English Language Learners: A Transnational ELL Study

Within the past ten years, the number of English Language Learners (ELLs) has doubled. An increase of more than 2 million ELL students in the U.S schools, left professionals within the field of education with no choice but to face the challenge of understanding cultural differences. In addition to this, educators must understand how these differences affect students’ language development, learning style, academic achievement and most importantly, his or her performance on standardized tests. These differences must be understood, valued and respected by all service providers, especially those who are involved in the decision making process concerning the placement of students in special educational programs. (Roseberry-McKibbin, 2014).

In the United States, there has been an increase in in the number of children from Spanish speaking backgrounds. The English Language Learners, commonly known as ELL’s, are being placed in Special Education without being properly tested for a learning disability. However there are a large number of ELL’s with learning disabilities in elementary grades that truly have a learning disability and are over looked. Many school districts have problems placing ELL’s. As a result these students end up in special education whether they have a learning disability or language impairment. Teachers are also indecisive when dealing with ELL’s. Most teachers recommend that ELL’s

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.

It has been estimated that by the year 2025, approximately one out of every public school student will be identified as an ESL/ELL student in the United States. ESL stands for English as a Second Language and ELL stands for English Language Learner. An ESL/ELL student can be defined as a student whose predominant language or languages at home, is other than English, and would require additional English language support to develop reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The difference between an ESL student and ELL student is minor; An ESL student participates in programs that are customarily specialized while an ELL student partakes in a traditional educational classroom. English Language Learners have surpassed other subgroups in becoming the fastest growing of the public school population. Despite the common misjudgement of some people towards the ESL/ELL population, 76% of the ESL/ELL students in elementary schools and 56% of the ESL/ELL students in secondary schools are native-born. The highest percentages of ELL/ESL students in public schools are found in the west of the United States. Taking the average of both bigger and smaller cities, ELL students make an average of 14% of the total public school enrollment and in suburban areas, ELL students make up an average of 8.5% of public school enrollment. The ESL/ELL population has more than doubled over the past 15 years and more than half of those students struggle with their academic performance. An ESL/ELL

In recent decades, the United States has seen a dramatic increase in the diverse population, especially with English-language learners in the education system. English-language learners are students who are unable to communicate fluently or learn effectively in English. These students come from a non-English speaking home or background and require specialized instruction in the English language and their academic courses. Educators use a number of terms when referring to English-language learners, limited English proficient (LEP) students, non-native English speakers, language-minority students, and either bilingual students or emerging bilingual students (York, 2008). As

Education is one of the best ways to help immigrants to assimilate to their new country; in way that the faster they can learn the ways of the new country, the faster they can become a part of it. An immigrant’s children, if they even have any, need to be able to speak and read in English in order to attend classes and learn the material, as well as making friends. According to the Robert Wood Foundation, most immigrants would say that their lacks of English related skills are a major barrier to improving their life or social standards. Most school systems have what they call ESL classes, English

The United States is continuing to grow in the number of families that are immigrating to our country. According to Washington State Institute for Public Policy (2007), “As of 2000, there were approximately 107,000 immigrant elementary students and 100,000 middle and high school students in Washington State, based on U.S. Census data.” Children from these families enter our educational system knowing very little English and they are considered to be an English Language Learner (ELL) defined by “those whose primary language is a language other than English and who have English language skill deficiencies that impair their learning in regular classrooms” (Malagon, McCold, Hernandez, 2011, p. IV). While parents truly believe their children will receive a better education in the United States as oppose to the country they came from, English Language Learner students face a number of everyday challenges while at school. These challenges go beyond learning the English language; they include the struggles that are faced not only academically, but socially as well. English Language Learner students face these day-to-day problems due to their inability to express their ideas and thoughts, along with not being able to communicate substantially and identify with the people in their community.

ELL (English Language Learner) are individuals whose first language is not English and who are presently learning English. The term ELL can envelop an extensive variety of proficiencies in English from truly negligible abilities to very familiar. In schools and locale ELL may be utilized to mean the same as constrained English capable (LEP), however in fact it doesn't mean the same thing. It's critical to comprehend what a content or speaker considers ELL to mean.

Along with the language barrier, English Language Learners (ELLs) often have high transient rates which pose a challenge to educators concerned with

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

Introduction/background information: Susanna Chao is fourteen years old, of Asian ethnicity, English is her second language but she does not require any English Language Learners Programs. She did attend preschool at ages three and four. Susanna’s home life seems stable. However, it is not that of a typical living situation. She lives in an apartment with her mother and grandmother. She has two younger siblings, a sister and a brother. Susanna has attended several different schools in her life, primarily elementary schools. According to past teacher comments and grade reports, her grades have suffered due to tardiness, absences, and lack of engagement in subjects that don’t peak her interest. She has, however, improved her grades in reading, language arts, science, technology, and social science. Her teachers in extracurricular classes comment about her being a joy to their class, and being eager to learn from them.

Over the years, many schools have grown increasingly with diversity. As teachers, we must be aware of the many different students we will have in the classroom. This means that all our students will learn at different rates, take in new information differently, and overall have a different perspective on certain topics. With so much diversity in the school system, education policies for students who are English Language Learners (ELL) have greatly emerged. Many individuals move to the United States for better opportunities or to ensure their children obtain an education. With such a growing number of people entering the United States each day, emerging laws and cases must aim to support English Language Learners to ensure a fair and equal education for everyone.

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

There are many types of diversity. List two types and explain how those affect students’ reading abilities.

Five articles discussing ESL pronunciation techniques will be summarized, as well as, compared and evaluated. These include the works of Chen and Goswami (2011), Esling and Wong (1983), Florez (1998), Levis and Grant (2003), and Morely (1991). Each of the articles discusses pronunciation and how it has been undermined by the immense focus of ESL teachers on grammar. The five articles agree that pronunciation needs to be emphasized in the classroom, awareness needs to be raised, suprasegmentals need to be a focus, and an active approach using English needs to be taken by the ESL students.