"Common Factors in High-Achieving Immigrant Elementary School Students’ Success" by Hongfang Yu

Hongfang Yu, The University of Western Ontario, hyu39@uwo.ca

What makes high-achieving immigrant students successful? Prior schooling experiences in the home country, teachers' and parents' scaffolding of language development and academic learning, and learning strategies that students employ in their studies all play a vital role in how English language learners do at school. Furthermore, these factors are commonly identified as crucial for English language learners to become high academic achievers. In this article, I briefly present how I structured my investigation into the factors involved in high-achieving immigrant elementary school students' success. I then present the findings I drew from this research and conclude with several recommendations.

Watt and Roessingh (2001) reported a 74% dropout rate among English language learner high school students. This figure is 2.5 times the average dropout rate for high school students in Canada. More alarming still, as many as 93% of all English language learners who arrived in Canada as rank beginners in English are likely to drop out of high school. Many regular classroom teachers are unaware of the time required for English language learners to develop communicative and academic competence in their second language (L2), English. Jim Cummins's (1981) work suggested that it may take English language learners 2 years to develop communicative competence in their L2, but 5 to 7 years to master academic English. More troubling still, once English language learners develop communicative competence and can communicate fluently with teachers and English-speaking peers, their teachers often do not distinguish between English language learners and Canadian-born native speakers of English. This complicates the teachers' assessment of English language learners' academic achievement. Though, to some, such equal treatment may appear to create an equitable "level playing field" for assessment, it fails to account for the considerable challenges English language learners must face in meeting academic expectations. They must be proficient enough in academic English to deal with a second language and academic content simultaneously. The difficulties these linguistic discrepancies cause can result in English language learners being identified as "learning disabled."

Clearly, not all English language learners fall under the negative designation of learning disabled. There are also English language learners who stand out as high academic achievers. My investigation involved four such learners in grade 6: Bo, Wen, Carlos, and Yuan.¹  Bo, Wen, and Yuan were of Chinese origin, and Carlos came from Latin America. Their teachers, Ms. Johnson (a regular classroom teacher) and Mr. Smith (an ESL teacher), were also participants. I based my study on teachers' perceptions of high achievement among immigrant students, and these students' perceptions of how they adapted to their new academic setting and achieved success in their studies. Data were collected from classroom observation and through semi-structured interviews with teachers and students. Findings suggest that even when students are motivated and high achieving, cultural discontinuities may still remain. These may or may not cause difficulties for students in their learning. However, these findings point to the critical need for educators to heighten their awareness of these issues.

My purpose in this study was to look at what made these English language learners successful. I framed my investigation into this overarching question around the following questions:

  • What learning strategies do the students employ in their studies?
  • In which subjects are the students particularly successful? 
  • How does second language proficiency affect the students' success?
  • What study skills do the students use to help them when they do not understand something in class?
  • How do the students' first languages (L1) contribute to their success? 
  • How does their academic achievement in Canada compare to that in their home country? 
  • How do their teachers support and encourage them?
  • What role(s) do their parents play in their school success?
  • What additional factors may contribute to the students' success (e.g., parents' education levels, tutoring, and community support)?

I elaborate on my findings below.

Factors That Contribute to High-Achieving Immigrant Elementary School Students' Success

Students' Previous Educational Experiences
The knowledge that the students in this study had acquired from their previous school experiences helped them make a successful transition to their new school context. This success seemed to be assisted by the fact that the students took the same or similar subjects, such as science and math. However, in contrast to their academic subjects, I did not find that the previous experiences the students had with English as a foreign language (EFL) played any significant role in their adaptation to schooling in Canada. Although Bo and Wen had studied English from kindergarten in China (i.e., EFL), their English skills were weaker than those of Carlos and Yuan, who had come to Canada with no prior experience in EFL. According to their teachers, Carlos and Yuan had very good English. In fact, Carlos got the best grades in English in the whole class, which was composed of both English language learners and native speakers.

Prior L1 Literacy Development in Students' Home Countries
The fact that students were very proficient in their L1s facilitated their L2 development. It also proved important in their ongoing communication with family members back home.

Positive Attitudes Toward Education
The students' positive attitudes toward education made learning exciting for them. In fact, their love of learning appeared to be a determining factor in the high degree of effort they put forth in their studies. The three Chinese students described their schooling experiences in China as "no fun," "a lot of homework," "long hours of study," and "having to go to school on the weekend." In contrast, they described their Canadian educational experience as "a lot of fun" and "interesting." These positive attitudes promoted active study habits.

Student Awareness of Personal Weaknesses
The students always held high expectations of themselves and were never satisfied with their progress. According to the teachers, these students were happy when they did well and upset when they did less well. Still, their cognizance of their weaknesses motivated them to work harder to do even better in the future.

Self-Confidence Developed Through Academic Excellence
The joy the students experienced from excelling at school further aroused their interest in schoolwork and helped build their self-confidence. In turn, this confidence led them to work even harder on the subjects they excelled in.

