Maria

Maria was born in Mexico but moved to Tennessee with her family when she was 12. Both of her parents were born in Mexico, and they only speak Spanish at home. Maria attended middle and high school in Memphis, where instruction was all in English. Rocio is bilingual and biliterate. She was reclassified as English proficient in her junior year of high school but had not enrolled in sufficient advanced coursework to apply to a four-year university. She graduated from high school and enrolled in Southwest with the goal of pursuing a career in the field of early childhood education. She is determined to be the first in her family to graduate from college. She loves children and has years of experience taking care of her siblings and helping her aunt run an in-home day care center. Several early childhood education centers in her town are hiring bilingual lead teachers, but Maria does not yet have the required credential to apply. She no longer considers herself an ESL student but scored low on her reading and writing placement tests at Southwest. She is required to take either ESL or remedial reading and writing but is not sure which, or if either, is the best fit for her. Her goal is to improve her academic English to earn her early childhood credential as soon as possible.

• • Educational background

  • Nationality

  • English proficiency level

  • Career goals

  • Reasons for learning English

  • Reason for moving to Memphis