At 02:05 PM 4/11/01 -0400, you wrote:
>I have a student in my class who is Latino. His expression of English is
>fair (not even at a level I'd call "good"), but his comprehension (reading,
>listening) skills in English are quite poor. As a result, his performance
>in my 3000-level course has been poor. He is unable to complete exams (he's
>currently getting ten extra minutes on a 40-question multiple choice exam
>on which students are allotted 50 minutes), and he is attempting to write a
>paper in this course, for which he's asked me if he can write it in Spanish
>and get someone he knows to translate it (to the latter I've suggested that
>he first translate it, and then have his friend check it over, so that he
>can practice becoming more proficient in the language).
Given my background as a former college student with limited English skills, I
empathise with the above situation.
David, in deciding what to do about this case, you should note that at most
stages of second language acquisition, most people at different ages will
typically have much better reading comprehension than verbal expression skills
in the second language. Therefore, based on your description above, it would
not surprise me if this student has a reading/learning disability in addition
to a lack of sufficient mastery of English.
>My issue is this: how much accommodation to give to such students who have
>English as a second language (ESL)? ... snip ... I
>am giving him extra time on this exam, but reluctantly, and I am,
>conflicted about it.
Unfortunately, your Special Services Dept. may not have the resources to be
able to determine if a learning/reading disability exists. If you can somehow
corroborate the suspicion above, that there is a strong possibility that a
disability indeed exists, then perhaps that may resolve your conflict.
>and he is attempting to write a
>paper in this course, for which he's asked me if he can write it in Spanish
>and get someone he knows to translate it (to the latter I've suggested that
>he first translate it, and then have his friend check it over, so that he
>can practice becoming more proficient in the language).
No dice on that and I agree with Claudia on the reasons for not accepting a
paper in the student's original language. I would, however, do exactly the
same thing you have suggested. In fact, I strongly encourage my students to
have their papers read and edited by their peers and I would suggest to you
that you extend that opportunity to all students. I think that when it comes
to student papers, there is not enough revising and rewriting of students' own
work.
>I allow such students to use a translation dictionary
>(what help that is in 3000-level psych classes, I'm not sure), and in the
>past, I've had Asian, Latino, and German-speaking students complete exams
>within the allotted time. What have you folks done?
Same here.
Miguel
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Miguel Roig, Ph.D. Voice: (718) 390-4513
Assoc. Prof. of Psychology Fax: (718) 442-3612
Dept. of Psychology [EMAIL PROTECTED]
St. John's University [EMAIL PROTECTED]
300 Howard Avenue http://area51.stjohns.edu/~roig ;
Staten Island, NY 10301
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