Abstract
For our second major assignment, Synthesis Essay, we were assigned to create a research question related to language and/or literacy. This paper argues for increased government support for English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, emphasizing their importance in empowering immigrants to be able to thrive in new communities. The intended audience includes government members, educators, and community members concerned with immigrant integration. The genre of this paper is an argumentative one, supported by evidence and research findings from various sources that reveal a major decline in ESL classes over the past years. By completing this assignment, I enhanced my research abilities and learned how to analyze and synthesize data from scholarly articles. Additionally, I became more adept at writing an argumentative essay, which helped ensure that all my points were organized and supported. Overall, this topic helped me better understand complex ideas and deepened my knowledge of how immigrant education works.
The Need for Funding for
Adult ESL Classes
Immigrant education is crucial to address, as ESL (English as a Second Language) classes provide immigrants with the basic knowledge they will need in order to survive in a new country. According to a report from Annenberg Institute, “over 2.6 million students were enrolled in adult education classes in the United States. By 2021, enrollment had fallen to under 900,000 students, a decline of over 65%” (Heller, 2024). Within the same report, it states, “Between 2000 and 2021, enrollment in adult ESL fell by 60% and enrollment in ABE/ASE fell by 71%” (Heller, 2024). The number of ESL classes continues to decline. In that case, the number of struggling immigrants will only increase, as these individuals will not be able to communicate effectively with those around them. This is a problem as millions of parents and grandparents started as immigrants. If they had not been able to communicate with others, many people would not be here today.
Government institutions should take the time to learn about the ESL classes that immigrants enroll in, as those classes are what allow them to live comfortably in the U.S. today. Funding for ESL classes should also be increased, as there are not enough classes currently to meet demand. This paper argues that the government should provide more funding for ESL classes because they provide job opportunities for immigrants, help them build new personal connections, and help them gain access to higher education.
The government should provide more funding for ESL classes because they help immigrants find job opportunities. If immigrants learn the host language of the country they are moving to, they will be able to flourish there and meet all their financial needs. However, to learn the language of the host country, immigrants will need access to ESL classes, which are currently vastly underfunded. This is why government intervention is crucial in order to provide support programs for immigrants.
An article by Routle hints that, “Studies on highly skilled migrants working in Germany showed that many of them need good or even very good language skills to practice their profession (Hess 2009) and that they estimate their German to be quite good, even if they only have a temporary contract” (Fobker and Imani, 2017). This quotation suggests that immigrants need language proficiency in order to be proactive within their profession jobs. A paper by Cynthia White insists that, “work preparation training courses that include ESOL components can be beneficial in developing links with the workplace and assisting immigrants and refugees to obtain jobs (New Zealand Employment Service 1998), there is a clear need for the scope of these courses to be extended” (White et al., 2002). Therefore, funding for ESL classes is needed, as these classes will equip immigrants with the language skills they need to secure a professional job in the country they moved to. Furthermore, if immigrants learn the host language, they will not only be able to get a good-paying job but also avoid being taken advantage of by their employer.
The government should provide more funding for ESL classes because they help immigrants establish new personal connections. ESL classes provide immigrants with the skills they need to engage effectively with the community . According to a report by Nsuworks, “fear undermined participants’ social confidence, although realizing that it was ok if they spoke in broken English and that others would still accept them significantly increased their social confidence” (Albrecht and Ko, 2017). This implies that ESL classes have helped immigrant students better connect with their classmates. As a result, immigrants will be more likely to talk with those around them, which will help boost their language proficiency. Nevertheless, most adult immigrants cannot afford a course like this because they have to work to support their families. These programs should not have to be paid for; instead, they should be free to anyone who wants to participate.
Additionally, the NSUworks (Nova Southeastern University) report states, “Most participants found that once they began being involved in community activities they felt as if they belonged, they made new friends, and their social confidence increased” (Albrecht and Ko, 2017). It is not easy for immigrants to get involved in community activities, which is where ESL classes can help. ESL classes help immigrants become familiar with their area and the community. This, in turn, will help migrants build connections of trust and honesty with their neighbors. Therefore, the government should increase funding for ESL classes so that all migrants who are willing to learn can flourish within their communities.
The government should provide more funding for ESL classes because they provide immigrants with access to higher education. An article from the LASC institution claims, “LASC, an international ESL school with three campuses in Southern California, offers pathways to some of the highest-rank community colleges in the region and around the country” (Palacio, 2020). This article suggests that there are ESL schools such as LASC who will help immigrants get a higher education by providing them with opportunities into high ranking colleges. This will provide migrants with a better education which will help them better perform the daily errands they will be doing in their future jobs. Additionally, LASC promotes independent study which “can be beneficial for studying vocabulary, doing reading, and noticing grammar” (Palacio, 2020). ESL schools such as LASC are well recommended as they provide immigrants with the support and skills they will need to complete college.
Nevertheless, these schools aren’t able to take all the immigrants who are interested in further continuing their education. Therefore, the government should provide these institutions with more funding as they are doing what they can to help immigrants become more fluent with English. ESL shouldn’t have to limit the amount of immigrants they are able to teach each year as there are more migrant students wanting to learn and improve their English than there are ESL schools. These schools need to be better funded as the demand for more ESL classes is being increased while the number of available classes is not able to meet the demand due to these schools not reserving the proper funding.
Some might believe that providing more funding for ESL classes won’t provide immigrants with any meaningful benefits. However, ESL classes do provide immigrants with the opportunity to improve their English vastly. In Sqa Education’s perspective, “ESL classes go beyond formal education by imparting life skills essential for navigating daily challenges in English-speaking countries.” (Machado, 2025). This might be why some people believe ESL classes don’t provide migrants with any meaningful help as the support they provide them with is not something they can see with their eyes. Nevertheless, ESL classes do provide immigrants with the knowledge and English proficiency in order to properly live their lives within the U.S. Therefore, the government needs to increase the funding for ESL classes as a great deal of migrants depend on these ESL classes in order to improve their English.
This paper has argued that the government should the funding for ESL classes. By doing so there will be much more educated individuals within the U.S. which will help all citizens live a much more easier life. This is crucial as having educated migrants will not only decrease the gap between people but will also further connect everyone closer as they will be able to communicate in the same language. Some another ways funding can be increased is through crowdfunding, fundraising events such as fun runs, and sponsorships. Ultimately, addressing these findings is an essential towards building a strong and sustainable future for everyone as it’s the responsibility of the people to ensure migrants are able to get the same oppounrties as they do.
Work Cited
Albrecht, S., & Ko, G. How Do Immigrant Students Develop Social
Confidence and Make Friends in Secondary School? A Retrospective Study. (2017, September 7).
nsuworks.nova.edu. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2759&context=tqr#
Fobker, S., & Imani, D. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. Taylor & Francis. vol. 43,
No. 16, 2017, pp. 2720–37. (n.d.).
Heller, B. H. What happened to adult education in the United States?.
Edworkingpapers. (2024, November).
Machado, P. Overcoming language barriers in English-speaking countries. SQA
Education. (2025, July 16).
Palacio, D. What benefits do foreign students get from ESL classes?: LASC
ESL. LASC. (2020, February 7).
Waldman, A., Swaby, A., & Clark, A. America’s adult education system is
Broken. Here’s how experts say we can fix it. ProPublica. (2022, December 23).
White, C., Watts, N., & Trlin, A. New Zealand as an English-language learning
Environment: immigrant experiences, provider perspectives and social policy
implications. Gale Academic Onefile. (2002, June).
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