<p>This means that her first language is not English</p>
<p>Not necessarily. Her mom is American…it’s very likely that her mom spoke to her in English from birth…or she may have been bi-lingual from birth.</p>
<p>Mom said in a previous post that English is not her daughter’s first language.</p>
<p>Kelly states:</p>
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<p>Op’s D may end up getting placed in ESL classes once she arrives here (depending on her proficiency in English. If she is ESL, she will get extended time on the state exams (probably not the SAT/ACT). Some schools may require her to also submit the TOEFL.</p>
<p>Oh…thanks.</p>
<p>I wonder why she’s going to come to the US for senior year? It might be better for her to finish school in Italy. </p>
<p>The mom’s post is confusing. At one point she says that she and the kids moved to the US when she divorced…in another post she says that her D has been going to school in Italy.</p>
<p>If student is currently living with dad, mom would be the non-custodial parent, </p>
<p>D would benefit living with mom so that she can file the FAFSA with mom as custodial parent and so student would be eligible to attend SUNY at the in-state rate, especially since it seems that dad will not contribute to college if D is not in Italy.</p>
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<p>Ah…yes…the custodial parent issue and instate tuition. </p>
<p>However, again, that’s why I find the first post confusing. </p>
<p>*We (me and the kids) moved back to the States *</p>
<p>She makes it sound like she has the kids. But, maybe she has all but THIS one…and she’s getting THIS one this summer. </p>
<p>Although it is possible that this child’s English is so poor that she’d have to be in some kind of ESL or sheltered courses, that would have been short-sighted on the American mother’s part. I’m hoping that while this student may have learned Italian first, she has both learned English all along with her mom and she has learned English in her Italian schools and thru TV/movies/internet usage. </p>
<p>Frankly…when you see how fluent some int’l kids are, it wouldn’t surprise me if this child is quite fluent in English. I don’t think she would be at the same disadvantage that some children of low-income, uneducated immigrants face in this country.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids -</p>
<p>There is a big difference in the type of language skills needed for conversation, internet chatting, and every-day life, and the type of language skills needed for reading, writing, and oral communication at the level expected in a high school class or a college class. Even a student who has highly developed research and composition skills in another language needs time to get his/her English skills up to snuff. Since this student has been in school in another language, it makes perfect sense that her English may be good enough to get around town, but not good enough to write an essay. The mother is smart to be taking the possibility of ESL into consideration.</p>