English Language Learners Lit. Review

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.

English learners are currently the fastest developing student population in schools today. This makes it extremely important to provide these students with the programs and services they deserve. Providing a strong education for ELL students is what I personally believe to be an asset in America’s future. Today there are many challenges I believe teachers and students face when it comes to instruction and assessments.

• Test scores comparing ELL students and native speakers of English as well as number of ELL students identified as requiring special education services

The need for basic literacy skills is vital in order for our nation to continue to operate successfully. With approximately 5 million students, graduating below the National Standard for Literacy and unable to read, we must take a look at the curriculum and teaching techniques to assess whether the current systems need to be revised to better assure ALL students are successful. (Adolescent Literacy: A Policy Research Belief p. 1) The issue begins first with the definition of “Literacy”, and the fact that there are several aspects of literacy which are not currently included in the curriculum. Another issue is the “old” standards which are in place do not support the level of diversity which is now seen in many school systems. Then

The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success and achievement is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school. Parents must be literate to help their children succeed.

Reading and writing is crucial for increasing achievement among people of all ethnicities. For many young kids, books are their primary source of learning how to read and write besides the parameter of the classroom. However, there is a significant decrease in the literacy rate found in African-American communities. There is a need for stronger literacy education for this particular group of the population. A huge problem associated with that can be attributed the failure of the public school system to effectively educate the youth. According to the 2009 NAEP data, only 33 percent of 4th graders and 32 percent of 8th graders in the U.S performed at or above proficiency in reading on national tests. These results are very discouraging, in the African-American community, but the results are even worse because only 16 percent of African American 4th graders and 14 percent of African American 8th graders performed at or above the grade proficiency level in 2009.

Family Literacy Night is a wonderful opportunity that school can provide parents and students a place for spending time together and learning helpful strategies to apply at home. Teachers can share their ideas with parents, and stronger relationships outside the classroom environment. Having families in the community meeting together is an important expression to the importance of reading education. The Family Literacy Night will be an excellent resource for parents by giving them the tools to be able to help their children at home. The goals of these event are to promote understanding about the family’s role in supporting reading literacy. The topic of the event will be the importance of “The five Pillars of Reading”. Parents will learn about

There have been many policies and legal battles when it comes to English Language Learners. For every policy, then will inevitably be a case to challenge it, as it is difficult to define what is truly equitable for every ELL student. Programs for English Language Learners (ELLs) have struggled to get the needed recognition and support from school district offices of our public schools. One piece of legislation that was passed to help end the inequality of education for these students was the Equal Education Opportunity Act or EEOA. The EEOA mandated that all students that are identified as an English Language Learner are to receive individual English only instruction. This is a good start to offering the right kind of instruction that is needed for students who are struggling to learn a second language.

As a certified English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, the English Language Learner (ELL) population is very near and dear to my heart. According to Barr, Eslami, & Joshi (2012), the ELL population is the fastest growing demographic in the U.S with most incoming students arriving from Asia/Pacific Islands and Hispanic regions. Both of these populations are expected to continue to increase in the future. Over two-thirds of this population over the age of 5 speak a second language at home. According to the 2013-2014 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) there were 67 ELL enrolled on our campus, which is 3.6 percent of the total population of 1,851 students. Although this year our ELL population is lower than usual in future years are numbers are expected to grow exponential due to the rapid growth currently happening in our community. According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), ELL students continue to have low achievement levels when compared to their native speaking peers. Data shows that as students get older, their success rates are lower and lower with over half not reaching mastery at the high school levels. Our campus is not different. The TAPR report shows that only 57% of our ELL population scored satisfactory on the end of year STAAR exam, which is almost 10% lower than the state average of 76% passing and 35% lower than the campus average of 92% passing. Due to these deficits, it is imperative to develop and plan of action that will help to bridge

The challenge that many students face upon entering first grade in a low social-economic status area is low literacy skills. The students represented in this developmental paper come from low income families whose parents were poorly educated, many illiterate. As a result, students would rarely read to at home, either due to the lack of literature in the home or the parents were non-readers and unable to read to or read with their child.

