New comer chinese girl for 7 grade

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davidhuang

New member
A new comer Chinese girl, with not very good english. now is 6 grade.  which middle school is suitable for her in Irvine?
She is shy and we hope she can meet nice teachers and classmates.
and we really don't like that kind of school atmosphere that just learning, learning, learning with big pressure about the score.
Please help to give some suggestion.
 
According to this poll so far, people are voting for Jeffrey Trail.http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php?topic=11671.0

When you said Chinese girl, I'm assume she's from mainland.  The neighborhood that are feed into Jeffrey Trail like Stonegate and Cypress Village have lots of family from mainland.  She'll met a lot of friends with similar backgrounds there.

I was 6 grade too when I move to US and my first year here was kind of challenging.  One thing that helps me a lot was that there are other student with similar background in my class.

Also you didn't like highly competitive, highly pressured schools, CV will feed into Irvine High which should take some pressure off when she's going to high school.

 
Hello and welcome!

I think INC posted above useful information. 

As you probably know, fortunately for this girl, there's a lot of Chinese students as well as other Asian students that should make it more comfortable for her.  Learning English and understanding what's being said in class won't be easier but kids adapt to their environment amazingly quickly.  Being shy always makes it harder but I'm sure she'll do fine after a while.

In first grade, my son got placed in a class made up of mostly non or little English speakers (I feel my son got placed there by mistake but that's another long story).  I doubt there's classes like this in 6th grade and above.

My kids had to go to two different IUSD elementary schools so far and although there are some differences, I don't think it will make much of a difference where she goes.  My kids are really shy too and I worried about them making new friends but they were o.k. after a few days.

Talk to the teachers about your concerns.  I find that most are usually quite accommodating.

Good luck to you.
 
lnc said:
According to this poll so far, people are voting for Jeffrey Trail.http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php?topic=11671.0

When you said Chinese girl, I'm assume she's from mainland.  The neighborhood that are feed into Jeffrey Trail like Stonegate and Cypress Village have lots of family from mainland.  She'll met a lot of friends with similar backgrounds there.

I was 6 grade too when I move to US and my first year here was kind of challenging.  One thing that helps me a lot was that there are other student with similar background in my class.

Also you didn't like highly competitive, highly pressured schools, CV will feed into Irvine High which should take some pressure off when she's going to high school.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much. Yes we come from China mainland. One thing worries me is that if she lives with the same background kids and they must talk chinese a lot, is it a problem to enhance english?
 
irvinehusky said:
Hello and welcome!

I think INC posted above useful information. 

As you probably know, fortunately for this girl, there's a lot of Chinese students as well as other Asian students that should make it more comfortable for her.  Learning English and understanding what's being said in class won't be easier but kids adapt to their environment amazingly quickly.  Being shy always makes it harder but I'm sure she'll do fine after a while.

In first grade, my son got placed in a class made up of mostly non or little English speakers (I feel my son got placed there by mistake but that's another long story).  I doubt there's classes like this in 6th grade and above.

My kids had to go to two different IUSD elementary schools so far and although there are some differences, I don't think it will make much of a difference where she goes.  My kids are really shy too and I worried about them making new friends but they were o.k. after a few days.

Talk to the teachers about your concerns.  I find that most are usually quite accommodating.

Good luck to you.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot.  Some people told me that if she can not pass the english test(mostly will happen to my daughter) she will be sent into school with ESL classed such as Rancho or Vernado. and there are many some level kids in class which always like to talk native language so actually the english improves very slowly. is it right?
 
Maybe you can hire a private tutor during the summer so she can catch up on the English language.  Children learn at amazing speed.  She will have to adjust to the new environment, new friends, conversion from metric to English system, etc and it will be easier if she feels comfortable communicating. 
 
First, welcome to TI.  7th grade is definitely a difficult grade to start but I know plenty of people who came to the US in HS and still did fine.  I had some experience (at a much younger age) so I will contribute what I can

1)  Don't view ESL classes as a bad thing.  I am sure that your daughter is great at many other subjects.  She is learning a whole new language and ESL classes are a great way to help her. 

2)  Be supportive and help her at home.  Set apart specific time to take her to the library and the children section.  Also set time apart to read and study English.  Again, support and encourage her.  It will be hard for her as a teenager but it is important for her to start from the beginning.

3)  Try and use English at home as much as possible.  Many non-native speakers get into issue because they surround themselves with non-native speakers and thus never have to use English.  Encourage her to use English as much as possible.  Get her involved with activities away from traditional Chinese population.

4)  Find good friends for her that will help her out and encourage her.  Being a teenage girl is already super difficult, not speaking the language makes it doubly hard.  She will run into bullies and not-so-nice people but having good friends and family help. 

5)  Help her find her confidence.  A lot of learning is about what the person is willing to risk. 
 
davidhuang said:
One thing worries me is that if she lives with the same background kids and they must talk chinese a lot, is it a problem to enhance english?
Click to expand...

Well, it could be.  But it's just a matter of time that she will be fluent in English and I think hang out with other Chinese speaking kids will ease her transition to the new environment especially if she is shy.




 
lnc said:
davidhuang said:
One thing worries me is that if she lives with the same background kids and they must talk chinese a lot, is it a problem to enhance english?
Click to expand...

Well, it could be.  But it's just a matter of time that she will be fluent in English and I think hang out with other Chinese speaking kids will ease her transition to the new environment especially if she is shy.
Click to expand...
Totally agree, if I were her I would like to stay with other Chinese speaking kids at begining. Thank you very much.  :)
 
Irvinecommuter said:
First, welcome to TI.  7th grade is definitely a difficult grade to start but I know plenty of people who came to the US in HS and still did fine.  I had some experience (at a much younger age) so I will contribute what I can

1)  Don't view ESL classes as a bad thing.  I am sure that your daughter is great at many other subjects.  She is learning a whole new language and ESL classes are a great way to help her. 

2)  Be supportive and help her at home.  Set apart specific time to take her to the library and the children section.  Also set time apart to read and study English.  Again, support and encourage her.  It will be hard for her as a teenager but it is important for her to start from the beginning.

3)  Try and use English at home as much as possible.  Many non-native speakers get into issue because they surround themselves with non-native speakers and thus never have to use English.  Encourage her to use English as much as possible.  Get her involved with activities away from traditional Chinese population.

4)  Find good friends for her that will help her out and encourage her.  Being a teenage girl is already super difficult, not speaking the language makes it doubly hard.  She will run into bullies and not-so-nice people but having good friends and family help. 

5)  Help her find her confidence.  A lot of learning is about what the person is willing to risk.
Click to expand...
These are great tips! Thank you very much and We will follow these suggustions.  We have applied for some summer camps this summer and hopfully she can learn something before she go to Middle school. Do you know if any other school has ESL class besides Rancho and Vernado?
 
I have heard that Rancho is higher pressure than Venado.  Also Venado has less kids-  so may be a better environment for her.

I think those are the only two public middle schools in Irvine that offer ESL. 
 
Of all the places to live why did you choose Irvine as your first stop? Sounds like Rowland Heights or San Gabriel may be easier for your family to assimilate. Your girl will have 3 years to catch up before high school. The competition will be fierce and not friendly to ESL. Her grades will suffer if she is not ready.
 
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