By HEATHER BREMNER, Staff Writer, Imperial Valley Press

Thursday, July 31, 2003 2:24 PM PDT

For children of migrant workers, constantly moving is not the sole problem they face.

Many migrant students have lived in the United States only a few years and their largest obstacle often is mastering the English language.

Since the parents' migratory patterns lead to predominantly Hispanic areas, the children often have little exposure to English.

Jamie Silva, director of the Imperial County Office of Education migrant education program, is working to change that. Since 1993, ICOE migrant education students have traveled to San Diego to participate in a residential English-immersion program at either San Diego State University or University of California, San Diego.

Three of the 41 students who participated in this summer's program at SDSU returned from the four-week program Saturday with a better grasp of the language that often creates barriers between them and a full-circle social life and a college education.

For Jaquelinne Palacios, a U.S. resident for three years, perfecting her English skills in a county where the majority are fluent in Spanish was an almost impossible task.

"It was hard because my mom is always talking to me in Spanish and then I go over there (to San Diego) and I had to speak English," said the 15-year-old Holtville High School student. When Jacquelinne was informed of the residential migrant program, wherein students and teachers are instructed to not speak Spanish through the entirety of the program, she signed up.

Living in dorms with an assigned roommate, attending classes from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and participating in a mélange of after-school and weekend activities, Palacios said her English skills improved dramatically.

Luis Cacogui agrees. Having lived in the United States for only six months, the Central Union High School student is intent on making strides in his reading, writing, comprehension and diction. And for Luis, 16, that means forfeiting pleasure.

"I didn't go with my mind (set) to have fun," he said. "The part I wanted to go was to have better (prospects)."

Even with the salty smell of the beach emanating through his dorm windows, Luis did not waiver from his goal. His hard work and dedication paid off — Luis thinks he improved his skills "by 80 percent."

Calexico High School student Francisco Mariscal, 16, often gets baffled by a single word.

"It's difficult for me when I don't understand one meaning of a word," he said.

Spending time with other students and dedicating himself to his studies helped Francisco expand his vocabulary so when he returns to school he will seldom run into such problems.

The program, which employees the second-language curriculum High Point, is part of a dawning trend in the Valley to offer intensive language immersion programs to English-language learners and place them directly in mainstream academic classes rather than allow them to grow roots in their English language development classes.

Calexico High students recently completed the first accelerated English-language summer academy in the state.

If the program is expanded next summer — which is the goal of the University of California system and ICOE administrators who sponsor it — to include additional schools, will students continue to express interest in the San Diego program?

Since the two programs differ, Silva does not thinks one has any competitive edge over the other.

Calexico High's was a six-week academy with the students returning home at the end of each day, whereas students attending the SDSU migrant program were immersed in the language for a full four weeks.

Students interviewed after attending the Calexico High academy said the most difficult aspect of learning English is returning to a Spanish-speaking household.

Also, ICOE's migrant education program is not designed for any ELD students. To qualify for the migrant education program, students must have parents who work in a field such as agriculture, livestock or dairy and remain in one area no more than three years at a time.

In addition to educational support, migrant students are provided medical assistance, a variety of programs designed to help prevent dropouts and counseling services.

As a child of migrant workers, Silva can fully empathize with the students. Even if students improve their English, without confidence in their newly acquired skills, they haven't progressed.

Often their problems don't necessarily lie in their inability to speak, write or read, but stem from being uncomfortable speaking with an accent when surrounded by native English speakers, said Silva. Their fear of being laughed at, or not understood, is only reinforced by the fact that situation occurs often in their daily lives.

"Sometimes they laugh at me and then I'm embarrassed to talk in English," said Jacquelinne.

But when she returns to school in the fall that will all change.

"I'm going to talk to people and say, ‘See, I learned English.'"