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Language is a systems of convention developed by group members sound/ symbol to communicate among themselves. The Roman alphabet is one such convention. Though the Roman alphabet was adopted for the written expression of the English language, it has always been inadequate for representing each sound of English (especially Modern English) with clear, one-to-one sound/ symbol correspondences. (Pyles, 1993, p125.)

There are thousands of languages used by the billions of people around the globe. These languages may be popular or not, but every single language plays an important role in the development of a person’s knowledge. On a wider scale, every language helps in the development of every country, nation or race. In every field of knowledge, the role that language plays can never be undermined. Whether in the field of arts, sports, or science, languages play highly relevant roles. More importantly, language plays a very critical role in communication.

The English language is a West Germanic language that originated in England. It is the third most common first language with around 402 million people in 2002. English has lingua franca (diplomatic language) status in many parts of the world, due to the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the United Kingdom in the 18th and 19th centuries and the United States beginning in the 20th century. It is the most widely-learned language among those learning any second language. (wikipedia.org, 2005)

English is used in different countries as a first language. Though there are native languages in each country, there are also people worldwide who use English in addition to their native language or as a second language, as in India, Philippines, or the Caribbean Islands. There is a third group of people who study English as a foreign language for the purpose of using it only for special purposes. English has more non-native speakers than any other language (Pyles, 1993, p233).

Through time, the US population has become more diverse. In effect, the enrollment of English as a Second Language (ESL) students in colleges and universities has continued to expand.

English as Second Language (ESL) instruction refers to the teaching of English to individuals whose mother tongue is a language other than the English Language. The teaching of ESL began for the purpose of helping nonnative speakers who reside in the United States prepare for the newly enacted 1906 law which require potential citizens to pass a citizenship test in English which was a part of the Americanization movement. Students who study ESL are further described alternatively as nonnative speakers of the language.

It is said that the teaching of English as second language has a long history in the United States. For the longest time, English as Second Language (ESL) instruction was offered primarily as a tool for Americanization and citizenship education in other countries. At times, the terminology around English language instruction can be unclear. English as an Additional Language (EAL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) all bear some similarities to ESL instruction. EAL and ESOL instructors use essentially the same instructional techniques as ESL instructors. The greatest difference in the terminology comes from both political correctness and the preference of certain funding agencies and policymakers.

O’Grady (1989) stated that second language acquisition is the phrase used to describe the process that people go through when confronted by a need to use a language other than their native one for communication. People acquire their first and second languages differently. Some of the issues and processes involved in language acquisition include the idea of innateness, the relevance of the language input the language learner receives, and the nature of early (developmental) grammars. Moreover, much of the literature on ESL instruction suggests that natural environment or “language immersion” courses will provide students with the most opportunities for learning and greatest success. To some extent, though, a traditional English classroom may prove equally as beneficial for some students, particularly when the objective is learning structured (versus non-structured) communication tasks that are predictable. An advantage of a natural environment or language immersion classroom, in which tasks and conversations center on real language use and the learning of needed terms and concepts is that teachers are less inclined to “dumb down” their talk and speak “teacher-ese” or “foreigner-talk.” The richer the stimulus and the more real the language, the better chance learners of a second language have to become fluent speakers of that language.

It can be observed that those people with English as a second language (ESL) constitute a significant percentage of the population of the different schools. This population is considered to continue to increase more rapidly than that of native English speaking students (Shore, 2001). The language minority population has a high drop out rate. These students are also among the lowest ranking in academic achievement and expectations. They represent an at-risk population faced with a wide range of challenges (Thompson, 2000).

Studies show that students of ESL who are in a strange land try to maintain a sense of identity related to their native culture but have a tendency to adapt American ways. This can be said to be indeed a heavy burden. Furthermore, social and political issues surrounding immigration and diversity complicate the seemingly basic task of learning English. The role of schools in the integration of immigrant students is formally identified as making them fluent English speakers.

In this sense, it can be said that the way these students write is limited. Their knowledge and mastery of the language is limited. Hence, there is a difficulty in the way they express their thoughts or ideas about a certain topic. What they write may not necessarily reflect what they mean, or what they feel. Hence, their writings become ineffective to express what they want to express, and result into a not so good literary work.

But at times, ESL students encounter many obstacles in their efforts to become proficient in the English language. They often come to realize that in order to be fully accepted, they must abandon their native language, surrendering an aspect of their identity. They are caused to feel they must speak either English or nothing at all. Thus, they become caught in a painful power struggle over the use of English and their native language.

Moreover, the English that ESL students are taught is academic English. They often lack the ability to interact in social settings with English speaking peers because they are in separate classrooms and often have limited opportunity to interact academically or socially. They often have great difficulty learning the “slang” and social English because they have no one to learn it from. These children come to prefer English out of necessity, often abandoning their native languages to fit in. They end up without comfort in either language and may end up losing the ability to communicate with family members and friends in their native land. It is the position of this paper that Asian ESL students will remain torn between two worlds until society truly embraces diversity and the notion that biculturalism and bilingualism are assets. What is considered necessary in the education of ESL students is the development of English and maintenance of their native language.

When this happens, they do not become effective writers at all. The quality of their works is affected so much. In literary writings, there are arguments or theories or interpretations given by the author or the writer. An ESL student may not effectively argue or give his theory or interpret correctly because of the obstacles mentioned in the preceding paragraph. It is even harder for the readers to give their interpretations on the literary writings of the author or writer, because of the difference in the way they understand or give meaning to words.

The role of language can never be underestimated. Literature plays an important part of every nature, race or culture. As literature evolves, the development of the people is shown. Language is not only a language, it is a vehicle of a literary development. Moreover, it is the vehicle of an entire culture.

In literature, the feelings, ideologies and beliefs of a writer is expressed only through his words. Hence, he should be effective in writing by being able to use the language correctly and proficiently. Without this, there can never be a good literary work of an ESL student.

SOURCE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language April 19, 2005

O’Grady, W., Dobrovolsky M. and Aronoff M. Contemporary Linguistics, 1989.

Pyles, T. and John A.The Origins and Development of the English Language, 1993.

Shore, K. Success for ESL students. Instructor, (2001) 110, 6, 30-32.

Thompson, G. “The real deal on bilingual education: Former language-minority students discuss effective and ineffective instructional practices.” Educational Horizons (2000) 78, 2, 80-92.