1. Communication 427 Final Project PresentationWhy the American Education System is Unfair to ESL Students By: Austin J Schmidt

2. Introduction:Who are ESL Students? ESL students are students whose primary language is something other thanEnglish. These students are primarily from central America and Asia. From 1998 to 2008 the number of ESL students rose almost 51%, comparedto the 7.8% rise of English speaking Students. (www.edweek.org) Today 21% of all students speak something other than English at home(almost 1 in every 4) 3. Thesis The overall hostile attitude towards second languages in America arepreventing these students from reaching college and improving their overalllives. Something that is promised everyday to English speaking students. It is important to note that individual circumstances can not be accountedfor in this statement. Statements like This is America, speak English.Create a hostile environment for these students. 4. Host Environments matter According to Martin and Nakayama (2010) How one adapts depends tosome extent on the host environment whether it is is welcoming or hostile(p. 321) Americans speak second languages at a rate of 18% where as 53% ofEuropeans can speak more than one language. (Skorton D, &Altschuler G.2012) 5. Reaching the next level For High School students in America the long term goal to reach college.College is often seen has the best way to improve economic status andreach the next level of your life. But is college an option for ESL students? The two colleges with the highest numbers of graduates from ESL programsare the University of Buffalo and Portland State University at 10% ofgraduates coming from the ESL programs. (Hopkins, K. 2011) 6. Reaching the next level Continue 600 universities provide ESL programs, yet only 14 universities had 5% ormore of their students that are graduating through ESL programs. (Hopkins,K, 2011) Remember 21% of all students today are considered ESL students. 68% of all students graduating today are going onto college immediatelyfollowing graduating high school. (Hopkins, K. 2011) ESL students are reaching and graduating college at a far less percentagethan English Speaking Students in America. 7. Racism and Prejudice Racism and Prejudice is a something that everywhere deals with, justbecause more Europeans speaking multiple languages doesnt mean theydont deal with racism and prejudice. This is still an international problemjust as it is a problem in America. America was a choice made by these students and their families. Whenthese families choose to come to America they also choose the AmericanEducation system. Which is why its important to examine the Americaneducation system as whole. 8. The American Education System According to Joanna Jacobs at huffingtonpost.com tests were given out in56 countries in 2006. During that test America ranked 25th in Math, 17th inScience, and 14th in reading. 6 % of students tested at an advanced level in all subjects, a number lowerthan 30 other countries. The states of West Virginia, New Mexico, and Mississippi tested behind thecountries of Serbia and Uruguay. 9. American Education System Continued What does this mean? This mean thats the America education system is struggling as a whole. Thatnot just ESL students are struggling but all students are. America has oftenbeen self proclaimed as the greatest country in the world, but clearly theeducation system is broken and needs help. 10. Conclusion The education system is broken. America is falling behind other places in theworld in educating all students. Nearly 70% of students go on to highereducation, yet the 14 highest ranked colleges for ESL students graduate only5 to 10% ESL students. 21% of all students are ESL students, this means theyare succeeding in high education at a far less rate than those who speakingEnglish. This is one of only two true conclusion that can be made. Thesecond conclusion is that the America education system is not as strong as itshould be or once was. These students and their families choose to comehere and with that choose a failing education system. A new take oneducation is needed in America not just for ESL students but for all students. 11. References English-language learners . (August, 4 2004). Retrieved fromhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/english-language-learners/ Hopkins , K. (Dec, 20 2011). 10 u.s. colleges with highest esl participationrates. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list- Economic news release . (2012, April 19th). Retrieved fromhttp://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm 12. References Jacobs, J. (2010, Nov 15). United states lags in top math students. Retrievedfrom http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanne-jacobs/us-lags-in-top-math-stude_b_783155.html Education olympics: How does america rank compared to other countries .(2012, Oct 1). Retrieved fromhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/27/education-olympics-how-do_n_1707968.html -Martin, Judith; Nakayama, Thomas; (2010) Intercultural Communication InContexts, New York City, McGraw Hill.