College Board Report Sheds Light on Why Writing Matters – Especially for Immigrant Students and Second-Language Learners

“Words have no borders,” writes celebrated Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat in the introduction to a College Board report, released today, that takes its title from her simple but profound words. In a series of intimate essays, mixed with comments from qualitative research, high school students offer nuanced accounts of the pain and joy of moving from one culture to another, with a special focus on how learning to write and learning to write in English open up new worlds for the country’s growing population of nonnative speakers.

One in four children in the United States has a foreign-born parent. And nearly 10 percent of public school children – some 5.1 million students – are classified as English language learners, a proportion that rose 60 percent from 1995 to 2005.

In “Words Have No Borders: Student Voices on Immigration, Language and Culture,” a project of the College Board’s National Commission on Writing in collaboration with the National Writing Project, students express a range of views on learning to write and becoming proficient in English. These students, from more than a dozen countries, describe where they came from and why they came, what they encountered and their dreams for the future. They also describe the challenges they face as they learn to navigate a new culture.

Yet, as College Board President Gaston Caperton said, their words are at heart optimistic. “Underlying all these stories is an unmistakable current of hope, courage and hard work, clearly illustrating that, as in the past, these students are among our nation’s greatest assets.”

Caperton notes that in “The Neglected ‘R:’ The Need for a Writing Revolution,” the 2003 report issued by the commission, the writing process itself is identified as helping English learners achieve their academic ambitions. “If students are to make knowledge their own, they must struggle with the details, wrestle with the facts, and rework raw information and dimly understood concepts into language they can communicate to someone else. In short, if students are to learn, they must write.”

In their cover letter to Congress, Caperton and Bob Kerrey, chair of the National Commission on Writing and president of The New School, write, “Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, the Continental Congress released a document known forever after as the Declaration of Independence. Most of us can still recite many of the words from memory as a consequence of being given that assignment when we were in school.

“We can recite the words because our founders were literate people who were adept at converting ideas into written words. … Since then the social, political and economic value of writing has only increased. That is why the College Board created the National Commission on Writing [and] why the Commission has attempted to focus attention on the current status of writing in America.”

At the same time, these young people affirm that learning to write in English has eased their cultural transition, opening up new worlds and opportunities.

“English has gotten me to a high point in my life,” says Robert M. Another student, Guianeya H., whose family emigrated from Cuba to Michigan and then to Miami, feels the same way: “Throughout life writing is the key: to exams, academics and attaining a bright future,” she writes in her essay.

The essays in the new report are drawn primarily from work submitted by 41 high school teachers around the country. In addition, some are from the essays offered for “Letters to the Next President: Writing Our Future” project, an online writing project for students cosponsored by Google and the National Writing Project. Finally, some comments come from focus groups designed to capture as much student diversity as possible.

These conversation groups included 40 high school juniors and seniors from four U.S. regions. Half the students were born in the United States, while the others came from 13 different nations. The teenagers came from a range of economic backgrounds in urban, rural and suburban areas. English was not the first language of 55 percent of students, and three-quarters still speak a language other than English at home.

When asked what practical assistance helped them learn English, students’ answers included:

– Support from the school system, including English as a Second Language classes and bilingual instructors;

– Help from English-speaking peers, whether as translators or academic tutors;

– Assistance from teachers who took a special interest in them and helped them find resources for improving their English; and

– Serving as a translator for parents, a practical impetus for making quick progress.

For more information, please see the commission’s Web site at www.writingcommission.org.

The College Board
The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board is composed of more than 5,600 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools and 3,800 colleges through major programs and services in college readiness, college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT(R), the PSAT/NMSQT(R) and the Advanced Placement Program(R) (AP(R)). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities and concerns. For further information, visit www.collegeboard.com. “

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