English Language Learners

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.

More young americans nowadays are being raised in homes speaking non-English, but these students are falling behind in schools where there is not a bilingual program available. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in schools without a bilingual education program, 71% of English speakers are at or above the basic requirements for fourth grade reading while merely 30% of non-English speakers reach this level. 35% of English and 8% of non-English speakers reach proficient reading levels while only 9% of English and 1% of non-English speakers perform at advanced levels. It’s evident that the availability of a bilingual program is crucial to the success of an individual who needs the resources that can be given to them through the use of bilingual education. The percentages of the non-English speaking students previously mentioned could undoubtedly be comparable to those percentages of the English speaking students if the education they were being provided with was cohesive to their comfortability, and the material being taught was in a language they could better understand.

Cultural Diversity has lead schools to promote dual language and bilingual programs for ELL students. However, raising bilingual children according to Marsha Rosenberg is not something that simply happens. Parents must carefully consider how they will raise their children in their new culture. Unfortunately, many parents often forget that neglecting their primary language in the process of raising their children will only hurt them in the long run. However, what they fail to understand is that our current society insists on developing diverse learners, who can speak two or more languages and are diverse (Gensee, n.d). Therefore, in order to raise bilingual students they parents must provide the children with rich experiences at home as well as in a variety of settings (Broekhuizen, n.d.). Furthermore, families need to maintain a close family unity and sense of belonging when dealing with the bilingual issue at home.

It is no secret that the debate over what is the best course of action to educate our non-native English language students across the country is a highly charged topic that runs from the classroom to Capitol Hill. There have been many shifts in direction and focus of educational programs for English Language Learning (ELL) students during the past century in our nation's history. In 1968, with the passage of the Bilingual Education Act (Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) legislation was

So, what are the best types of instruction and assessment tools for teachers working with Ells? The journal article, titled “Culturally relevant texts and reading assessment for English Language Learners” by Ann E. Ebe a PhD. at Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, believes, that culturally relevant texts are an important key for teaching, and thus assessing ELLs per literacy comprehension (Ebe, 2010). Ebe believes that students who are English Language Learners have a higher level of comprehension when they are reading texts which are culturally relevant to them as opposed to reading texts that they have little cultural connection to (Ebe, 2010). Ebe’s research was focused on the belief that if ELLs are given texts which connect to them culturally, then they will improve their reading comprehension skills, because; they relate to a student’s background knowledge and thus enables the student to connect meaning to the information that is being presented (Ebe, 2010).

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.

With nearly 30 million immigrants crossing our borders in the last three decades, the United States education system has seen a dramatic increase in the number of English Language Learners (ELLs) entering the classroom (Migration Policy Institute website, n.d.). With this influx of non-native English speakers has come the need to find the best ways possible to meet them where they are academically and teach them accordingly. However, after years of research, education gurus are still divided on how to best meet the needs of ELLs. While there is no clear-cut approach, there are several strategies and programs that schools can implement in order to help immigrant learners and their families be successful in our school system.

For many decades now there has been a scope of definition for what “literacy” incorporates and those are the basics skills like reading, writing, and a variety of social and intellectual practices which involve basic communication skills, and hand and eye coordination. However, with the world of technology continually growing, and the level of diversity in the student population becoming vaster it has become necessary to also include speaking, listening, viewing, and visually aspects to the curriculum. One of the best ways to address a wide range of literacy is to pair the categories with each other based upon their connections in the real world. The categories include written language (reading & writing), spoken communication (listening & speaking), and visual language (viewing & visually representing). (Standards for the English Language Arts p. 6) Many of these can be done with a range of creative activities such as students being able to choose what they write about, share their own personal experiences in their writings, and then read them together; this helps the students stay engaged in the work they’re doing, and also increases their level of retention of the material. The importance of a student being engaged is best explained in the article “Adolescent Literacy: A Policy Brief” with, “The number of students who are not engaged with or motivated by school learning grows at

Doctors Ana Iddings and Mary Combs are Associate Professors from the University of Arizona who conducted research on how to help English language learners become successful in grades Kindergarten through 12 along with Dr. Luis Moll who is a Professor Emeritus from the named university. Dr. Iddings has conducted individual research on many topics, one being the education and professional development of teachers to work with English language learners (ELLs) and their families. Dr. Combs currently teaches courses in bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses on the graduate and undergraduate levels. Dr. Moll’s main research was conducted in education of Latino children in the United States.

