As sophomore Abati Dedefo reflects on his major class project, he explains that since English is not his first language, the project allows him to express his voice.

Dedefo’s project is titled “Who do you think I am?” and is part of the English as a second language (ESL) program’s initiative to display ESL students’ work to the school, according to ESL teacher Cory Litzow-Lorentz.

“My favorite part is writing a paragraph and then making posters, and sharing them with teachers,” Dedefo said. “It is to bring out ESL students. English is not our first language and we are not native English speakers, (so) it is to bring our voice out to the school so other students know who we are.”

ESL students worked on the project for almost the entire second semester, according to Litzow-Lorentz. She said the students are still finalizing the pieces, which consist of three major steps: a physical poster, a digital poster and a Shutterfly photo book.

Litzow-Lorentz said students began their project by writing a paragraph about how they want their teachers to perceive them.

“The students had to go through the writing process, so the brainstorming, the prewriting, the rough draft, the editing, revising and the final draft,” Litzow-Lorentz said. “(It was an) eight-sentence paragraph that answered the question, ‘what do you want your teachers to see when they look at you?’”

Litzow-Lorentz said the students displayed the posters during a staff meeting. Then, she said the students turned their paragraph into the digital poster.

Litzow-Lorentz said ESL students split up into five teams to create photo books containing every student’s individual piece. Teachers voted for the winning photo book and that book is in process of being printed. Sophomores Sudesh Deonarain and David Garcia-Velez, and junior Fuad Ali were in the winning group.

According to Dedefo, the project allows him to share things about himself with others.

“(The purpose of the project is) to let students know who we are and what we are doing in this school and what we are doing outside of school, and how we feel in school and in classes,” Dedefo said.

Litzow-Lorentz said the project allows ESL students to show they have an identity other than their language ability.  

“I’m not the only person who can advocate for them — they can advocate for themselves. What they feel, what they think, what they have to say is important, and I don’t want to be the only cheerleader for them,” Litzow-Lorentz said. “So I’m really hoping they see that their voice matters and that they can make change.”

Dedefo said the project provided a great experience for him because he loves sharing who he is.

“I’ve really enjoyed sharing with my classmates and my teachers what I’ve been doing in my classes, how I am doing with my parents, what my life looks like,” Dedefo said.