Welcoming ESL and ELL Students to Boise

Our group was motivated to establish an accessible and informative web page, or web pages as it turned out, based on a comment from one of our group members-Yoshie, �gWhen I first came here I didn�ft even know where to get a sandwich!�h None of us could imagine being in such a situation. We resolved to help other ESL students like Yoshie with information about places near the BSU campus from the grocery store to movie theaters, clubs and restaurants.
ESL students who come to the United States go through an acculturation process. The stages range from euphoria to culture shock to recovery (Richard-Amato 119). We wanted to ease this process for new students; we wanted to possibly eliminate or at least diminish the regression stage by offering tangible, comprehensible, and relevant information.
By providing new BSU ESL students with places in the community where they can get a sandwich or possibly meet other ESL student, we hope the feelings of isolation and culture shock will not be as prevalent or long lasting.
In a study by Lee Su Kim, she establishes that �gknowing a second language allows one to transcend the cultural borders of one�fs own language group and access the views and ideas of another culture�h (150). Our website assumes that the ESL students entering BSU know the lingua franca?English. The information presented in the website provides a variety of places for students to interact with native English speakers and engage in the culture of Boise. Through our information we hope that new ESL students will be able to find a sandwich within the first day of their stay in Boise, will be able to navigate the city, and will find avenues of entertainment and recreation that we as fellow BSU students enjoy.

Recreation

My research and efforts to find ways in which ELL students can participate in a recreational community stem from my study of the process of acculturation as defined by Schumann�fs model, which indicates that �g�cL2 acquisition is dependant upon the amount of social and psychological distance that exists between the learner and the L2 culture�h (Richard-Amato, 118). To apply this theory to my project, I operate under the idea that participating in recreational activities common to many of Boise�fs native English speakers both lessens this distance for ELL students?enabling them to learn the L2 more effectively?and sets up a situation in which the native English speakers have a chance to interact with ELL students?lowering the prevalence of perceiving ELL students as a �gthreat�h to the in-group.
Richard-Amato cites Giles�f Accommodation Theory, which �g�cclaim[s] that motivation is the key [to acculturation] and that it is closely related to in-group (the L1 group) and out-group (the L2 group) identification�h (119). For the purposes of my research, I define the in-group as native and non-native speakers of English who participate in recreational activities common to many Boise State University students under the age of 50; these activities include kayaking, rock climbing, cycling, and snow sports?though this limitation obviously places a bias on the research, the purpose of this bias is to focus the study. I define the out-group as Boise State ELL students under the age of 50, many of who may have recently moved to the Treasure Valley.
Giles�f motivation theory is particularly relevant to recreation, which can be seen as a tremendous motivator for ELL students, who may or may not have had experience with these activities in the past, thus my contribution of recreation links/ideas/information to the group website is aimed at helping ELL students tap into these activities, increasing their motivation towards acculturation. I believe this motivation is important, because it will enable ELL students to view their acculturation in a positive light?as a chance to participate in new activities, meet people with common interests, and share their own cultural heritage?rather than as a process of �glosing�h their identities.
I would argue that an equally important factor in the process of acculturation is the attitude of the in-group towards the out-group. In a study aimed at exploring the relationship between perceived threat and acculturation, Florack et. al discovered that �g�c[members of the in-group] who perceived less threat [from the out-group] preferred nonethnocentric acculturation attitudes; they were accepting of immigrants maintaining their heritage culture and participating fully in the life of the host community�h (5). To me, this indicates that introducing ELL students to activities favored by the host community creates a situation in which ELL learners feel comfortable acculturating while still maintaining their cultural heritage, and in which host community members have the opportunity to interact with ELL students, thereby reducing the feelings of threat between the two groups. I believe that recreation is a fantastic way to accomplish this, because recreation is by nature a very non-threatening pastime. If ELL students can learn to work with the host community?and vice versa?in an area such as recreation, the chance of these two groups working together in other facets of the community is increased.
Recreation is a key factor in promoting fitness, community involvement, and overall community cohesiveness. Introducing ELL students to the recreational opportunities that abound in the Treasure Valley is an important step towards allowing these new residents to acculturate in a positive way by providing opportunities for interaction between the ELL students and other Boise residents.
I believe that there is so much to learn through experiences you have outside the classroom. It is a great opportunity to meet new people and accustom to the area around. Crandall explains, �gThe goal of �eTheme-Based�f programs is to assist learners in developing general academic language skills through interesting and relevant content�h. As Krashen suggests that a second language is most successfully acquired when the conditions are similar to those present in first language acquisition, being outside the class and enjoying what they like to do can create �ga relatively anxiety-free environment�h (Crandall, 2000). By sharing a same experience with other people, students can build connections with one another. It becomes easier to make friends when you have common interests.

