For junior high students who have limited proficiency in English, the Lubbock Independent School District offers English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Students who were in the ESL or bilingual program in elementary may take ESL in junior high on recommendation of the elementary Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC). The junior high LPAC may also recommend a student for ESL whether or not he/she participated in the bilingual or ESL program in the elementary school. Students who qualify for ESL may transfer to the junior high school(s) where ESL is offered and are eligible for free bus transportation from their home junior high school.

Even though the junior high ESL program is not a bilingual program, it does not ignore the student's first language and culture during instruction. Comparisons are made between the languages, the student's first language is used whenever possible for reinforcement and clarity, and the cultural aspects of the student's own background are emphasized and reinforced. The students are introduced to cultural patterns of the United States. Another feature of the ESL program in junior high is the close communication between the ESL teacher and the student's other teachers. ESL teachers are often called on to help content area teachers with ESL oriented activities and procedures that will be beneficial to the student.

The junior high ESL teacher presents a developmental sequence of the four skills in English-listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Whole language is addressed rather than discrete grammar items presented in fill-in-the-blank drills and exercises. Emphasis is on what the students can do with the language rather than what the students know about the language. (Cavazos and Dunbar) (7th - 3200400; 8th - 3200500)

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