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In teaching English as a Second Language, I am responsible for two important factors: That the students learn English and the the TEKS are followed. These larger factors then branch into many idfferent issures that require my attentions, such a cultural awareness, knowledge of classical literature, proper grammar, and the TAAS test.
     In order for my students to effectively learn English, they must be totally immersed. Audio immersion is quite easy since they are in American schools and have regular English language classes. The difficulty is the reading and writing skills that they must develop in order to function, as well as pass the TAAS test. It is impossible to have a student with a 150 word vocabulary begin to compose essays of any quality, much less dive into literature.
     The second problem that I face is fulfilling the TEKS for ESL students. There is relatively no difference between the TEKS for regular English students and ESL students. All must be abl e to have proper grammar, extensive vocabularies, analytical ablility in regards to literature, creaivitiy and skill at composing essays and compositions, the techniques required to research a subject, the mannerisms needed for concise and clear communication, and cultural awareness.
     The true question is how do I implement the TEKS while continuing my students' achievement in English? The solution is in using computers and what is available on the Web to further their educational careers and expose them to large amounts of the English language. By using computers, which are completely non-threatening to them, I am able to supplement their audio immersion with that of an immerision in English reading and writing skills on the Web.
     In order to solve these problems, I have integrated technology into my classroom. The fundamental reasons being their English language acquisition; however, I have had other positive ramifications occur. I built a web page for my students, not realizing the grad contribution that it would have to my communication with my students. They are now able to log onto http://www.geocities.com/ltigris2000/
pumpkins.htm and find all assignments and important dates. This had eradicated such problems as students "forgetting" what the assignment was, or "losing" their papers, or "not knowing" it was picture day. They are also able to communicate with me at any time on concerns or questions they have.
     The second page that I built for my students was one that I termed "The Holiday Page." I decided that I wanted to use technology to improve their English skills and fulfill TEKS by having the students do a thematic unit on holidays. This would encompass Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, and Ramadan. Then, the reserach done on these international holidays would be incorportated into web pages built by the student groups that I had set up.
     For Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, the students were first exposed to the Internet and e-mail. If a student did not an e-mail address prior to this, then one was set up for them. I compiled a list of all addresses and sent it to the students with the assignment. The first part of the assignment was to send an ecard to friend in the class and copy it to me. This was more successful than I had imagined for two reasons: 1) The students had to read in English and type a message in English.

. 2) The channels of communication between my students blossomed. They began a trend of emailing one another for help on different subjects, for conversation or to reconfirm what might be due in my class and others.
The students then had to do simple research on the background and history of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. This required them to search on the Internet, which again, made them read and function in English without them realizing it. To the students, this became fun and so the psychological barriers to working in a foreign language seemed to slip away. The students searched and found sites on the histories and backgrounds of the holidays. They then were cutting and pasting information, printing and compiling without any guidance or direction. Each and every one was able to write two different papers about the history of Halloween and the history of Dia de los Muertos. They had learned the holidays, which were quite foreign to many of them; they had developed researching, operative and writing skills with none of the barriers that exist when not using the computers; and they had learned to communicate with the other students and me.

The final part of this assignment was to compare and contrast Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. This required higher thinking skill and an ability to analyze the information that they had already garnered. In using previously made outlines, I had them create a paper-based outline for their papers. They then were able to instantaneously grasp the underlying differences and produce their papers. They could see a visual representation of the structure of an essay. With the use of computers, they were able to type these papers which seemed to decrease the errors in grammar and spelling- even without the use of spell check.
The second part of the project was Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving is a traditional American holiday, I wanted them exposed to it. The first segment of this was to research the Pilgrims, the Indians in the area, the reasons for immigration to American, and what exactly Thanksgiving is. Each section of this was to be written in paragraph format and required more dissemination of the facts found through their research. The research seemed to be easier to the students, they were able to find notable items in one page and research that to develop their ideas more. They had learned how to successfully search and find vital facts.

The next segment was to develop an essay that required them to apply information to previous knowledge. The essay was to be three paragraphs: Where the Pilgrims were before they came to American, what life in America was like at that time, and how the relationship between the Pilgrims and the Indians relates to their own lives. The research was much easier for the students this time and they were able to gather information and then extract the concise bits needed to express themselves. The final paragraph required them to apply the historical information that they had found to their own life experiences.
The last segment was to choose a person from this time period, either a Pilgrim or an Indian. Then, the students had to research that person�s history, such as their age, job, experiences. Then they had to write a creative story on what that person was doing on the first Thanksgiving. This worked out beautifully, since the students were able to humanize the historical facts that they had researched and create a vision of history that was all their own.

The third part of the project is Christmas, Chanukah and Ramadan. Without delving into the religious details of these holidays, I wanted my students to be cognizant of other holidays and events during this month of December.
The students are to research Christmas from its religious beginnings to its cultural variations. They are to find how there was a blend of religion and superstitious practices, i.e. Christ�s birth and Christmas trees. They must find the origins of Santa Claus, his other names in different culture and how he operates differently in each different country. They must also find the significance of Mistletoe and the traditions of Christmas Eve and foods served. They are to investigate two other countries� traditions for this and the specifics of those traditions. Thus far, it has been quite interesting to witness how interested they all are in how Santa is named and does different things in different countries.