Heads Up!

Bullying is one of the biggest problems in schools all over the world. It all starts with an annoying comment then it leads to sever matters. We've seen it happen and unfortunately, lots of people know how it feels. No one likes it, especially people who can’t fight back whether it's physically or verbally. Those people or students are immigrants and English Language Learners (ELLs).

My interest on ELLs being bullied is very personal. Two years ago I moved to the United States knowing only twenty words in English.  I went to a new school where people were nice to me, but a few other students were making fun of me. I remember they were making fun of my accent and a few words I used. They continued to do that for a full school year and it really bothered me. It wasn't just me they were making fun of, there were more of my classmates that had to go through their bullying and act like everything was okay.

The issue is that these students can’t fight back in any way other than inappropriate behavior. There are many ways these kids get bullied. For example, students get taunted and sometimes physically abused. They are made fun of the way they dress or what they believe in and many more.

This is important because if all these non-ELLs are getting bullied and not a lot of peple know about it. There a many difficulties that these students have. Like, learning disabilities, adjusting to the environment and meeting new people. Language differences, they might not understand what is being said or cannot respond to the point. Bullying experiences may lead to inappropriate behavior and self-harm.

Research shows that about 50% of students say that they make fun of non-ELLs accents and 29% say that they use physical force to bully them.

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