English Language

Gary Moskowitz Glendale Unified School District officials work to keep up with the high level of demand for English- language learner services like translating, parent counseling and compiling demographic reports, but that demand is likely to diminish in the next decade. Glendale Unified's Intercultural Education Department handles the testing and assessment, translation and counseling needs for almost 40% of the district's student population. Out of the 29,625 students who attend Glendale schools, 10,697 are in English-language learner programs.

Even though of Armenian descent, I (and many others) find it extremely rude and offensive that the new culture of Armenians in our community insist on speaking in their own language in public places. And they do not even attempt to use a lower tone of voice. These are young and old alike who know the English language but refuse to use it (again in public). In past generations, individuals were so grateful to be part of our wonderful country that they went out of their way to learn and speak the English language.

Gary Moskowitz Since the district's English Language Development program came under criticism last summer from parents, Joanna Junge has been busy correcting what she calls simple misconceptions about how the program works. Junge is the coordinator of curriculum and intercultural education and instructional services for the Glendale Unified School District. She works closely with the district's Welcome Center staff and language translators, who determine students' language skills when they enter the district.

Glendale Unified School District officials this Tuesday will answer the question, "How does a child qualify as an English Language Learner?" during the district's regularly scheduled school board meeting. The district's English Language Learner program will be the focus of "Halftime Live," a new show that will air live from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. Tuesday on Charter Communications Channel 15. The show will air during a scheduled break in the school board meeting, which airs on the same channel and begins at 3:30 p.m. A panel of elementary school administrators, all with several years of experience with English-language development programs, will appear on the show.

Tim Willert DOWNTOWN -- Raysa Puig will do whatever it takes to make learning English easier, including singing, chanting and rhyming. "When you sing silly songs, it's a good way for them to get used to new words and phrases," said Puig, who teaches Limited English Proficient second-graders at Cerritos Elementary. Toll Middle School English Language Development teacher Darise Kiesendahl prefers relaxation as a teaching technique. "You want to lower their level of stress and make them feel comfortable," Kiesendahl said.

Gary Moskowitz Olga Sargsyan removed her son, Naenarek, from an English Language Development program recently, saying she saw no progress in his reading skills after several months in the program. The Glendale Unified School District's English Language Development program is designed to help students whose primary language is not English meet state proficiency standards in reading, writing and speaking the English language. Under state law, the district must provide the program.

Glendale educators continue to make steady gains in turning English language learners into fluent, English-proficient students. According to the district's annual language census report, 15% of the district's English learners were reclassified in 2012 as fluent and proficient. In Glendale schools, where about 26,000 students speak 69 different languages, 25% of kids are learning English as the district works to bring them to proficiency. “As our standards go higher and higher, it's harder to reclassify [students]

GLENDALE — Four-year-old Saer Black is not exactly bilingual, but she took some time away from doodling Friday afternoon in a Keppel Elementary School classroom to share what she knew about the Korean language. “There’s one I like to say,” she said. “It’s ‘ baksu ’. . . . It means clap.” She and nearly 30 other students begin kindergarten on Tuesday, but their schooling experience will be much different from other kindergartners.

I read with dismay the article ("Edison says o7 sif7 to new class," Dec. 7) that Edison Elementary will be teaching kindergarten students in Spanish 90% of the time and in English 10% of the time. What a travesty. Whatever happened to the "melting pot" concept of the United States and its communities? Whatever happened to the United States and its communities becoming one great nation? New immigrants, e.g., children and adults, need to learn and speak the language of the country of which they have become a part, and that is the English language.

City should fight if sued over applications Congratulations to the City Council for the absentee ballot application ordinance passage (?Application ordinance passes,? Wednesday). If those immigrant groups want to sue, I just hope the City Council fights back and countersues with extreme impunity. DAVID LEE WILLIAMS Glendale ? It?s about time to tackle language issues Come the November general election, there will be a new, nationwide naturalization test for most permanent legal residents in place ?

Glendale educators continue to make steady gains in turning English language learners into fluent, English-proficient students. According to the district's annual language census report, 15% of the district's English learners were reclassified in 2012 as fluent and proficient. In Glendale schools, where about 26,000 students speak 69 different languages, 25% of kids are learning English as the district works to bring them to proficiency. “As our standards go higher and higher, it's harder to reclassify [students]

When I get emails from native English speakers who have questions about grammar or usage, it makes me feel useful. They're seeking the same type of information I've sought in the past, which means I'm usually in a position to help. That's a nice feeling. But when I get questions from people who learned English as a second language, it's not always as gratifying. That's because nonnative speakers are doing something I haven't: They're navigating the elusive, sometimes impossible subtleties of the language - things one picks up, rather than learns.

The Walt Disney Co.and the nation's leading Spanish-language broadcaster are in talks to launch an English-language cable news channel, according to people familiar with the matter. A new 24-hour channel would represent a move by both companies to enter new territory. Disney's ABC News could compete for viewers with established around-the-clock cable news operations such as News Corp.'s Fox News, Time Warner's CNN and Comcast Corp.'s MSNBC. Until now, ABC has shown little appetite for joining the cable news wars.

Every time I hear someone say, “If I were you” or “I wish I were going,” it always surprises me. When I hear people say things like, “It's crucial you be there,” I'm even more surprised. Chances are, if you asked these people why they used “were” instead of “was” or “be” instead of “are,” many couldn't tell you. If you asked them to explain the subjunctive mood, most couldn't tell you that, either. Yet without even fully understanding the subjunctive, people use it correctly all the time.

City should fight if sued over applications Congratulations to the City Council for the absentee ballot application ordinance passage (?Application ordinance passes,? Wednesday). If those immigrant groups want to sue, I just hope the City Council fights back and countersues with extreme impunity. DAVID LEE WILLIAMS Glendale ? It?s about time to tackle language issues Come the November general election, there will be a new, nationwide naturalization test for most permanent legal residents in place ?

GLENDALE — Four-year-old Saer Black is not exactly bilingual, but she took some time away from doodling Friday afternoon in a Keppel Elementary School classroom to share what she knew about the Korean language. “There’s one I like to say,” she said. “It’s ‘ baksu ’. . . . It means clap.” She and nearly 30 other students begin kindergarten on Tuesday, but their schooling experience will be much different from other kindergartners.

GLENDALE — The Burbank and Glendale unified school districts will receive a combined $330,000 in state grants to bolster English learner programs for elementary and middle-school students, the California Department of Education announced Thursday. Glendale's share of the grants — which have been awarded to districts statewide since the 1999-2000 school year — is $233,900; Burbank will receive $96,400. The funds were among $55.5 million in grants for the English Language Acquisition Program that were doled out to 625 of the 1,051 districts in California this year, said Pamela Lucas, an analyst with the California Department of Education.