English Language Learners Essay

As our nation shifts towards a more culturally diverse population both educators and families have to find a common ground to ensure that English Language Learners are academically successful. All stakeholders must carefully consider the social cultural impact on an ELL education. The process of raising bilingual learners take more than a language a school and a language learned at home. The transition must have a purpose and a goal.

The English language is particularly complex in almost all aspects. Many of the words in the English language have different meanings for the same word. This is not unlike the definition of the different levels of usage. McCrimmon defines the three levels, formal, moderate, and colloquial, by their sentence structure, diction, and tone (McCrimmon 193). ¹ Using McCrimmon’s definitions, authors can determine what type of writing is applicable to each of the three levels. For the formal writings, an adequate example of where readers can find it is in a professional journal, and an appropriate place to find an example of the moderate level is in a weekly news magazine. Also, the best place to look for an example of the colloquial level is in certain sections of the newspaper. All of the levels of usage apply to these different types of writings and assist in defining what each level involves.

The primary goal of any school district’s English Language Learner policy should be to ensure that all students receive equitable access to the curriculum. The Office of Civil Rights memorandum (May 25, 1970) requires school districts to take affirmative steps to provide equal access to instructional program for students with limited English proficiency. The Illinois Constitution guarantees every child from kindergarten through grade 12, access to a free public education; which means, regardless of a child’s home language, he/she deserves a free and appropriate education (Illinois State Board of Education, 1998).

This paper will be focusing on two articles that deal with Ell children as well as the policies and programs available for ell children. The two articles that will be discussed are Starting Early with English Language Leaners by Maggie Severns and Chapter Two from Menken, K. and García O. Book Appropriating Language Policy on the Local Level by David Cassels Johnson and Rebecca Freeman. These two articles provide us two different views on ELL services in two major cities in the United States which are Chicago and Philadelphia. Although these two articles discuss two different cities we are shown some of the similar views and struggles that they have with ell programs and policies. Therefore, this paper will explore the struggles of these ell programs as well as the policies and strategy of each city.

Before to the ratification of NCLB, the two main policies in effect relating to ESL students were The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Bilingual Education Act (Title VII of the ESEA) (Menken, 2010). The ESEA was put into action in the United States as a way to make sure that those who cannot afford to pay to go to school will have to opportunity to go to school and receive an education. The ESEA is the primary law that funds the pubic school system for kindergarten through twelfth grade. The Bilingual Education Act also provided the much-needed recognition that a student’s limited language can create a barrier to their education. The Bilingual Education Act (BEA) also set standards that required all schools to provide services that provided language support to non-native English speakers. The goal of this act was to provide defined support for all ELLs, as a way to even the playing field between native English speakers and non-native English speakers.

The No Child Left Behind law lampooned requiring all children to score above average on standardized tests. The law requires students who are not proficient in English to attain passing scores on English-language tests. The numbers of English as Second Language (ESL) students in the United States (US) are increasing, which could present a number of issues for colleges and universities. In the US, many students speak a second language. However, these students speak English first and their native language second because they were born in the US. They speak their native language with their families at home because their families are not fluent in English. According to Robinson (2012), ninety-three percent of schools

most state tests) in both English and Spanish after being enrolled in these programs for six years. In contrast, when ELLs attend ESL content classes without native language support, or transitional bilingual classes that only offer native language support for two or three years, the achievement gap is closed only half way on norm referenced tests and the remaining gap never gets close after ELLs are being exited into mainstream classrooms (Collier and Thomas, 2012). ELLs served through the ESL pullout program or English-only services under Proposition 227 in California, are among the lowest achievers that either finish high school at the tenth percentile or do not graduate (Collier and Thomas, 2009). ELLs whose parents refuse

Learning English as a foreign language is a great challenging. English is an international language, Most people need it to get a job, to travel abroad, and to communicate with other cultures that don't use the same language of the groups. Accordingly, parents have recently become very concerned about learning their children English as a foreign or as a second language due to its importance . Many scholars talked about the requirements that learners of the language need to be ready to use the language or to master communication. One of those scholars is David Crystal . Crystal (1995) talked about what children exactly need to speak English. First, The vowels and the consonants . When Crystal talks about the vowels and the consonants he talked

ELs’ equality and language programs have developed through time. Today, the fundamental role of educators is to teach all students, regardless of their skin color, national origin, native language, and other characteristics that make each student unique. Nevertheless, it took laws such as constitutional, statutes, judicial, and administrative laws to enable all students such as ELs to receive an adequate education. The laws enacted impact the way our educational system is organized. Additionally, it also influences the way teachers instruct their curriculum. Educational reforms will continue to develop because of the constant changes in society. Thus, educators need to be aware of the new laws that are entitled to them, students, and students’

An increase of English language learners (ELL) in United States schools has led to continued research in to the best way to help ELL students acquire proficiency in English as required by the No Child Left Behind legislation (NCLB Section 1001, p. 15). But what is the best way to teach English to ELL students? In this study, which was the first of its kind longitudinally, two English learning approaches for Spanish-speaking students are compared: Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) and Structured English Immersion (SEI).

English is an international language which is used officially all around the world. Anybody who wants to make connections with the world we live in should learn English. I had English language classes in my secondary and high school years. I also took some private English learning courses throughout summers in my country, Turkey. However, I could not improve my English effectively as all Turkish students in Turkey. I fully agree that English will be learned most efficiently in the boundaries of an English-speaking country not in the home country because of some cases. Therefore, I came here, USA, to learn English better after graduation from my university.

English Language Learners deserve the same right to a great public-school education as their English-speaking peers. They deserve access to a rich curriculum and validation of their home language and culture. They deserve educators who are trained to teach them, schools that welcome their families. They deserve an education community that shares a sense of urgency and responsibility for their well-being. They deserve the best we have to give them. These are America’s students, and the nation can’t afford to let them down.

Having read ‘Languages in Aotearoa New Zealand’, published on March 2013, by Royal Society of New Zealand, I was able to comprehend how important language diversity both individually and socially within New Zealand’s community.

number of ELLs increased by 51%, which is a stark contrast to the 7.2% in

A questionnaire has been prepared to identify and assimilate your perception about English as a foreign language. The questions have been designed to evaluate the attitude towards learning the language, and the reaction to the language shift. Please participate in the survey and respond to the questionnaire in the prescribed format to support the development of an understanding about the variation in attitude and perception about the whole learning process. Your participation will be supportive and useful towards the fulfilment of the research.