Immigration to America is not a new phenomenon. English language learners have been a part of our classrooms throughout this century. Spokane Public Schools, the second largest district in the state of Washington, has had an English as a Second Language program since 1976, and currently serves more than 1000 children who speak a primary language other than English. These students represent 31 different language groups.

The district originally used a center model for all K-6 ESL students, who were served at one location. With the continued increase in the ESL population, this model was no longer meeting the needs of immigrant and refugee families, who were electing to send their children to neighborhood schools. In response to this challenge, a taskforce was created in 1995 to evaluate the effectiveness of the ESL program delivery model. Acting upon the recommendations of the taskforce, the district implemented an inclusion model for newly-arrived non-English speaking elementary students.

In Spokaneıs ESL inclusion model, students are enrolled in their neighborhood schools in age-appropriate, grade-level classrooms, regardless of English language proficiency. Research has shown that English language learners will develop language skills within grade-level classrooms, when activities are organized around modified content and incorporate the four areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing (Enright, 1991: 389). Elementary classrooms provide a rich language environment, ideally suited for developing both social and academic language proficiency because of the many opportunities for interaction with native English-speaking peers.

A successful inclusion model consists of four essential components. The first component is staff development. Although teachers may be skilled in their content area or grade level, they have often had little or no preservice or inservice training in working with non-English or limited-English speaking students. To effectively meet the needs of English language learners in an inclusion setting, all staff need training in second language acquisition, appropriate instructional strategies, modifying existing curriculum, and the effects of the first language and culture on learning. According to Harper & Platt, "The critical issue is not the setting in which the student is placed but rather the nature of instruction within it" (Harper & Platt, 1998:35). Adapting instruction and curriculum to meet the needs of ESL students is the second essential component. It is often not apparent to teachers that their grade-level curriculum with modifications is appropriate for English language learners, and that a separate "ESL curriculum" is not necessary. "Special language instruction that is isolated from and unintegrated with the mainstream curriculum is not sufficient to develop the language proficiency required to succeed in academic contexts and that mainstream instruction must be more responsive to [ESL] studentsı needs" (Harklau, 1994: 267). Something as simple as giving directions orally, followed by a written example on the board, and allowing students to paraphrase the directions back to the teacher, will insure that all students, not just English language learners, have been given ample opportunities for understanding. A third component is providing adequate resources to support the mainstream classroom. Grade-level teachers are key to the success of English language learners in an inclusion model. However, inclusion relies on ESL support staff to provide additional instruction, tutorial support, parent communication, and monitoring of ESL studentsı progress. Bilingual interpreters are essential for communicating between the school and the home, however they are not used to provide instruction in the primary language. "As schools struggle to serve increasingly diverse populations with decreasing resources, the temptation is strong to adopt new programs without providing the conditions necessary for their success. It is therefore imperative that [ESL] professionals and general educators work together as informed, equal partners toward common goals" (Harper & Platt, 1998: 35). Schools can take ownership of students by working cooperatively with ESL support staff. The fourth and final component in an inclusion model is exhibiting a positive attitude toward English language learners and accepting them as valued members of the school community. As Gibbons writes: "If your classroom is supportive and caring, one where children feel comfortable and willing to participate, you already have a good language learning environment" (Gibbons, 1993: 8). Some steps teachers can take in creating a positive atmosphere in their classrooms include learning how to pronounce an ESL studentıs name correctly, learning how to say "hello" in that studentıs language, selecting a student volunteer to orient the new student, and showing the class where the student came from using maps, pictures, or the globe. As many educators in Spokane Public Schools are discovering, an inclusion model not only benefits Eng-lish language learners, but also enhances the lives of all within the classroom. References:
Enright, D. Scott (1991). Supporting childrenıs English language development in grade-level and language classrooms. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (pp. 386-402). Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Gibbons, P. (1991). Learning to Learn in a Second Language. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Harklau, L. (1994). ESL versus mainstream classes: Contrasting L2 learning environments. TESOL Quarterly, 28, 241-272. Harper, C., & Platt, E. (1998). Full inclusion for secondary ESOL students: Some concerns from Florida. TESOL Journal, Autumn 1998, 30-36.