Mr. Tanaka

Hello, and welcome to my page!

My name is Ryuma Jerry Tanaka, and I am an ENL (English as a New Language) and ELA (English Language Arts) instructor at I.S. 145. As the son of an immigrant single mother and a bicultural Japanese-American, I deeply empathize with the challenges of learning a new language while adapting to life in a new country and culture.

As an instructor, I strive to empower immigrant families in our I.S. 145 and Jackson Heights community by teaching my Multilingual Learners (MLLs) the English language and an appreciation for diversity. From year to year, my classroom consists of a culturally and linguistically diverse group of learners, and students in my classroom arrive from many different countries and continents. My classroom, like our Jackson Heights community, is truly multicultural.

Being bilingual and bicultural has provided me many opportunities in life, and I use these experiences to reinforce to my Multilingual Learners that they are not "English deficit", but are becoming bilingual or multilingual, and will be twice as (or more) valuable in college and job markets once they master English.