The Importance Of Education For ELL Students

The growth of the ELL student population has increased in all states over the last 20 years. However, ELL parents have difficulty obtaining information from their child's school or attempting to participate in school events. These barriers, which often include poor understanding of English, unfamiliarity with the school system, and differences in cultural norms and cultural capital, may limit parental communication and school participation. However, research shows that parents' participation in school events has a positive effect on improving student achievement and school attendance rate, regardless of socioeconomic background or ethnicity. It is, therefore, important to find practical ways to improve ELL parent involvement and student achievement.

Educators care more about if the student is learning English than academic training as a whole. This prevents ELL students from getting access to challenging academic materials or/and to academic preparation necessary for higher education. Ell students are enrolled into other

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.

There can be several different reasons why an English Language Learner can have troubles comprehending the English language. Poverty can play a huge role when in explaining why many English language learners have the troubles in mastering the English language. The State testing has varied throughout the years, along with the degrees of assessments and progress. Teachers also need constructive feedback to properly assess their own progress. The increase prescription of ADHD medication can also be a factor. Programs like SLADI in effect that pulls ELL’s from mainstream classrooms to focus on advanced grammatical structures of the English language; all in which, have been unsuccessful in aiding the student to acquire mastery within the English language domains of reading and writing. Comparing a personal experience I had dealt with wasted school year time, regarding an ELL student, involves a teacher being out of touch with her student and giving inappropriate leveled work. All of these issues work hand in hand. The ultimate goal is to teach literacy and to reach proficiency within the English language.

The learning environment that ELL students have in the classroom has been impacted by the history of laws and bills passed by the board of education. Many school districts all over the United States are experiencing an increase in the enrollment of students who cannot speak, read, or write English in order to fully participate in their education. Numerous pieces in history took action in order to prevent these learners from risking their loss of opportunities. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prevents discrimination based on a person’s race, color, or nationality. In Lau v. Nichols of 1974, the Supreme Court stated that school districts have to take steps in order to help ELL students conquer language barriers and to enable them to participate fully in the districts’ educational programs. The case of Plyler vs. Doe 1982 stated that no school or school district may have the ability to forbid immigrant children the access to public education. No Child Left Behind (2001): Accountability, AYP, and standardized tests for ELLs. The 1990 legal document is a “force that outlines the identification, services, and compliance of school districts to ensure equal and comprehensible instruction to ELLs.” The document was signed on August 14, 1990 into the District Court. This act was the result of a class action complaint filed on behalf of eight minority rights advocacy groups in Florida. They claimed that The State Board of Education had not complied with its obligations under federal and

Under the Civil Rights Act, schools are responsible for ensuring that all students receive equal access to education, including English Language Learners (ELLs). Merely, providing the same educational resources for all students does not constitute educational equality. Students such as ELLs, need an English Language Development (ELD) program that accommodates their specific language needs in order to legitimately offer equal educational opportunities. Based on research findings, districts need to implement and developing ELD programs that have had proven success rates of making adequate yearly progress for ELLs. For years, psychologists and linguistic theorists have speculated on the acquisition of language and educators have studied these research findings to enhance their teaching pedagogy to accommodate their ELLs.

Of all student populations (aside from participants in Special Education programs), English Language Learners (ELLs) face the most academic challenges—especially on standardized evaluations emphasizing

As the number of English language learners (ELLs) in U.S. classrooms has grown, an analysis reveals many strengths and downfalls in regards to how assessment can best be used to support learning for this populations of students. This paper will take a brief look at current ELL policies, discuss No Child Left Behind (NCLB) assessment requirements for ELLs, provide information on assessment validity and value-added measures for ELL educators, and will address critical issues of how to properly assess and place ELLs. Just as with any other population or sub-group of students, ELLs have policies and procedures put into place to protect their rights to an education at both the

Standardized assessments are beneficial for ELL in terms of placement, process, and existing ELL programs because it tells us about the student’s background and what they already know and also what they still need to know. Assessment strategies are incorporated as a component of this theoretical overview on the grounds that teachers should make adjustments to their teaching strategies on the knowledge they have of their students' developing skills (Herrell, A.L., & Jordan, M., 2016). Teachers are able to use assessments to “identify students’ English language development levels, strengths, and learning levels and use those results to identify areas to be addressed by differentiated instruction and possible approaches to use” (Herrell, A.L.,

According to the NCLEA (2010), as of 2007-2008 school year, Georgia schools were home to more than 72, 600 English Language Learners (ELL). This was a 406% increase from the 1997-1998 school year. Kayne (2013), states that in the next five years, minorities will make up more than half of the children under the age of eighteen. As these numbers continue to increase, parental involvement will become a crucial part of the success of many ESL/ELL programs. Research shows that schools with high numbers of ELL students that have parental involvement also have higher level of student achievements, larger enrollment into post-secondary education, and higher graduation rates (August & Hakuta, 1997). Yet, Schools with higher numbers of ELL students

R1 expressed concern over the lack of research with the specific ELL students that he/she works with and the difficulty of educational gaps with those learners. R1 did not further explain what educational gaps are challenging, if the challenges are language specific or possibly due to other learning difficulties. R2 partially echoed R1’s difficulty of an educational gap by explaining his/her concern with a lack of students’ English language knowledge when entering class. R3 reported the challenges were communicating with parents that have no English language skills. R3 did not state any challenges with educating ELL students. R3 further explained that the difficulty is when a translator is not available to assist, which may mean there is a lack of support in the respondent’s school and/or school district for ELL services. Lastly, R4 stated that there are no challenges in educating ELL students as long as they are taught with lots of visual aids. R4 did not further explain if visual aids are the only tool necessary for success or any other reasoning for why no challenges

As a result of testing accountability, teachers have changed the shift in their classrooms and focus on teaching to the test. Many criticize that the tests that are administered do not allow for thoughtful or deliberate thinking. Multiple choice questions, condensed reading passages, add to the inauthenticity of the test and can impede the ability of students. Studies have also show that test taking has a negative impact on student achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics. ELL students are still developing their English language skills while learning new content. It is unfair to have the expectations that these ELL students are being held accountable with the same standards as their native-English-speaking peers. ELL students need to have the necessary background knowledge, English language and academic language knowledge to successfully understand test

Developing assessments that align with core language instruction will assist English learners in progressing the skills needed to acquire English. As I interviewed each of my colleagues, I was able to gain a better understanding of how to assess while providing quality instruction to my English learners.

In regards to the argument it is best for ELL students to be placed in a separate classroom to enhance their ability to understand English. This is a great way to have ELL’s engage with students like themselves to motivate them in learning English and receive help within each other. Although some parents and critics may disagree with the idea of separating ELL students from other students critics and parents should know that it is a great way for ELL to prepare for faster pace mainstream classrooms. It is important

Although I have been teaching for fourteen years, I still have problems with teaching the English Language learners (ELLs) in my class. I realize that English language learners have a difficult time with school because some of them haven’t mastered the language and culture. However, I know as an educator that it is important that I meet all students’ needs and standards for my district. The course readings and discussions have provided an abundance of strategies to help me meet the needs of English language learners, as well as struggling learners with practical applications. To effectively teach all students, I need to be aware of my students’ background. This knowledge will enable me to build coherent lessons, encourage class discussions, and activities that will engage all my students’ participation.