The Is A Certified English As A Second Language ( Esl )

Utah’s population of ELLs is diverse and while many of these students are in the process of acquiring English, they are entering Utah classrooms at different ages and grades along with varying degrees of educational

The large school district in this study is located in the suburbs of New York City. The problem is ELL students are underachieving in reading and writing on state assessments when compared to non-ELLs in this district (NYSED, 2014b). Based on New York State’s Blueprint for English Language Learners Success (NYSED, 2014a), school districts have to ensure that all teachers can teach ELL students, and address diverse learning needs, such as cultural, linguistics, and socio-economic status, including students with disabilities. In addition, this problem impacts classroom teachers who may be highly qualified to teach content areas but may lack training in addressing the diverse learning needs of ELL students, which might include bridging cultural and language barriers (NCTE, 2008). Teachers need to be prepared to address the problem of underachievement for ELL students.

What surprise me was that in 2013 there was a total of 5.3 million ELL students throughout the country. This number is shocking, there are many ELL students in our classrooms settings and yet there are not enough resources and not enough prepared teachers that can work with ELL students in an effective way. It makes you think as a future teacher what should I be doing to better perpare myself for those studetnss? What kind of strategies should I used that would be effective to them. Not only that but as teachers we should also think about on how can we explain to ELL students that they need to maintain their home language while learning English? We, as teachers, see the importance of maintain both languages, of not only speaking it fluently

We learn primarily through language, and use language to express our understanding. In order for English learners to have access to core content, they need academic language and literacy skills (Echevarria, Vogt and Short). Academic language is used to succeed in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Often English learner students enter school with limited to no exposure to academic language. These students are from homes in which English is rarely spoken. They are bright students who would excel in classrooms whose academic language was the same as their native language. The task No Child Left Behind has given to researchers and teachers is to educate the increased number of immigrants in English speaking classes. It is important to realize that there are approximately 180 native languages among the student body population. Spanish by far surpasses other language groups.

I had an opportunity to meet the ELL teacher who is responsible for educating ELL students in the district. She allowed me to observe her teaching a couple of students at Brighton Elementary School. The teacher informed me that she teaches ELL students using Scholastic books and a Scholastic app. Additionally, the scholastic app is usually used to help students replace missing words in a sentence, assist students with pronunciation, punctuation, & comprehension. While I was observing her class, the students would click on a word and the computer would pronounce the word for them. This is a really good way for students to learn how to pronounce words accurately. I also observed her using several strategies to facilitate these students’ understanding of English as a second language, for instance, she mentioned one strategy for capital letters “you step on gas” and another for periods “you brake”. Another strategy that she uses when teaching them to write sentences is “Mr. Space”, which is the size of a Popsicle stick, and it allows the students to put appropriate spaces between each of their words. The students are required to take a test at the end of the year to measure their progress. Students are supposed to show growth and progress and this data is communicated to the student's parents.

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

An ELL student presents a challenge because they may require extra attention and instruction for basic tasks, therefore taking up important instruction time. Gottfried addresses this as well in his findings. In the study, he finds that teacher training is one of the most important things. However, years of experience have little to no impact on a teacher’s ability to teach ELL students; what did have an impact was extra formal training in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. The more specialized training in ESL a teacher had, the better achievement and socioemotional skills both ELL and non-ELL students possessed, and this is good news for teachers. There are unlimited resources available out there for teachers to partake in to help bolster their understanding and success in teaching new things and students with different requirements. Gottfried also points out that when policy-makers, teachers, and administrators focus on how to improve classrooms without necessarily focusing primarily on academic achievement, then ELL and non-ELL students alike may have increased skills in many areas, including socioemotional. Therefore, any teacher overwhelmed with the task of teaching any student that requires special needs or attention can find resources and training to help them

A recent study on the implementation and effects of a balanced literacy approach in San Diego City Schools indicates that while all students may benefit from aspects of good instruction, ELL students require additional instructional supports. Instruction for ELLs should include the use of their native language, the use of differentiation to adjust literacy instruction, and a focus on Academic language development with the understanding that “one size does not fit all”(O’Day, 2009). Specifically, ELL students need more explicit language instruction, and teachers must have enough knowledge of second language acquisition to anticipate potential barriers to ELL students’ comprehension. In the same study, researchers found evidence of an overall decrease in the emphasis on biliteracy education. The study revealed that three out of the nine case study schools included in the study had no biliteracy classrooms after 2004-2005, and three of the remaining six schools drastically reduced the number of bilingual classes offered (O’Day, 2009). Teachers from the remaining three schools that continued to offer biliteracy programs reported an increasing focus on early transition and on English (O’Day, 2009). Students who were moved from biliteracy classrooms into mainstream classrooms presented a challenge to teachers. These teachers reported feeling unprepared for the instructional needs of ELLs (O’Day, 2009). Similarly, the study noted that approaches designed for ELL students, such as differentiation, are not effective unless a teacher has a background in second language acquisition, and understands how to tailor texts for literacy instruction. These teachers must be able to understand potential barriers to an ELL’s comprehension of the text as well as be able to analyze and monitor a student’s linguistic needs and progress (O’Day, 2009). Use of