Accessibility of the Internet

According to Lin-Ching Chen and Sutton, the Internet "can be an efficient instructional technology in higher education". They then made a study to ESL students to show exactly how the Internet can be of help to ESL students. We also make this same claim that our web page can help ESL students who are new to the Boise area.
In the research that Lin-Ching Chen and Sutton conducted, they worked with students in Taiwan that had been learning English. They split them into two groups, one group which was not allowed to use any web-based materials, while the other group relied heavily on web-based instruction and materials. At the end of their research they came to the conclusion that students who used the Internet were able to learn English at a quicker rate than those who were not allowed to use the Internet. Their research also found another interesting point: students who used the Internet were better able to learn about the American culture and different aspects of it. One student even exclaimed, "In order to learn about American culture, I want to learn more lessons in this way in the WWW learning environment."
Our Internet site helps students in more than one fashion. It helps them increase their English by using it in a more practical manner than is usually found by only using a book, and it also helps them to learn more about their surroundings and what the culture here in Boise is like. By learning what the culture here is like and what resources are available to them, they are more likely to overcome the effects of culture shock and feel like they too, can take a part in their present environment.

Culture Shock

Though many people experience the effects of culture shock, many don�ft know that what they are experiencing is very common and that there are ways to overcome these emotional disturbances. When students enjoy the educational and social opportunities available to them, students seemingly overcome culture shock. And if students don�ft know what is available to them then overcoming culture shock will be more difficult for them.
We are trying to help students get around Boise and enjoy their stay here (as well as essential things?grocery shopping, health services, etc.). So, our web pages of information will help students adjust to the culture shock. Some of the emotional effects of culture shock can include; aggression, depression, interest, excitement, etc. Providing students outlets to release these emotions will allow them to deal with their culture shock in ways that will eliminate the negative effects of shock. Some of these outlets consist of the BSU Rec center, shopping, going to clubs and meeting people, outdoor activities, etc.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our term project looks to not only lower the initial culture shock and feelings of isolation, but also to provide an accessible resource. Our assumptions of ESL students�f who are accessing this web site?their English language proficiency?complicates matters; however, we attempted to craft the language so that it was comprehensible. Therefore, ESL students of any language can access the web site.

** This website is dedicated to Yoshie Arima! **

Works Cited

Addison, Elaine. Culture Shock: A Fish Out of Water. Hannam University. 6 December
2003 <http://www.johnsesl.com/templates/reading/cultureshock/>

This web page was very beneficial because it discusses (in detail) the five different stages of culture shock; the honeymoon, rejection, regression, recovery, and the reverse culture shock stage. Also included on this web page is a link to a 10-multiple choice quiz for students to take. Most of the questions (7 out of 10) on the quiz are about these five stages and all questions are directly out of the reading.

Crandall, J. (2000). Content-Centered Language Learning. ERIC Digest.

This digest provides different types of program models and teaching methods for ESL class as well as reasons for using content centered instruction. It suggests that it is important to have a comfortable environment for the best condition of language acquisition.

Florack, A., et al. �gPerceived Intergroup Threat and Attitudes of Host Community
Members Toward Immigrant Acculturation.�h Journal of Social Psychology 143.5
(2003): 1-9.

This study addresses the issue of perceived threat as it applies to the process of acculturation. The findings of the study illustrate the fact that members of the host community who perceive immigrants as a non-threat are more likely to assist them in their acculturation process, and allow the immigrants to preserve their cultural heritage while participating in the host culture.

Guanipa, Dr. Carmen. Culture Shock. San Diego State University. 6 December 2003
<http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/CGuanipa/cultshok.htm>

This website is from the San Diego State University web page, which I found very helpful because it�fs directed towards new college students and because there is a Spanish version of the site (there is a link at the very top of the document to go to the Spanish version). Another helpful aspect of this website is that there is a long list of symptoms and tips on �ghow to fight culture shock�h.

Lee, Su-Kim. �gMultiple Identities in a Multicultural World: A Malaysian Perspective.�h
Journal of Language, Identity, and Education 2(3) (2003): 137-158.

This is a study of the relationship between language and social identities in ESL students in Southeast Asia. The study focuses on the perception of self in students and the imposition of identity from outside sources. The discussion of the impact of knowing or speaking English is particularly relevant to our rational.

Richard-Amato, Patricia A. Making it Happen. New York: Longman, 2003.