Being dropped into a completely unfamiliar environment — where the world around you speaks a language you struggle to understand — can be overwhelming. For many English Language Development students at Cupertino High School, this is a daily reality.
ELD students come from diverse backgrounds, with many having recently moved to the United States. Although their situation is already challenging, they also struggle with inclusion in the broader school community. While ELD classes, teachers and peers provide strong support, overall inclusion of ELD students across campus is an area in which Cupertino High School can improve.
Within the ELD program, students are placed into a course level based on their scores on the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California. Classes range from ELD levels one to three to ELD World Literature, with ELD 3 and World Literature representing the highest level of English proficiency. Students progress through the sequence and can eventually transition out of the program to all non-ELD classes after completing ELD World Literature.
ELD students can also take sheltered classes, where teachers of specific subjects — such as history and literature — adjust their courses to the appropriate English level for their students. Content-area classes — such as math, sciences and other electives — are shared between ELD and non-ELD students.
These content-area classes are an important opportunity for inclusion within our community. However, ELD students often find it difficult to communicate with their classmates since conversations move quickly, and they may lack confidence in their language skills.
“If I was in a group with native language speaker, I will be super quiet because I was pretty stressed talking with the native language [speakers], even more than talking with ELD students,” said junior and ELD World Literature student Niki Ni. “Because in ELD, everyone’s English level [is] pretty similar, and that makes [it easier] to talk.”
Non-ELD students should be more aware of the challenges ELD students face and recognize that they are also looking to form connections.
“Some people might think [that] ELD students are not smart because they don’t fully understand English, so some people might think they don’t want to work with them,” said junior Likun Yang, who transitioned out of the ELD program this year.
Yang shared that she felt more comfortable while in the ELD program, where there was a stronger sense of community that felt like a family. This highlights the importance of creating a more inclusive environment for students who have transitioned out of the program.
Most non-ELD students share classes or extracurriculars, so ELD students may feel isolated, since it seems that everyone else in their classes already knows each other.
“Many people have their own social circle [they] might inherit from their middle school or even primary school,” Ni said. “However, most ELD students are transfer students. As a [person] without any social connection here, the language and culture barrier would make social contact even harder.”
Because of this, simply reaching out to include someone can help create a stronger sense of belonging — whether by inviting them into a group discussion, introducing them to friends or inviting them to join for lunch.
Teachers also play a crucial role in fostering inclusion in their classrooms. ELD 1 and law teacher Sean Bui, who serves as the ELD program coordinator, builds a sense of diversity and belonging in the content-area classes he teaches by purposefully creating environments that promote inclusivity.
“If someone feels included, I think they can learn better. If they feel excluded, that would get in the way of [their] learning,” Bui said.
In Bui’s law classes, he randomly generates seating arrangements, asks partners to introduce themselves and encourages students to help others who may not understand the instructions. “What I’d like to see is a community that I built that [is] composed of English learners and non-English learners, sophomores to seniors. That’s kind of my point — [it’s] inclusivity,” Bui said.
This emphasis on building community is shared among ELD teaching staff.
“It’s incredibly important to us to make sure that [ELD students] not only get to speak more English, but that they feel like they belong at our school, and […] aren’t in their own little bubble,” Hooper said. “That’s really important to all of the teaching staff, for our whole school, but especially to our ELD teachers.”
Outside of academic courses, many ELD students participate in activities beyond the classroom, such as theater, sports and Associated Student Body. However, for less fluent speakers, participating in these activities may be more of a challenge. Creating a more supportive environment can make participating in extracurricular activities more accessible for ELD students.
“I have no doubt that there are students here who, because of their home language — their heart language, as we will often call it — there are choices that they make in not putting themselves out there,” Hooper said.
Encouraging ELD students to participate in school extracurriculars with non-ELD students, along with fostering inclusive social environments outside the classroom, can help reduce language-related barriers.
“Like every student, English learners feel connected to school when they have at least one extracurricular. I’ve seen English learners succeed in football, badminton, tennis — the list goes on,” Bui said. “[…] So that, to me, is one hallmark of inclusivity — that all learners, all individuals, whether they’re English or not, [are] given an opportunity to be involved and succeed.”
In addition to after-school sports and electives, school events play a significant role in fostering connectedness — and can be made more inclusive, with greater awareness of the ELD community.
“Our announcements are delivered in English, spoken and written,” Bui said. “If I’m still learning English, […] anything said or written in English — whether it’s announcing the clubs meeting on Friday, or something like the Pioneer Market — may be unclear to me. […] I may not participate in something that’s unclear to me or I didn’t know about.”
To address this, students can help translate school social media posts, fliers or announcements, and built-in translation features on platforms such as Instagram can also assist. During club meetings, being mindful of language barriers and incorporating more hands-on activities can make participation more accessible.
Organizations such as International Club and the Bridge to Application of English Language club aim to foster inclusion by bringing ELD and non-ELD students together through meetings and cultural activities. Many ELD students and teachers appreciate the support from these clubs, which also provide opportunities for non-ELD students to participate.
“Apart from differences in their native languages, ELD students are just like any other students in school. But I would like to say anyone willing to learn about the world through a foreign language is courageous,” Ni said.
While many students and teachers already foster a welcoming environment, there is still room for the broader CHS community to be more mindful of ELD students — recognizing their challenges and making an effort to include them. Even the smallest actions — in class, at lunch or in activities — can make a difference.
Said Bui, “The goal of a school has been and should always be inclusivity, because I think that should be the foundation for everything.”
