In the Aquarium project students of different
ages, backgrounds, and languages worked and
learned together.
Background
The Aquarium project was designed for the Bilingual Orientation Center's "level
2" students. Level 2 students are in the pre-production and very early production
stages of English acquisition; their English language skills are at the first
or second grade level. The students come from a wide variety of backgrounds
and have different learning experiences, ranging from uninterrupted schooling
in their home countries to never having been to school before entering the BOC
program. They come from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Twenty to thirty
languages are spoken at the Center. Between 300 and 400 students attend each
semester. They enter on a continual basis with new students arriving through
the last two weeks of the semester. Most of the students taking part in the
Aquarium project were 6th through 10th graders.
