The National Center for Educational Statistics reports an estimated 5 million children in U.S. public schools whose first language is not English, and over 4,400 English Language Learners in K-12 public schools in our state, according to a Wyoming Department of Education report.
The parents of Dr. Jenna Shim came to the US from South Korea over 40 years ago, and as a result, Dr. Shim speaks both Korean and English, but grew up speaking only Korean.
“Growing up, I was among a very few students who didn’t speak English,” Shim said. “I must confess that going to school every day was miserable for what seemed like forever, until I learned English.”
“I don’t recall having any teachers who understood the challenges I was facing,” Shim said. “Certainly, no extra support was provided to students whose home language was not English.”
These childhood experiences led Dr. Shim down a path of language exploration and education, first to a Master’s degree in piano performance.
“I believe that people can listen, appreciate, and communicate music across cultural and linguistic boundaries in ways that are not possible with languages,” Shim said.
Eventually, she took an opportunity to teach English as a Second Language (ESL), and she became set on teaching and learning with ESL students as a career.
“I know that there are still students like myself who feel out of place, but can benefit greatly from teachers who are well trained in ESL teaching and learning,” Shim said.
This then led to the pursuit of a teaching Certificate in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), then a Certificate of Advanced Studies, and finally a Ph.D. in Literacy Specializing in Language and Culture.
Dr. Shim’s work came to fruition in the form of the inaugural Wyoming ESL Parent Institute, held at Gillette College last October.
The day-long institute was an outcome of research supported and funded by the Everett D. and Elizabeth M. Lantz Distinguished Professorship in Education, which was awarded to Dr. Shim in 2018.
“In this research, I interviewed more than 100 ESL parents and families in Wyoming about their challenges, needs and wishes in supporting their children’s academic achievement,” Shim said. “I learned that ESL students, many of whom live in impoverished conditions, can have better success in school when their family and school collaborate on their behalf.”
According to Phil Lantz, the son of Everett and Elizabeth Lantz, this research is of the utmost value to the state and nation.
Shim asked that a quote from Lantz that she wished to share be published as well.
Shim reported that Lantz said, “The ability to communicate is fundamental to happiness and success, and teaching ESL is critically important to the success of so many individuals, communities, states, our nation, and the world.
Dr. Shim’s specific research follows this philosophy.
“Considering that immigrants and their children will continue to account for a large percentage of the US labor force, helping [ESL students] in US public schools with their English proficiency can be a gateway to economic diversification, opportunities and growth personally, socially and economically,” Shim said.
“Lack of English proficiency results in lower-earning jobs which then leads to lower quality of lives, lower consumer spending, and lower tax revenues which in turn affect individual livelihood and economy, and ultimately everyone in the area,” Shim explained from her research.
“The Wyoming ESL Parent Institute was a partnership between Campbell County School District #1 in Gillette and UW College of Education to build a partnership with ESL parents and families,” Shim said.
Dr. Shim’s research benefits not only benefits public schools in Wyoming, but also supplies the College of Education with research material.
“Graduate students in the College of Education were heavily involved in various stages of this project from data collection, translation, data analysis,” Shim said.
However, Shim claims, the relationship is truly symbiotic.
“Events like the Wyoming ESL Parent Institute are the result of sustained educational partnerships between Wyoming public school districts and UW’s College of Education,” Shim said. “Equally importantly, through these collaborations, we can identify the gaps in our research in ways that the research studies in higher education can better make research-practice connections.”
Dr. Shim’s research has made an impact already, and Shim hopes for more.
“The Wyoming Parent Institute was also meant to serve as an example/model for other school districts in the state so that they can replicate a similar event,” Shim said.
Dr. Shim related a testimony from one of the parents present at the ESL Parent’s Institute.
In one of those testimonies from Shim, the ESL parent said, “I am very grateful to the ESL teachers since at home we speak only Spanish and for me it is perfect that my daughter can learn English in school without any problems since it will be very useful for her future.”
