Phaik Yin
| You
are a junior high school science teacher. Besides native speakers of English
in your class, you have second language learners as well. One of them was
a student from Taiwan, named Phaik Yin. You were very excited initially
to have her because she was an honor student from her junior high school
in Taiwan and you have heard from her language teachers about her diligence
and hard work. Her parents also told you in a meeting, that Phaik Yin had
won several merit awards in science. However, in your class, Phaik Yin is
not showing much progress at all. In fact, she was often depressed and her
state of mind is affecting the morale of the whole class and most particularly
the other second language learners. You suspect the problem is with language
but reports have shown that Phaik Yin and the other second language learners
in your class have done well enough so as not to need extra language classes.
When you talk to Phaik Yin, she says she does not understand most of the
time and reports that her friends who speak English as a Second Language
in the classroom are in the same position. You are puzzled because all of
the L2 students seem to be communicatively proficient in English and their
writing are comprehensible and well-structured. You decide to consult your
ENL colleagues for advice and suggestions on how to conduct your classes. |