Students' Practice of School Subjects
Students' determination to practice their skills originated from their positive attitude related to schoolwork. They wanted to do better in their school studies, so they practiced a great deal and spent quite a bit of time on school subjects. They never handed their homework in late. Furthermore, they did extra homework under their parents' guidance.

Teacher Support and Supportive Learning Environment
Both teachers in my study created comfortable learning environments for their students, and cared about needs particular to English language learner students. Also, both were ESL specialists who understood these needs. For example, they provided many opportunities for English language learners to answer questions in class. These teachers gave the English language learners a lot of encouragement; they believed that building up the English language learners' self-confidence was what counted most when they encountered different linguistic and cultural norms and expectations in Canadian classrooms.

Parental Support at Home
Parental support for English learning, L1 maintenance, and school subjects such as mathematics improved the English language learners' school performance. In Carlos's case, his parents engaged him in English conversation every day at home; in fact, a certain amount of time at home was reserved for Carlos and his siblings to practice speaking English. The rest of the time, they spoke Spanish, watched Spanish TV programs, and read Spanish books to maintain the children's Spanish proficiency. The Chinese students' parents focused more on mathematics. They assigned extra math homework to their children to build up their mathematical skills.

Parents' High Educational Backgrounds
Parents' high educational backgrounds set positive examples for their children and helped shape their positive attitudes toward studying. The parents of all four high-achieving immigrant students held at least a master's degree. Although I did not interview the parents, on the basis of what they did to help their children in their studies, I inferred that they placed a high value on education and doing well in school. This value was likely linked to their own positive educational experiences.

Strategies Students Employed in Academic Studies and Language Learning
The students used various strategies to solve problems they encountered in their studies. Their strategy usage helped ensure effective linguistic and academic learning. Referring to Oxford's (1990) standards for language learning strategies, I determined that the second language learning strategies employed the most by the child participants in my study were

  • practicing,
  • receiving and sending messages,
  • analyzing and reasoning, 
  • creating structures for input and output, and
  • arranging and planning their learning.

Students also used strategies such as guessing, overcoming limitations, and evaluating their learning, though not as frequently as they used the first group of strategies.

In relation to general learning strategies, Nisbet and Shucksmith (1986) identified the following as strategies commonly used by students: asking questions, planning, monitoring, checking, revising, and self-testing. The students in my study drew on all of the above-mentioned strategies with the exception of revising and self-testing.

Friendly Competition Between Peers
A certain amount of friendly competition between peers encouraged the students to improve their studies and strengthen friendships. Bo and Wen sat at the same table in the classroom. When one of them completed an assignment, he would make some noise to indicate to the other child that he had finished. The other child then worked harder to solve the problem as soon as possible.

Extensive Reading
The reading the students did in their L2 (English) greatly contributed to their English literacy development. Their English writing skills also benefited from reading that they undertook in English. All of the students agreed that it was important to read in their L2 to improve their knowledge of it. For example, Carlos said that when he was writing, he could remember the words or phrases he read, and use them in his writing later.

Students' Background Culture
Some aspects of the students' background cultures (e.g., valuing education) were linked to their school success. On the other hand, certain cultural aspects could be seen as potential obstacles to school progress. For example, Bo and Wen were afraid of answering questions because they worried about "losing face" if they gave a wrong answer.

Suggestions for Helping English Language Learners Succeed Academically

Educators must communicate with English language learners, understand their students' needs, reflect on teaching practices, and learn from experience. Only then will the English language learners' practice improve and their educational goals be met. I offer the following suggestions for English language learners, their parents, and their teachers:

  • It is important that teachers create a supportive classroom environment.
  • It is important that parents create a supportive home environment in which their children can communicate with them about their school life.
  • Teachers and parents should gain basic knowledge of second language acquisition and English language learners' social and emotional needs (including an awareness of cultural differences regarding participation).
  • It is useful for teachers to encourage friendly competition among English language learners.
  • English language learners must engage in active study practices. When they encounter obstacles, they should try a variety of strategies to overcome their difficulties.

In short, joint home, school, and student efforts are needed for English language learners to meet with success in their studies. This study strongly suggests that all who wish to take part in the education of English language learners should consider their social context of schooling. It is crucial to take this information into account before making pedagogical decisions on behalf of English language learners.

References
Cummins, J. (1981). The role of primary language development in promoting educational success for language minority students. In California State Department of Education (Ed.), Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework (pp. 3-49). Los Angeles: National Dissemination and Assessment Center.

Nisbet, J., & Shucksmith, J. (1986). Learning strategies. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Oxford, R. (1990). Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know. New York: Newbury House.

Watt, D., & Roessingh, H. (2001). The dynamics of ESL drop-out: Plus ça change.... Canadian Modern Language Review, 58(2), 203-223.

¹ All names used in this article are pseudonyms.

Bilingual Basics May 2007 Volume 9 Number 1: Table of Contents