Saddleback High School - Caparral Yearbook (Santa Ana, CA)

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It ' s great to see a student, who didn ' t speak a word of Eng- lish at first, graduate. — Mrs. Glee Gomez m Mrs. McCord explains a grammatical concept to her student, Peter Garcia. Level C focused more on grammar, while levels A and B zeroed in on learning the fundamentals. Maria Valenzuela concentrates on her studies dur- ing lunch. Often, students had to devote extra hours to their classes to pass them. m Gloria Nieto and Evelia Ramirez listen with atten- tive interest. With the responsibility of learning a new language also came the necessity to pay attention. Academics 239

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Betty Shepard, Instructional Assis- tant Duncan Sinclair, Science Sondra Smartt, Typing Maria Smith, Typing Marilyn Solesbee, Clerk Typist Mary Staacke, History Russell Stechker, HIP Teacher Eugene Steen, History Aileen Suzuki, ESL Elbert Swerdfeger. Woodship Saravuth Tauch, Instructional As- sistant Leobardo Teutle. Custodian Evelyn Theoret, Clerk Typist 2 Robert Thurston, History Oreta Tolbert, Athletic Equipment Attendant Learning to start anew by Ineke Stoneham They came to America from various countries to live, laugh and learn about the English culture and lan- guage. Now, about 500 students from Mexico, Vietnam, Cambodia and oth- er nations are enrolled in the ESL (English as a Second Language) pro- gram to learn our language. So, what is ESL? Obviously, it is a program designed to teach the Eng- lish language to students who know very little or no English, and to eventu- ally circulate these students into the regular curriculum. The classes are divided into three levels: A — Beginning, B — intermedi- ate, and C — advanced. English cred- its are given for the intermediate and advanced classes. A student can ad- vance if their competency scores — reading scores — are high enough. Mrs. Gomez felt, The students can usually pass the competency test fair- ly easily, as long as they ' ve learned the necessary skills. But it is not easy for these students because they must learn that second language within three years. They also must pass the same proficiency tests as students in the regular program and go to summer school in order to achieve their graduation require- ments. Regarding the work involved, Sarith Meth said, We do oral reports in class a lot and the other students are supportive. ESL students also attend bilingual classes in order to meet graduation requirements such as math, history and science. In those classes, stu- dents are given help by an aid or teacher who can speak to them in their individual language. For those students, learning the English language is just the first step to a bigger and brighter future. V A Lamyai Lornklang, Singkeo Mekdarasack, and classmates walk into their class with laughter and smiles. Although their classes were tough, there was room for fun. 236 Shepord Tolberr

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It is comforting to know that there is one way in which every- one of every race can commu- nicate, and that is through love; the most universal and contro- versial language of all. — Mr. Romeo t Maria Saldana (Francois) is enjoying the taste of French bread during a planned in-class meal. This was just one of the treats offered to the students in the course. Mr. Romeo, French teacher and head of the French club, captivates his class by demonstrating how a student should contort his mouth to create a specific sound. Students always find it amusing to attempt to mimick their teacher ' s many faces. Using marionettes such as the cuddly dog, Mr. Ainley. Spanish teacher, creates a broad picture of the Spanish culture. Students find the show entertaining and informa- tive. 240 Vargas Young