In the 2014 October edition of the Education Update, authors, Kathy Checkley and Virgina Rojas discussed the topic of various ways that educators can provide support for the academic succession of ELL students. In their article Setting ELLs Up for Success, the authors stressed that along with the proper scaffolding techniques and student access, ELL students will thrive in a mainstream classroom. The objective of the article involves demonstrating the methodology in how to teach effectively for all and ELL students. Many times, language learners are looked upon as having a cognitive disability, when that is often not the case. The authors’ main purpose is to illustrate the significance of engaging ELL students in the class, providing good instruction, having high expectations, and building on students’ prior knowledge. Some of the essential features that were included in the article were ways to extend good practice for students which included expectations, assessment, and instruction. In order for ELL students to be set up for success, as included in the article, learning must also be socially and culturally connected.

ELLs face a series of adversities in their attempts to attain academic literacy and language development. For instance, they are exposed to curricula designed for monolingual English students. Another adversity is that teachers are not well prepared regarding the content-area they teach and consequently do not provide the needed explicit instruction (Ávalos, Zisselsberger, Langer-Osuna, & Secada, 2015 p.259). It is the task for teachers and school administrators to master the content of the area to be taught and to use optimal pedagogical practices which reflect such teachers’ knowledge (Ávalos, Zisselsberger, Langer-Osuna, & Secada, 2015 p.261). They should provide learners with favorable circumstances to attain English language and literacy

After careful data analysis, the need for instructional improvement on strategies to address the needs of English language learners it is apparent. Improving literacy skills is critical in decreasing achievements gaps of this subgroup. As mentioned previously, Pinewood maintains a school grade of a B; nevertheless, a focus on strategies to meet the needs of ELL students will benefit all students. With effort from all stakeholders, a focus on instructional strategies to improve learning of English learners could result in decreasing the achievement gap as well as increasing the school grade to an A, since many of these students count for the lowest 25%. Correspondingly, Marchand-Martella, Klingner, and Martella (2010) justify that

Maria, a sophomore in high school, is an English language learner (ELL) student that is struggling. Maria is putting forth great effort with the accommodations of pairing with another student and extended time for assignments. Maria’s grades did not improve significantly and signals that she needs more intervention in order to be successful. In the State of Georgia, English Learners (EL) in grades K-12 receive a state-funded instructional program with a standards based curriculum emphasizing academic and social language development (Georgia Department of Education, 2016). The classroom teachers are responsible for integrating English Development Standards (ELD) with the Georgia Performance Standards so that the EL can demonstrate

Imagine life as a child, an intelligent, but nonetheless a child, unable to communicate it’s thoughts. I came to the United States as a child, untrained and illiterate, with no expertise in English, I suffered greatly, socially and academically. My enrollment in the English Language Acquisition Program (ELA) refined my knowledge, amending my social and academic aspirations. My initial encounter with the United States is the reality of more than 4.5 million English Language Learners (ELL) across the nation, who are forgotten and neglected by their teachers and peers. Many school districts are capable, but with underprepared teachers, many of whom are not trained to teach ELL students, schools have failed to properly educate

The criteria for English Language Learners (ELLs) are described as official teaching of English to those whose native language is not English but who live in an English speaking countries. (Gregory, 2012). For the first time in the public K-12 setting, the overall number of ethnic and racial minorities, which includes Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans, surpassed the number of non-Hispanic Whites (Maxwell, 2014). The ELLs demographics are continuously growing which is why we need as educators need to need to help guide and understand the growing needs of this diverse group.

In today's society, we continually see an influx in immigrants on an annual basis. The majority of these immigrant students are subsequently placed in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses due to their low skill level in the English language. Have ESL students in the classroom certainly raises more questions than it does answers, as teachers are faced with various new situations in helping ESL students better understand not only the English language, but the English culture as well. Another difficulty that is faced is exactly what methods teachers need to be implementing in their goals of better acclimating students to the English language. The school board needs to allow