ABSTRACT
In their own words, they are “still learning English,” “struggling with writing and reading,” and “having deficiencies in language.” They call themselves Hmong, Mien, Cambodian, Lao, Vietnamese, Chicano, Latino, and Hispanic although their professors may describe them simply as “ESL students.” Many of these students were born in the United States or arrived here when they were small children. Many have grown up in the small towns and agricultural land surrounding the university where I work, and a smaller number come from the large metropolitan areas of the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles. Mostly they speak a language other than English at home with their parents and extended family, and many continue to speak their first language with their roommates on or off campus. Some appear nearly native in their English language proficiency. In elementary or high school, they were tracked into English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, and for the most part they do not want to take ESL at the university.
