Children are increasingly learning to understand the meaning of words and phrases in their native tongue, and at a school in Chichester, New Hampshire, the school is making a case for their use in their class.
The New England Language School in Chichichester offers classes for students who are deaf and hard of hearing and those who cannot speak English, and teaches them how to listen and speak in English.
In its first year, the language school has taught more than 800 students, with the majority of them able to communicate fluently.
“The kids are learning,” said Laura Fenton, the head of the school.
“They’re learning how to express themselves in the English language, how to understand and express themselves.
They’re getting more comfortable with the concept of English, but they’re still learning.”
Laura Fentons mother, Diane, was born in the United States, and has two children who are fluent in English and are bilingual.
Laura said she thought it would be important to give her children the same opportunity to learn English that she and her husband have, as their children grow up and have more opportunities to study and learn English.
“There’s a certain stigma attached to language learning, and I think it’s really important that we get the word out there,” she said.
Laura’s husband, Bill, said he thought the English Language Learning Center (ELLC) in the Chichis school would be a good place to start.
“It would give our kids a good start, but I think we need to start by giving them the right tools so that they can start from a place where they’re comfortable,” he said.
ELLC is a non-profit organization that offers training and resources for children with disabilities.
Laura and Bill started the organization out of a desire to help their children develop their language skills, but that was before the adoption of the national standard for children and their parents.
They said they were not given the option to choose the language they wanted to learn.
The program is designed to help children learn about and communicate in the native language of their parents and caregivers.
“What we’ve done is provide a safe, supportive place for children to start learning their language,” Laura said.
“This is where they can come in, start speaking and understanding in their language, and then they can then go to a teacher or a social worker or their school to learn and communicate with their peers.
It’s a safe place.”
The children in the ELLC program have a special vocabulary and phrases, and can use them in conversations.
“I think we’re really doing something for our children, because it’s the language that their parents use, and that’s the way they communicate with each other,” Laura Fenson said.
Children with disabilities can also participate in the school’s English language program.
Laura explained that they have to complete a course that is designed for the deaf and the hard of the hearing.
The course will help children understand and communicate more fully in their preferred language.
“You have to know how to say certain words and understand how to do certain things in the way that they do,” Laura explained.
“And so that’s really what it’s about, it’s a learning opportunity, and it’s not about us having a hard time learning in our own language.”
Laura said her children have a passion for learning and are passionate about learning to express their opinions in the natural language.
The English Language School is located at 50 Main Street in Chiswick, New York.
Contact: Laura FENTON, [email protected], 631-737-2929, or call the school at 631 539-1230.