English Language Proficiency Standards

The benefits English language learners (ELLs) receive from Guided Reading are the same as all other students. However, when a modified approach is used ELLs benefit the most. Language learning opportunities gained by ELLs are those that native speakers acquire implicitly. Language and literacy learning opportunities including detailed vocabulary instruction, variables concerning second language (L2) text structure, such as semantics, syntax, and morphology are enhanced and enriched by modification. Some researchers have determined that ELLs are not generally ready for English reading instruction until they are intermediate stage of English language acquisition, while others advocate that reading and a second language are best acquired simultaneously (Avalos, Plasencia, Chavez, & Rascon, 2007, 319). In working with ELLs at

English Language Learners (hereafter referred to as ELLs) currently comprise 10% of the total school population in the United States (National Center for Education Statistics, 2005). It is a population that is going to continue to increase in American public education and their specific needs for learning literacy are of great importance to teachers. Since schools and teachers are increasingly judged based upon the academic achievement of students, then the success of the growing population of ELLs is going to be increasingly important. In the present paper the role of the teacher and specific research-based literacy strategies for ELLs is investigated.

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.

Presently there is a rising number of English Language Learners (ELLs) entering into classrooms all over the country. According to the three research studies that I utilized, there are several varied assessment approaches for teaching ELLs in reading (Davis-Lenski, Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006; Dreher, & Letcher-Gray, 2009; Ebe, 2010). English Language Learners (ELLs) consistently struggle with some aspects of reading because, they lack background knowledge in terms of the generalized text selections, which they are often given (Davis-Lenski, Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006; Dreher, & Letcher-Gray, 2009; Ebe, 2010). The data across all three journal documents agrees that there is an achievement gap where ELLs

It is essential to understand English language learners’ needs because ELL students face the combined challenge of learning all the academic content as other students, while also learning the language of instruction. With the rapid growth in the size of the ELL student population in the U.S., teachers who are effective recognizes ELL students unique academic needs, unique background experience, culture, language, personality, interests and attitudes toward learning for the purpose to adjust, or differentiate, their instruction to meet students’ needs.

The class is a mainstreamed first grade co-teach class of 34 students and two teachers. There are 16 females and 18 males that included 12 active English Language Learners (ELLs) (5 females, 7 males) and five Level 5 (proficient) students. The 12 ELL students represent five languages—Spanish (7), Chinese (1), Chin Burmese (1), and Arabic (2), Brazilian Portuguese (1). Eight of the twelve students tested at Level 1 on the WIDA language proficiency scale.

Growing up in an incredibly diverse area, I completely overestimate the availability of ESL (English as a second language) and ELL teachers. Because all ELL students do not have access to such help, educators can do well to make a personal effort to reach out to their ELL students. By making a personal effort to connect with ELL students, educators can better understand how to help them get the most out of their education. Giving them special attention will not only help them succeed but also make them feel more comfortable and welcome. Educators could go above and beyond by making special copies of homework assignments for students that feature both English and the students first language. This way they will no doubt understand what is being asked of them, but also learn new words at the same time! Another way educators could show a personal effort could be by making time to work with the students outside of classroom time, further explaining anything that was taught

The United States has become a culturally diverse Nation due to the enormous of various ethnic and cultural groups that migrate to the country each day. As a result, patients and families with limited English proficiency (LEP) often are faced with multitude barriers that contribute to difficulty accessing healthcare services as well as understanding and adhering to the treatment plans/recommendations which ultimately place them at increased risk for poorer health outcomes and disparities. Eliminating these language barriers in healthcare services can be achieved by “providing awareness and mediation of cultural differences, current best practice for serving LEP populations in the health care system centers and on the use of qualified medical

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

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

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

English Language Learners face a variety of unique challenges when compared to their non-ELL peers. For example, when assessing new English Language Learners, once such challenge is the lack of effective assessment tools. Many of the available instruments are not culturally relevant to the ELL student’s background, nor created at an appropriate level for their developing English language skills. Another challenge is the lack of availability of qualified education professionals, who are equipped to meet their specific needs linguistically. Language and cultural differences may serve to put ELL students at an academic disadvantage, regardless of whether they possess normal cognitive skills. For the educator and student alike, this matter is further complicated when an ELL is affected by a learning disability. In this essay, I will discuss some special factors and issues that an ELL professional may encounter when assessing an ELL student, and attempting to determine the cause of a language difficulty; whether it occurs because of normal language acquisition issues, or because of an underlying learning disability that calls for special education intervention and support.

Teaching English Language Learning students have become the talk for schools across the nation during the past decade. As of the 2010-2011 school year, English Language Learners made up 13% of student population nationwide (Hill, 2012). As our nation grows in population, the diversity of our nation grows as well. English Language Learning students are entering into our schools, struggling to fit in, and struggling to understand the topics being taught. Due to this ongoing issue, research strongly supports the need for English Language Learners to develop a rich oral academic language as a pre-cursor for reading and writing proficiently in English (e.g. August & Shanahan, 2006; Fillmore & Snow 2000; Saunders & Goldenberg 2010; Saunders & O’Brien 2006; Walqui; 2010; Williams & Roberts, 2011). As Diaz-Rico states, reading is an essential skill. Children, who do not learn to read in elementary school, enter secondary education as severe under achievers and are at risk for dropping out (Diaz-Rico, 2010). With English Language Learners (ELL’s), reading comprehension skills are extremely important to learn early in a child’s academic life, because every subject in school is based on comprehension. Although teaching ELLs is not an easy task to teach, there are so many comprehension strategies a teacher can use to help an ELL student succeed.

Explicit instruction refers to task-specific, teacher-led instruction that overtly demonstrates how to complete a task and can be used to teach students both basic and higher-order reading skills. Elements of explicit teaching include setting and articulating learning goals, illustrating or modeling how to complete a task, and assessing student understanding and ability to complete the task independently. The routines and consistent language used in explicit teaching provide ELLs clear, specific, and easy-to-follow procedures as they learn not only a new skill or strategy but also the language associated with it. Explicit skill instruction has been shown to be effective with ELLs who are in the beginning stages of learning to decode English

ESL students are students that speak English as a second language. Presently, there is many different system to characterize this type of students (qtd in Shi, Steen 63). For example, they can be seen as “English Language Learners (ELL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), English Language Development (ELD), English Language Service (ELS), and