English as a first language

When Antonio Champion and Desiree Borishade were elected as SGA senators in spring 2006, one of the ideas they ran on was to reevaluate the English Competency Exam (ECE), which is a baccalaureate degree requirement.

Unfortunately, both resigned not long after being sworn in. Certainly it's important for NEIU students to be proficient in the English language. No one is denying that;the question is in how that requirement can be met.

The university shows little confidence in its own English department, specifically in its English 101 and 102 classes and the instructors that teach it. There are seniors anticipating graduation who still face the ECE as a major road block on their path to a degree. These are people who have successfully completed at least four years in an institution of higher learning as well as passed English 101 with at least a "C."

Many, including NEIU staff and advisors, are quick to counter that eliminating the English Competency Exam specifically would automatically mean the school is lowering "standards."

Within this context, the word "standards" has become a codeword for neo-conservative rhetoric that wants to maintain the dominant Anglo, middle-class, English-speaking American culture as the norm, thereby marginalizing non-Native English speakers.

Having met basic general education requirements, as well as passing English 101, it is unfair to require students, especially non-native English speakers, to pass an additional test on top of that.

This isn't the same as meeting the math competence requirement or the computer / information literacy requirement. English, as well as the politics and power dynamics behind it, is a volatile issue in our current reactionary atmosphere of anti-immigrant rhetoric.

It's unfortunate that NEIU, a place that puts great emphasis on its diversity, makes it that much harder for students in general, but non-native speakers specifically, to graduate.

Freshmen and incoming students must take a placement test to determine their proficiency with the English language. Regardless of the level they score at, all students must successfully pass English 101 with at least a "C" grade in order to meet graduation requirements.

The ECE has two sections: reading and writing. Each part is graded and can be taken separately, but students must pass both to fulfill the requirement. If a student fails the reading portion, the turnaround time to retake it is two weeks, which means from the time they took the test to when the results became available.

According to the university's ECE data for the summer of 2006, 436 tests were taken. For the reading section, native English Speakers failed at 22.1 percent of the time while non-native English speakers failed 48.5 percent of the time. The results for the writing portion were better though.

It's important to note that the English Language Program Writing Lab offers assistance to those preparing for the ECE. Still, this additional requirement is an undue burden for those who are already struggling with a language barrier.