A phenomenology: success in the U.S. from the voice of English learner students

The purpose of this study was to heighten understanding of English learner (EL) students' social experiences in a school setting, while developing an expanded awareness of the students' family system whose language and culture is at crossroads with the dominant language/culture, and with the formal educational institution. This phenomenological study focused on the voice of EL students to explore the social, familial, cultural, and academic experiences of ELs to reveal factors contributing to their adjustment and overall success in the United States. The study consisted of 20 participants who are freshmen students in a northern California university, who have previously been categorized as EL in the U.S. school system, and who speak one of the top 10 languages spoken in California schools (e.g., Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Arabic, Tagalog, Cantonese, Korean, Hmong, Punjabi, and Russian). These students were selected to gather the factors that contributed to their persistence in graduating high school while also corresponding to the 10.3% of ELs in the state of California who completed all courses required for UC and/or a CSU entrance (California Department of Education, 2018). The theoretical frameworks for this study include Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model of human development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) and Ogbu and Simons' cultural-ecological theory (1998). This study utilized a phenomenological research design to answer the following research questions: 1. What are the factors contributing to freshmen and sophomore university EL students' adjustment and overall success? a. What are the social experiences of previously categorized EL students in the U.S.? b. What are the familial/cultural experiences of previously categorized EL students in the U.S.? c. What are the academic experiences of previously categorized EL students in the U.S.? The data produced from this research study were collected through a demographic questionnaire and one-on-one interviews. The qualitative findings of this study revealed the following 14 themes that relate to freshman university previously categorized EL students' adjustment and overall success in the U.S.: barrier due to EL classification, interactions with EL peers, interactions with non-EL peers, media's portrayal of language minorities, school involvement, family's reason for coming to the U.S., family sacrifices, family involvement, family expectations, societal views of ELs' culture, interactions with teachers, perception of the ELD program in their school, insight on their educational opportunities, and their view of the role of a degree/school credential. The implications of the study's findings, recommendations for practice and policy, including leadership, are discussed.