MIDTESOL Matters Spring 2004

International Adoptees: Are They ESOL?

By Nola Magady

In the United States, the process of adopting internationally began in the 1950's, the numbers gradually increasing until the late 1980's and early 1990's. From 1992 to 1999, the number grew from 6,536 to 16,396--a 250% increase in seven years. Currently, hundreds of agencies in the United States arrange more than 20,000 international adoptions a year from Colombia, Costa Rico, Mexico, Haiti, Guatemala, Romania, China, Korea, Vietnam, Russia, Siberia, and other countries formerly part of the USSR. Not surprisingly, the United States has the highest number of international adoptions. These statistics explain why educators must be informed about international adoptions in order to develop a process for effectively serving these children.

Internationally adopted children come from many different backgrounds and circumstances. They are adopted as tiny babies, toddlers, preschoolers, or children in kindergarten through high school. Before adoption, they have lived on the street--malnourished, abused, neglected, and exposed to alcohol and drugs. An institution (orphanage) may have been the only home they have known. Some have lived in foster homes with families from the time they were born while others have lived in foster homes for only a few months before adoption.

In a conversation about international adoptees, a director of special services said that these children remind her of the book Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman. The main character is a baby bird, just out of the egg. Because his mother flies off immediately to find him food, his first words are "Where is my mother?" He falls out of the nest and goes looking for her. He asks a dog, kitten, hen, cow, even an earth mover, "Are you my mother?" Finally, the earth mover picks him up and dumps him back in the nest just as Mother returns with a worm. The little bird recognizes her immediately: "I know who you are!" The story ends with the little bird safely under Mother's wing.

International adoptees who begin their lives on the street or in other difficult circumstances may not remember their biological mothers. If they do, they may associate their mothers with sickness, hunger, drugs, alcohol, neglect and abuse. Such children have even been known to survive on their own, sometimes with older siblings acting as parents. Often, their second home is an institution where a caregiver is the only mother they know. The caregiver has time for basic physical care, not for the affection and stimulation young children require. Because caregivers come and go in institutions, children rarely have one or two consistent persons in their lives for long. As a result of the numerous parental changes in these children's lives, they may develop romanticized versions of their biological mothers, believing that their real mothers would love them and all would be well. This ideal may persist after adoption.

To prepare children for life with an adoptive family, some institutions place those chosen for adoption with foster parents for several months. Thus, another mother comes into their lives. Eventually, the child is adopted and moves to a different country. His new parents don't resemble him, speak the same language, or live in the same environment. In contrast, the little bird in Are You My Mother recognizes his mother because they have all these things in common.

To summarize, post-institutionalized children have many issues to be considered by parents and educators alike. Their mothers probably had poor health habits and little or no prenatal care. The children have had no primary caregiver with whom to bond. They have been abused and neglected by their parents and by institution personnel. They have suffered from poor nutrition whether on the street or in an institution. They have had little schooling and poor medical care. Most adoptees were in an institution where they were confined and warehoused.

Institutions in countries that provide so many children for adoption in the United States have improved over the years. Welfare and medical personnel in these countries have worked hard to ensure that children are safe and cared for. However, these countries simply do not have the money to provide for so many children abandoned or orphaned by poverty, war, natural disasters, disease, etc. With all its riches, the United States struggles to improve the circumstances of its own children in foster care, and resources in other countries do not compare with those of the United States.

Educators who work with second language learners must consider how the principles of language acquisition apply to internationally adopted children. Originally, experts believed that three to five years of age was the most sensitive time for learning language; now, however, they believe that the most sensitive time is even earlier--the first and second years of life. Children who are exposed to language acquire language by unconsciously generating rules, perhaps filling in an innate blueprint. They require a lot of time to become fluent. A strong first language (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) is indicative of a strong second language. Well-developed skills in the first language make it easier to develop the same skills in the second language; older students and adults can transfer knowledge and concepts from their first language into their second.

