Molinski char- acterizes as “fluid” ensures that they will cach get the language training and back-up they need. Soxviztimes ESL teachers sit in on the regular teachers’ classes: to fig- ure out what the students might be‘ missing. Molinski and Merilees say stud- ies have shown that it takes about seven years to acquire a.new. lan- guage. And yet the ESL students tend to finish school atong with their peers, rarely having to be held back. Molinski emphasized that despite their assorted needs,ESL children are just children and. they are not treated any more specially than any other child in the system. A child who is struggling with ~ math would receive extra schooling . in that subject; the same holds true for a child trying to get a grasp of English, she explains. The requirements of Queen Mary school apply to Canadians and newcomers alike: respect, co- operation and hard work. . Wherever a child comes from,, Molinski said, their parents tend to support the school and its rules. “T think they value the things that we’re doing.” barriers should not have their language training subsidizéd.” Some students simply hope to pick up enough English to function adequately in Canadian society. Others intend to take an internation- al test, which, if they score high enough, will allow them into post- secondary education. Many students attend classes for several years, and forge friendships with teachers and fellow pupils. : - Asa result, McBride said, the © centre can measure its success by how the newcomers do once they have stopped taking classes. : | Bits of gossip drift back to the school about the jobs students have acquired and the progress they have made, And while they are enrolled at the centre the students are also polled to make sure they are getting what they need.