Vye Carlile helps her English as a Second Language students prepare desserts for the Café Bilingue, a monthly feast of food, music, and art.

SALEM, Oregon- At Walker Middle School, it's easy for kids to point out Vye Carlile's classroom. Hers is the one with a sofa, an easy chair, a refrigerator, and seasonal centerpieces atop clusters of desks. "This is my home for most of the day. Why shouldn't it be beautiful, just like your living room at home?" asks the animated teacher who launched the school's English as a Second Language program four years ago.

Carlile uses all of the arts-from decorative to culinary to visual to performing-to help her 52 students (from nations as diverse as Mexico, Vietnam, and Russia) understand American culture, as well as the academic subjects of English and social studies. She encourages them to sing, draw, cook, read, act, dance, write and illustrate their own books, and join in a host of other creative activities intended to help them take her les-sons to heart. She boldly leads the way, although she considers herself a "horrible" singer and a mediocre artist. "But I get up and do it in front of them, and that gives them confidence. I grade on participation, not the excellence of their singing or drawing."

The lessons extend well beyond the classroom. Carlile regularly takes her students on field trips to local restaurants and cultural events, where they'll have a chance to soak up more information about their adopted country. "You just have to get creative with funding," she says, reflecting the wisdom that comes with 28 years of teaching and the reality of working with low-income families. "I ask restaurants, what can you do for $1 a kid? And they bend over backwards to treat our kids nicely." Carlile, who was born in Salzburg and learned German as her first language, has a Ph.D. in curriculum instruction from the University of Texas. She was awarded a Metlife Fellowship in 1998, which allowed her to travel to Washington, D.C., to compare notes with other exemplary teachers of culturally diverse classrooms.

About once a month, Carlile's students go all out to transform their room into the Café Bilingue. They decorate in keeping with a monthly theme (such as ancient Greece or African cultures), spend the day cooking ethnic foods, then invite the Spanish II students in to be their guests. The room practically overflows with art, music, and food. "We want them to really feel another culture," Carlile explains. "They need to taste it, hear it, see it —really be there. And the arts are what can take you there."

By hosting an event for a "mainstream" class, the ESL students get to take a leadership role. There's always a game that requires the guests to learn new information about the culture of the month. "And my kids are the experts," Car-lile says, beaming. "It elevates their status."

What gives Carlile, a youthful-looking 50, the energy to tackle such time-intensive projects? "I need to be creative myself," she confesses, "or I get bored."