When new immigrant students come to the U.S., teaching them English is one of the biggest challenges facing schools. One model to help acculturate these kids and teach them English is is known as a "newcomer" program. A newcomer program takes students out of the mainstream curriculum and separates them into their own classes to learn English.
Newcomers are described as recent immigrant students who may have had limited formal education in their native countries and who have little to no English language skills. This presents a special challenge for schools that aren't equipped to meets those needs. Research varies on what the best ways to teach newcomer students and in Clark County Orr Middle School has seen some success with its newcomer program. We discuss what's going on at Orr and what works best in the classroom.
GUESTS
Jude Joffe-Block, reporter, Fronteras: The Changing Americas Desk
Diane August, Sr Research Scientist, Center for Applied Linguistics