Another Way to Teach Migrant Students : Education: A “newcomer school” could ease the problem of educating the nearly 20,000 students in San Diego who speak limited English. : By MARK EDWARD RYAN

Two-thirds of the immigrants on this planet come to the United States. One-third of these immigrants are destined for California. According to the most recent data from the San Diego City Schools, the number of limited-English-proficient students has increased 129% in the last 10 years. In fact, there are more than 60 different languages and dialects spoken by students in our city schools.

Any national or local debate on education must take into account this group of culturally and linguistically diverse students. If one believes that “all children can learn,” we need to examine how this group is being served? Will no significant changes be made in a system where one-fourth of all students drop out? And the rate is even higher in Latino community, where limited-English students are more prevalent. Should we investigate and perhaps implement different approaches?

One such approach for limited- or non-English speakers might be a “newcomer school.” No doubt there is a consensus among parents, teachers and the public that a top priority for any student must be the acquisition and coherent use of the English language. If educational research and experience is any guide, intensive courses (four to five-hour blocks a day) could be the core of an entire school geared exclusively to newcomers.

A language institute for newcomers under an intensive learning format may be a better way to plan a school day, given this group’s specific needs. Indeed, there exists a large body of consistent evidence indicating that students achieve as well or better in intensive courses as students in traditional courses.

Their is also evidence outside the school system. During World War II, there was a special need for soldiers who could speak certain foreign languages. The U.S. Army hired linguists who, with great haste, devised a curriculum, constructed an intensive learning paradigm and based their methodology on conversation sessions on real-life circumstances. The result, soldiers learned conversational skills in the target language.

Building on this research, a decade ago I taught a Saudi Arabian National Guard unit basic English in a language-skills program at Arizona State University. Students took the program in order to pass a language proficiency test. Upon passing the test, these gentlemen became qualified to enter the School of Engineering.

This was a case of a defined program with explicit goals, which yielded unambiguous results.

But would an intensive language program work in today’s world? What about the dynamic of separating students by language? There are those who might argue that such a newcomer school might institutionalize racial isolation. It would be true that such schools would be totally made up, by definition, of non-native English speaking students.

One must realize, however, that students would attend such a newcomer school only they reached an acceptable level of English proficiency. At that point, they would be mainstreamed into a regular school.

It may be argued that the present “sheltered” classes for non-English speakers produce, despite admirable intentions, a form of segregation. Contrast the proposed newcomer school with the reality of the status quo. Many limited English high school students today remain in basically racially isolated classes for their entire four years because of their limited English skills.

An English-language institute for newcomers with an intensive focus over a condensed period of time may well lead to measurable success in the acquisition of the English language.

For example, a newcomer school for high school age youth would give credits for English as a second language courses. The courses of instruction in a four-hour block could last for six weeks, with six of these sessions in each school year.

A proficiency test could help determine when a student would transfer to a regular high school where English is the language of instruction.

Realizing that skills in one’s own language make it easier to transfer those same language skills to English, a student’s native language could also be bolstered at the institute. The twin goals of the institute would be English language acquisition and nurturing the transition to a new culture.

Given the enormous number of limited-English-speaking students--nearly 20,000 in San Diego City Schools--and the stubborn dropout rate, the time for innovation is now.

A language institute designed to meet a specific need, with a definite plan of action based on educational research and public support could be an answer to a challenge both present and growing.