Essay on English Language Learner

English language learners (ELL) are one of the fastest growing classifications of students attending schools in the United States today. They represent a diverse group of students typically coming from homes or backgrounds where English is not the primary language spoken. Additionally, ELL students experience difficulties communicating or learning academic instruction in English.

Many of their learning needs are similar to those of other children and young people learning in our schools. However, these learners also have distinct and different needs from other learners by virtue of the fact that they are learning in and through another language, and that they come from cultural backgrounds and communities with different understandings and expectations of education, language and learning”. (NALDIC, 1999).

ELL continue to rise year after year. In EDUC 628, the class delved into the rise of ELL in America and how the best teaching methods to approach each learner with. Every ELL student is unique and has different learning process. Although the semester covered a wide variety of topics ranging from dialects to teaching methods, every module served its purpose in providing a framework for future ELL teachers. Learning about how to teach ELL was significant to me because when I first entered the school system in America, I was placed into ESL and I have gone through the process of many of these teaching methods. EDUC 628 main focus was preparing students whose goal in the future was to educate ELL. The articles and readings assigned in the class provided a funds of knowledge going into each new lesson. Coupled with the readings, hands on activities such as the mini lessons and designing lesson plans provided each student with experience that will reflect on their teaching abilities in the classroom. In my paper, I will be provided a step by step synthesis of what was learned and accomplished every week along with a brief summary of the readings. I will probe deeper into the modules and lessons that piqued my interest the most and that also challenge my mindset.

It is not impossible for schools to involve the parents of their ELL students, they must demonstrate to the parents and students that they are valued members of the school community. There has been considerable amounts of research on the importance and benefits of working closely with the parents of ELL students and how income and social class are strong predictors of how families relate to schools. For example, low income or non-English speaking parents may leave big decisions regarding school up to the teachers because of their expertise and the parents potential lack of. In a study

One way to address challenges that come with educating ELL students requires that culturally responsive educators “expose themselves and their students to each other’s cultural worldviews” (Banks & Banks, 2013, p.17). As described in the article, the study videotaped three different classrooms when learning was taking place. Then later analyzed by interviewing separately, participating teachers, newly arrived immigrant students and their parents, and cultural bridge persons. Even though all participants expressed the

A full range of services are provided to meet individual needs. One of these services, English as a Second Language, provides support in general education classrooms for students whose first language is not English. The English Language Learning (ELL) Program utilizes various instructional models where students work within a classroom setting, in small groups or individually

In the article, Involving Parents of English Language Learners in a Rural area. The author explains how ELL have increased in public schools over the years. The author makes note that many of the barriers for ELL include the lack of parental involvement. In addition, the author explains how the lack of parental involvement can hinder a child’s performance and impact collaborative efforts between parents and teachers. Furthermore, this article explains how the cultural divide between parents and teachers can lead to parents feeling inferior.

What surprise me was that in 2013 there was a total of 5.3 million ELL students throughout the country. This number is shocking, there are many ELL students in our classrooms settings and yet there are not enough resources and not enough prepared teachers that can work with ELL students in an effective way. It makes you think as a future teacher what should I be doing to better perpare myself for those studetnss? What kind of strategies should I used that would be effective to them. Not only that but as teachers we should also think about on how can we explain to ELL students that they need to maintain their home language while learning English? We, as teachers, see the importance of maintain both languages, of not only speaking it fluently

There has been a very big jump in the number of immigrants coming into the United States. This has led to a rise in the number of English language learners in schools around the U.S.. However, this means that educators, administrators, and those apart of the education district need to work together to create more support for this growing population of ELL students. This article brings up five different lessons on creating support for ELL learners in schools. The first lesson is, “Make success for ELLs a central issue.” This involves the commitment of everyone involved in the school towards improving the education of these students. Educators need to develop and communicate in order to create a unified plan to improve education and instruction. This is the

As future educators, one pivotal way we can enhance our students’ learning and growing experiences in the classroom is by creating a culturally

With the United States demographics changing rapidly, school systems are flooded with students from other countries. According to state and national guidelines, these students do not have the language skills necessary to be successful in general education classrooms. Teachers often face the dilemma of how to effectively reach these students. Traditional methods or strategies do not fully reach these students, so teachers question themselves as teachers or question the student’s intellectual ability. This frequently causes misconceptions about teaching ELL students. Knowing how a new language is acquired helps many teachers build success quickly, making learning and teaching

In this final case study, three ESL/Bilingual teachers were interviewed pertaining information on a range of fifteen questions. The various topics included the promotion of best practices in their classrooms, the integration of culture, differentiation of instruction and how it correlates with academic content and language development. The survey also requested the type of environment the teachers promote to students and what type of expectations they hold from the parents. Other parts of the survey enquired for the resources that have been implemented into the classroom and the type of support that are available to students. The interviewees that were used in the case study work in two separate districts. Two of the three that were interviewed

ELL students come from all over the world and experience different ways of life, so in order for a teacher to know about their students they must also know where they came from in order to better understand them and their different levels of language proficiency. One of the many struggles is that students come into the classroom with different levels of language proficiency. Some people believe that this makes it impossible for the students to perform well, but that is not the case. ELL learners learn the same way as English speaking students. There are many factors that contribute to how a native speaking student learns and there is no difference in how an ELL student learns. ELL students are affected by the climate of the classroom, translation resources, and support. The questions to consider when examining and ELL classroom for these things is how the students are treating each other, are there the proper resources for ELL students, and what techniques are used to help ELL's understand the information. A lot of people are advocates for English-only classrooms, but they are unaware of how this will affect the children and also how much the children need

There are many challenges that ELL students face; from the academic performance to poverty and social inequalities. Most ELL students don’t have access to the basic educational resources and opportunities. (LaChat, 2004) “In school, the greatest difference between English language learners and their peers is the magnitude of learning expected.” (LaChat, 2004) As noted the ELL students have started the educational race in the negative, with out the basic monetary and educational push as their counterparts.

This author also addresses the importance of striking a balance between teaching English, as well as allowing the student to keep their voice. This is so important when helping students, teachers must provide students with the skill set, not the answers. Students would be getting help from a program for ELLs, courses that specialize in helping students use their native language when learning a new language, and allowing students to use their mother tongue in certain situations. These are all important because they are encouraging to the