Biochemistry freshman Florencia Scaglia Drusini said she can remember what adapting to a new language was like after moving to the U.S. from Uruguay. That’s why she decided to become an English as a Second Language tutor for students in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.
“I was about 3 when I moved to the United States, and I remember being helped as a young child,” Scaglia Drusini said. “I just wanted to give these kids the same opportunity and be a part of it like someone helped me when I was younger.”
The Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College began recruiting students as ESL tutors in August 2014 after being contacted by EBRPSS to address the increase in unattended minors coming from Central American countries.
“Basically, their parents were sending them up here because of the violence, and specifically in Guatemala and Honduras, and there have been a lot of students that have come into the East Baton Rouge Parish School System,” said Honors College Associate Dean Granger Babcock. “They needed help with this.”
The Honors College worked with EBRPSS on a similar project two years ago and welcomed the opportunity to fulfill a need in the community, Babcock said.
EBRPSS coordinator of instruction for English language learners Tassin Idewu said the need for ESL instructors has varied over the years, but this school year, there was a greater need than in previous years.
“Sometimes, it’s very difficult for teachers to give the extra support that’s needed in the classroom when they have a classroom of 30 kids,” Idewu said.
Even though the rush of incoming ESL students has calmed down since the fall 2014 semester, the need for tutors remains, Idewu said.
Being a tutor gives Honors College students an opportunity to give back to their community and allows students studying Spanish or working toward a degree in education to practice their skills and understand how to work with those who have special instructional needs, Babcock said.
“They also get a chance to learn about students from another community and students who are basically coming here unattended. They get to learn about their situation,” Babcock said. “It sort of expands their horizons.”
After going through an orientation process, showing them tips and strategies for teaching and communicating with ESL students, tutors work with students on basic assignments like vocabulary and understanding the English alphabet and its sounds, Idewu said.
Tutors are taught simple tactics for working with ESL students like slowing their speech, using visuals and engaging students in hands-on activities.
Scaglia Drusini works with a group of sixth grade students from Westdale Middle School during their English class, which is currently focused on developing vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. She is fluent in Spanish and is able to point out key words and phrases to students that may be more difficult for them to understand.
“Basically, I just got the gratitude of seeing little kids smile when they understood something that they didn’t understand before and getting to experience these Central American kids who obviously have a passion to learn,” Scaglia Drusini said.
Scaglia Drusini said when she works with students, they often allow her to help them with a few examples before asking to try applying a concept on their own. She said it’s refreshing to see young students who are so determined to learn.
While it is beneficial for tutors to be able to speak Spanish, it is not a required qualification, Idewu said.
“It helps if a student is bilingual, but it is not necessary that you speak the language of the student that you’re working with,” Idewu said. “As long as you take the time to use visuals or just to point out, just to simplify the instructions, it helps.”