Internationally adopted children, especially those who have been institutionalized, rarely have a well-developed first language. They have not been exposed to lots of language and conversation. Other factors that complicate language development are that children may speak uncommon dialects and that siblings in institutions sometimes develop their own language. If caregivers cannot understand the children, they cannot communicate with them and the first language does not develop further. The first language of older children in institutions is probably only bits and pieces of language.

Physical problems may inhibit the development of the first language in institutionalized children. For example, children in institutions are often fed the same diet: orphanages do not have the personnel, the time, or the money to prepare different meals for younger children and older children. As a result, all children eat mushy food served in a bowl with a spoon. Adoptive parents may have to slowly and patiently teach their children how to eat other foods; the children may prefer soft foods like cooked cereal, soup, mashed potatoes, and yogurt when they first come to the United States. The fact that they don't learn to chew inhibits their language development.

Continued development of the first language is important. However, the development of the first language in internationally-adopted children is interrupted by the second language--English. Unless family members speak the adoptee's language, he or she quickly loses it, often in a matter of months. Even if the family does speak that language, it is difficult to continue to develop it while, at the same time, the child is learning English.

A child's oral language proficiency, especially in everyday conversational English (non-academic English), doesn't mean the child will do well in school. Because the adoptee lives with an English-speaking family, he or she learns conversational English quickly. However, the adoptee's conversational English can deceive parents, friends, and even teachers. It is like a puzzle with pieces missing. Also, other language skills, such as reading and writing, usually lag far behind the child's speech even after several years of school. For example, the child may do fairly well on a science assignment or test given orally, but poorly, even with coaching, if expected to read the test and write the answers. Reading the test to the child may not help.

Parents aren't always aware of their child's poor English. The parents are pleased because their child appears to have learned so much so quickly. They can usually understand their child's wants and needs, and they simply become accustomed to the language. They fail to notice that the English is not good and is not getting better. They are like the parents and grandparents of young children who are first learning to talk, so thrilled to hear the little one speak that they don't notice the grammar and mispronunciations. Unfortunately, adoptees may be making the same errors years later. For this reason, adoptees usually require the services of a Speech and Language Pathologist, especially for language and perhaps also for articulation. However, even with the help of teachers and parents alike, the language of these children may never reach the desired level.

What can educators do to provide for internationally adopted children in the public schools? First, they should learn about the subject, if possible from a teacher who has had experience with internationally adopted children. All kinds of resources are available on the Internet and in libraries and bookstores, whereas, a few years ago, little had been written on this subject. International adoptees may, for example, have Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), Sensory Integrative Dysfunction, or any of a number of mental and physical problems resulting from what they have suffered in their short lives. Educators must be familiar with these problems.

Second, educators should develop a simple, flexible procedure for the assessment and education of international adoptees. It should be changed as those involved grow in knowledge and experience. As needed, appropriate teams should be set up to evaluate and determine the appropriate placement of these students as they enter school. These teams will vary depending on the age, background, and specific needs of each individual student. For example, the team for a preschooler will be different from the team for a student who is eight years old with little formal schooling and a physical handicap. Most children will require the services of several different professionals--one child may be served by the ESL teacher and the Speech and Language Pathologist; another, by the ESL teacher and the reading teacher. Educators from different disciplines must share their expertise to provide for internationally adopted children.

Finally, educators must work closely with adoptive parents. Often, parents contact the school district when they begin the process of adoption. Establishing a relationship early is helpful for all concerned. Parents should be encouraged to get as much information about the child as possible and to share that information with school personnel. Regular contact with the family will not only be beneficial for the student, but also, for the parents and teachers.

Under any circumstances, rearing children presents challenges and rewards. It requires hard work, both physical and mental, and children rarely fulfill their parents' expectations. However, for parents and teachers of internationally adopted children, the task can be overwhelming. Knowledge, preparation, and cooperation are imperative. Although there may not be miracles, there can be progress, rewards, love and joy.

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