Why poor children are more likely to become poor readers: the early years by Jennifer Buckingham*, Robyn Beaman and Kevin Wheldall. In this literature, they discuss low socio-economic disadvantage and poor early literacy. “Children from disadvantaged families are less likely to have experiences that encourage the development of fundamental skills for reading acquisition, specifically phonological awareness, vocabulary and oral language.” “The relationship between socio-economic disadvantage and poor reading ability is one of the most enduring problems in education. Socio-economic disadvantage is a relative concept referring to low socio-economic status, which is usually defined by income, occupation, education, or any combination of these. (Beaman, Buckingham, and Wheldall 428). This analytical proves and evaluates elements in this journal such as its claim, empirical data and its mention of opposing sides to state its effectiveness in relaying the message.

In “Summer Learning and its Implications” suggested that providing a summer outlet for low SES students with similar school materials and structure would aid in reducing SLL. Other suggestions include extending the school year, providing more cost friendly activities, and making the prospect of summer school more appealing to low-income students (Alexander, et al., 2007). Patton and Reschly propose that in the future research there should be an emphasis placed on the “recoupment, longitudinal studies of loss, and prevention”. They identify that when looking at these different areas it’s crucial that the multiple facets that impact them are also looked at, such as grade levels, subgrouping, when most academic growth occurs, and the type of instruction that will work best. Since the Kolose study didn’t directly measure the achievement loss of students, their future research is different than those suggested in the previous studies. Kolose identifies three major areas that need to be improved in order to decrease the SLE. First, there needs to be greater access to resources for low SES students. Second, efforts need to be made by both teachers and parents to increase the motivation and engagement that high SLE have for reading. Finally, high SLE students need to be provided with additional support and guidance when choosing appropriate books and building their independent reading skills. While each study proposes different means to decrease SLL, they all are identifying ways to make this goal

Through this week learning resources, I have learned that there are evidences that demonstrate that when a child has limited experiences he or she is more likely to have difficult comprehending what is read. It is why early childhood professionals affirm that oral language is the foundation for literacy development. Everything that children learn about speaking and listening they use for writing and reading and what they learn from writing and reading they use in listening and speaking. In other words, oral language and literacy develop simultaneously. When parents provide rich language and literacy reinforcement at home, children do better in school than those who do not. It is also known for early childhood professionals that for a child with limited experiences is more difficult comprehending what is read. For example, a child who has being exposed to many environments like a farm or like a museum will have more mentally engagement in classrooms activities about things he or she already know that children who have not had experience in those environments. Many researches showed that children that have not have a literacy development or an oral language development years before formal schooling, are less likely to be successful beginning readers, opening an achievement lag that might last through the primary grades. Some of the reasons why parents are not actively involved into their children’s educations are their socioeconomic or legal status. For example, in an immigrant family sometimes both parents have to work and sometimes they have to work two shifts. I have known families where children are the whole day in school and with nannies. Those children do not develop any skills that help them to succeed at the time of attending forming school.

Parental involvement in education is necessary in order for children to be successful when learning how to read. Children who lack support from their parents and guardians often have difficulty advancing in school, and those who do have parental support and positive home literacy experiences often find academic success at an early age. Children are expected to become fluent readers, and a foundation for reading must be established at an early age with the support of a child’s parents or guardians. Reading activities at home and the influence a parent has on their child is beneficial for young children in so many ways, and at home, parents can reinforce what is being taught at school with their children in order to create a better understanding of learned curriculum and reading skills. Strong parental support in education is an important aspect of a child’s reading development because print rich

There are not many advantages for English language learners whereas standardized testing is concerned. Teachers will have to create individualized ways in monitoring students’ progress to gain true assessment results.