When I arrived in Canada from Guangzhou in 1990, I was only sixteen. I was old enough to understand responsibility, yet still young enough to feel overwhelmed by a new country, a new language, and a new education system. My parents did not know English and did not understand how schools worked here, so it was a relative who brought me to the Vancouver School Board for placement tests.

I could understand math symbols and formulas, but the English in the questions was beyond me. The English assessment was even harder. I did not understand the ideas. I mostly guessed. I was placed in ESL Intermediate, which at that time was part of a very rigid ladder of levels. Students began in ESL literacy, then moved to ESL low, ESL medium, ESL high, junior transitional, and finally senior transitional. Only after completing senior transitional could a student take mainstream English courses. That structure shaped my entire high school experience.

Except for math and typing, every course I took was an ESL version. ESL science, ESL social studies, ESL language arts. These were not supports added to mainstream classes. They were separate, simplified courses that ran parallel to the regular curriculum. The result was a kind of academic and social isolation. I had almost no interaction with local students. Even within ESL, language barriers meant students from different countries rarely mixed. I stayed mostly with Cantonese-speaking classmates whose English level was similar to mine.

My parents told me, “We don’t know English, and we don’t know this place. We can support your schooling, but the rest of the road is up to you.” At sixteen, that was a heavy truth. The system at the time did not help me integrate, did not help me understand Canadian culture, and did not help me build connections beyond my small circle. I had to navigate everything on my own.

More than thirty years have passed. Richmond has changed, and so has the education system. Today, English Language Learning is no longer a parallel track that isolates students. The goal is integration. Students join mainstream classes such as science, socials, English, and math, and receive language support through in-class assistance, small-group instruction, or targeted interventions.

Richmond’s demographics have also changed dramatically. According to the Richmond School District, sixty-three per cent of students speak a language other than English at home, and thirty-four per cent of all students are officially designated as English Language Learners. Diversity is now the norm rather than the exception, and multilingual learners are a central part of our school community.

This means today’s students face different challenges. They are not separated into isolated ESL worlds, but they still navigate complex language demands, cultural transitions, and identity questions. They must learn English while keeping their home languages alive. They must integrate socially in schools where diversity is celebrated but still unevenly understood. They must prepare for a future where communication, critical thinking, and adaptability matter more than ever.

As a candidate for Richmond School Trustee, I believe we must continue strengthening the system so that every student, especially newcomers, can thrive. This includes supporting early and ongoing language development so students can participate fully in all subjects without feeling left behind. It includes ensuring teachers have the training and resources to support multilingual learners in mainstream classrooms. It includes creating more opportunities for cross-cultural interaction so students can build friendships beyond language groups and learn from one another. It includes recognizing the emotional and social challenges that immigrant youth face and providing counselling, mentorship, and safe spaces for them to grow. It also includes engaging families who may struggle with English so they can understand the school system and support their children’s learning.

My journey through the old ESL system taught me how deeply language shapes a young person’s confidence, identity, and future. Today’s Richmond is more diverse, more aware, and more capable of supporting multilingual learners, but there is still work to do.

I want to help build a school system where no student feels isolated the way I once did, where language is not a barrier to belonging, and where every young person, regardless of where they come from, can find their place, their voice, and their future.

我在一九九零年從廣州來到加拿大，當時只有十六歲。年紀不大，但已懂得責任；年紀不小，卻仍會被一個全新的國度、語言和教育制度深深壓倒。父母不懂英文，也不了解這裡的學校制度，因此是由一位親戚帶我到溫哥華教育局做入學評估。

我看得懂數學符號和公式，但題目裡的英文完全超出我的理解。英文評估更困難。我不明白題意，只能靠猜。最後我被編入 ESL 中級班。當時的 ESL 制度是一個非常僵硬的階梯式系統，學生必須依序從 ESL 文盲班、ESL 低級、ESL 中級、ESL 高級、初級過渡班、再到高級過渡班。只有完成最高級的過渡班，才有資格修讀主流的英文課程。這個制度深深影響了我整個中學階段。

除了數學和打字課之外，我修讀的全部都是 ESL 版本的科目。ESL 科學、ESL 社會、ESL 語文。這些課程不是主流課程的補充，而是完全獨立、簡化的平行課程。結果形成一種學術與社交上的孤立。我幾乎沒有機會與本地學生接觸。即使在 ESL 裡，來自不同國家的同學因語言不足而難以交流。我大多與同樣講粵語、英文程度相近的同學在一起。

父母對我說：「我們不懂英文，也不認識這裡。能做的只有供你讀書，往後的路要靠你自己。」對一個十六歲的少年而言，這是一句沉重的話。當時的制度沒有幫助我融入主流，也沒有幫助我理解加拿大文化，更沒有幫助我建立跨語言的友誼。我只能自己摸索、自己適應、自己尋找方向。

三十多年過去了。我在加拿大完成學業、工作、建立家庭，也在列治文投入社區服務。列治文改變了，教育制度也改變了。

今天的英語學習支援已不再是孤立學生的平行系統。目標是融合。學生會直接進入主流課程，例如科學、社會、英文和數學，同時在課堂內或課堂外接受語言支援，包括小組教學、課內協助或額外的語言輔導。

列治文的語言人口結構也有巨大轉變。根據列治文教育局的資料，百分之六十三的學生在家使用非英語語言，百分之三十四的學生被正式列為英語學習者。多語背景已成為常態，而不是例外。語言學習者已是我們學校社群的重要組成。

這意味著今日的學生面對的挑戰與我當年不同。他們不再被隔離在 ESL 的世界裡，但仍需面對語言能力、文化轉換與身份認同的複雜課題。他們需要在學習英文的同時保留自己的母語。他們需要在多元文化的校園中建立跨文化的友誼。他們需要為未來做好準備，而未來所需要的能力包括溝通、批判思考與適應力。

作為列治文學務委員候選人，我相信我們必須持續強化整個系統，讓每一位學生，尤其是新移民學生，都能真正茁壯成長。這包括支持學生在早期和整個學習過程中的語言發展，使他們能在所有科目中充分參與而不感到落後。這包括確保教師擁有足夠的資源與專業訓練，以支援多語背景的學生在主流課堂中學習。這包括創造更多跨文化互動的機會，使學生能跨越語言界線建立友誼並互相學習。這包括認識新移民青少年在情緒與社交上的挑戰，並提供輔導、導師制度與安全的成長空間。這也包括協助那些英文能力有限的家庭，使他們能理解學校制度並支持孩子的學習。

我在舊 ESL 制度中的經歷讓我深刻明白語言如何影響一個年輕人的自信、身份與未來。今天的列治文更加多元、更加敏銳，也更加有能力支援語言學習者，但我們仍有許多工作需要繼續努力。

我希望建立一個讓任何學生都不會像我當年那樣感到孤立的學校系統。語言不應成為阻礙，而應成為橋樑。每一位年輕人，不論來自哪裡，都應能找到自己的位置、自己的聲音、以及自己的未來。