Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency

The fastest growing subgroup in the nation are English Language Learners (ELLs). Over a period of 10 years, from 1995 to 2005, ELL students grew over 60% (Wolf, Herman, Bachman, Bailey, & Griffin, 2008). Since 1980, the number of residents aged five years and older that speak a language other than English at home has more than doubled. Fewer than half of these residents are proficient in English. Utah is showing similar trends in population as it is growing more ethnically and racially diverse

instruction in the home language facilitates achievement in English. The same authors also found, that ELL students who receive instruction in their Native language outperform their peers in English-only programs (as cited in Martinez-Wenzy, Perez & Gandara, 2012, pg. 10). Two-Way Immersion (TWI) programs, although originally developed to help English-speaking students learn a second language, aim to provide the necessary support for both English speakers and minority-language speakers to become bilingual

Introducing English as a Second Language to Early Primary School Curriculum in Saudi Arabia Candidacy Exam Salwa Alkhuzay @02686337 znzr@iup.edu solly440@gmail.com 412-706-1122 Abstract Teaching and learning language at early ages is easier than learning it at older ages as Chiswick & Miller, (2007) emphasized in their study that proficiency in spoken English decreases with age. With that notion in mind, it comes as a surprise that the English language is introduced so late in the

Student Interview I have the pleasure of being in a Kindergarten classroom with sixteen amazing children this semester. Three of these children are English Language Learners (ELL). The one I have chosen to focus on for the purpose of the next several assignments is a little boy from China who I will refer to as ML. ML is polite, quiet and a focused child in the classroom. Though we are only a little over a month into the school year, ML seems to be thriving in his class. His culture may play a role

home language other than English in nearly every classroom and we, as teachers must be adequately prepared to assist them in reaching their fullest potential. “Many students today struggle to meet high academic standards, but ELLs have the added complexity of having to learn and use high-level academic English as they study challenging content in a new language (Echevarria, 2008).” English Language Learners come from diverse backgrounds and enter our classrooms speaking numerous languages. In order

offer the correct assessments that were needed in order to diagnose each student's needs and measure their individualized learning standards. Educators can easily become frustrated because there is such a wide range of English learners. This means academic levels are different and the educators have not received the proper training or instructions on how to correctly educate ELL students. I believe students face the challenges of assessment and accommodations in different ways than their educators

II. English Language Learners Himmele (2012) pointed out that many times teachers untrained in handling ELLs see them as “someone else’s problem” because they feel that someone trained in dealing with ELLs specific weaknesses would be more successful. Since they do not have such training, they feel they are “off the hook”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Teaching through content is the best way to acquire a second language while obtaining academic proficiency, and who better to teach that

understanding. The acquisition of foreign languages and multicultural awareness has become an essential asset for new generations. Furthermore, learning a foreign language has been shown to provide students with various additional benefits: students gain access to the cultural and intellectual heritage of other cultures while obtaining a new perspective on the structure and complexity of their own language and culture. For most students, fulfilling the college foreign language requirement is not an issue. However

These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge

Krashen is one of the experts when it comes to language acquisition. He has theorized on the subject of second language acquisition for years and has been quite influential in this field of linguistics. He approaches the subject of second language acquisition by presenting his five theories for acquiring a second language. Aida Walqui is another expert; however, she approaches the subject from the aspect that contextual factors are involved in second language learning. Even though Krashen and Walqui