Bilingualism and home language can be encouraged by the educator to ensure that the student learns successfully. As an ELL student it can be a challenge to learn a new language, this is why educators should allow students to use their first language to promote a meaningful connection with the second language that is being learned. At home it is quite evident that ELL students communicate using their primary language, therefore at school it is a complete turnaround. Educators, at this point can promote literacy skills in which the native language is used, but then transferred into skills that are valuable to learn English. The home language use in effect influences English learning in maintenance of cognitive aspects in bilingualism by the ELL students (Academic Writing Tips, 2011). For example, encouraging collaboration and peer groups of students of the same academic level, but of various cultures, will promote the student to use their language sparingly, but also become familiar with the second language. ELL students have to have the confidence and courage to learn a second language and develop the literacy skills that are involved in learning, this is when parental and community resources should be available to incorporate English acquisition skills.

This paper takes a close look at various instructional strategies for teaching English Language Learners (ELL). It explores many methods and techniques utilized by ELL teachers; specific strategies include sheltered instruction, scaffolding, and the transfer of cognate knowledge. It is imperative in the ELL classroom that comprehensible input be disseminated to the students on an age-appropriate basis; therefore, it will be detailed in this paper. Various methods of feedback

Reflecting back on my field experience, I was able to gain quality insight as well as a better understanding of the teaching and the learning process of ESOL in a mainstream classroom. My experience in Mrs. Little’s classroom has shown that the role of the ESOL teacher is to educate students in functional language skills, offer content that is academically challenging, and helps students acculturate to the new language and culture.

For this investigative assignment, I interviewed three of my closest friends about their perspectives on bilingual education in the United States. One of my friends, who I will call “A,” said that bilingual education is important for students because it helps them broaden their perspectives on the world. Students are exposed to learn different cultures and respect them, promoting multiculturalism in our country. “A” said that if students were only exposed to English-only classroom setting, they would most likely be ignorant of other cultures. She also told me about her experience when she was in an ESL program during her middle school year. She described the program as useless because she and her classmates learned broken English from each other. She somehow managed to get out of the program and put herself into the mainstream English class. My other friend, who I will call “B,” stated that bilingual education is helpful in developing a wider cultural perspective and cultivating a person suitable for the globalized world. As a foreign-born American and working as an international student coordinator, she emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and respecting different cultures. She believes that bilingual education can help students to achieve better knowledge on growing multiculturalism in our country. My last interviewee, who I will call “C,” also believes that bilingual education is important to cultivate young minds by helping them to respect not only their own but

It has been shown that learning a second language from primary school has cognitive and academic benefits. When a child becomes bilingual it helps to develop stronger communication skills in their native language and learn additional new languages at a faster rate. Majority language students who learn score significantly higher on the IOWA, SAT and ACT tests than minority language students. Being a bilingual child enhance ability to adapt to changing situations and engage in high level cognitive thinking. When bilingual child grow they are more employable and they get more carrier opportunities than monolingual person. So there is reason enough to learn second language and to keep learning them as we are able. The bilingualism advantages may not appear in the child’s primary age. But bilingualism’s real benefits could be far more important. A good bilingual primary program is a great way to support the development of children in their native language and also a good start to them toward a future of fully bilingual professional

Bilingual” (qtd in Shi, Steen 63). The objective of the ESL students is to learn how to speak, read, and write in English and know about the system of the school too. That learning will help them with other courses in school. ESL students have come from all over the world in America to study. Statistically, the number of immigrants in the USA is growing quickly. This quote shows us that