Meadowbrook High School - Sceptre Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

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Nog ORE PUL UL he various students in Room 15 acted like most any other high school students joking and laughing. Most looked attentive and inter- ested as the teacher Mrs. Nor- ma Rogers wrote a few basic English words on the black- board asking the class to pro- nounce them. This was the class known as ESL (English-as-a-‘Second-Lan- guage) room where students from Cambodia, El Salvador, and China met at different per- iods in the day to learn to speak the English language. The students came to Amer- ica for different reasons: to es- cape fighting in their embattled lands ranging from South Amer- ica to Southeast Asia; to learn Booting up. Computers prove to be helpful to Hector Martinez when prac- ticing his English. 26 ESL Students EEUUL English and to see America. ‘China is a poor country and America is rich’’, a student from China gave as his reason for coming to America. Ruxuan Chu explained that he preferred his school in China even though he had to attend school for a daily session in the mornin g, afternoon and even- ing. In Cambodia, students walked to school stayed in the same class the whole day. Cam- bodian students sometimes covered sixteen different sub- jects in a year. Another differ- ence in Cambodia was that boy- friends and girlfriends were not allowed to hold hands, much less kiss, in school. Most of the E.S.L. students Third language. Mrs. Sumner’s Span- ish students listen attentively as Van- nah Mak teaches them Cambodian. JE oy i students quickly adjusted to American teenage lifestyle. prefered Meadowbrook to their old schools particularly the peo- ple and the cafeteria lunches. As for learning English, ac- cording to members of the class, speaking and writing could have been very hard while thinking in one’s native language. Their weekends were spent at the movies, playing basket- ball, football and rollerskating. Rock'n'Roll was popular among the E.S.L. students, with favor- ite musicians ranging from Van Halen and Madonna to Bruce Springstein and Prince. Popular shows were, ‘‘The Cosby Show” and ‘Miami Vice.’ According to the E.S.L. class, American teenagers were “crazy”, ‘‘friendly”’ and ‘‘fun”’. ‘Meeting them can be sort of scary, at first’, said Tal Taing. As with most American teen- agers, the pre-occupation of ESL students was, members of the opposite sex. A lot of Ameri- can girls have ‘‘sexy bodies,”’ said Mauricio Malara. Other ESL males found American girls to be “‘pretty”’ and ‘‘friend- ly’. The girls felt that American guys were also ‘‘friendly’’ and “crazier’’ then their old friends. America had provided a new life for most of the ESL stu- dents. For many, the picture of a nice beautiful country was a dream come true. The students had adjusted well to the hectic, wild, and crazy life of the American teen- ager. Many of these people wou ld go on to become official American citizens; some would go back to their native coun- tries. Giving Pointers. Phal Chhat teaches Spanish students days of the week in Cambo- dian.

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| pe ee Library Logo. Head Librarian, Carolyn Beard relaxes after school by playing a For I = 1 to 10 Mike Kelley works with Sharon Davis and Tina Blackwell on their program in Computer | class by showing computer games on “Herbie.” them an example in the manual. Computers 25

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New customs. Foreign Language Club members share the Halloween tradition of carving pumpkins with Tal Taing, Phen Phorn and Yoo Sik of Bird. Double Identity. Carlos Martinez of El Salvador removes his mask during the Foreign Language Club Halloween par- ty. Say it after me. Cheng Mey instructs a Spanish class in the Cambodian lan- guage. English as a Second Label? Chinese students, Jack and Ruxan Chu, help with sending out newsletters by stick- ing on address labels. ESL Students 27