For English Language Learners, the ability to read at or above grade level is one of the biggest metrics of success in their education. However, many of these students lack the level of formal education that other students may have and they continue to lose time as they move through the immigration process, which can take years. That problem, combined with all of the struggles surrounding language acquisition, makes it difficult for most ELL students to exceed past a middle school reading level. This problem is made worse by Arizona’s lack of consistency in ELL placement. Arizona places ELLs into one of four categories – Pre-Emergent, Emergent, Basic or Intermediate – based on their scores on the Arizona English Language Learner Assessment. …show more content…
It was explained to me that many of these students will be close to reading at grade level and are the highest level of students in terms of reading ability at the school. In spite of that, scores from the same classes in previous years showed that almost no students were reading at grade level, and many of the students in class were reading several grade levels below the area they were expected to be. Further, I looked at scores from a Scholastic Reading Inventory test from previous classes and saw some students reading at as low as 100-200 Lexile level - which is approximately 1st to 2nd grade level - and others reading as 600-800 level - approximately 6th to 8th grade level (“Lexile-to-Grade-Correspondence”) who were all labelled “Intermediate” and were working together on similar material in the same class. The results showed that many students, especially students that originally tested at a 500 Lexile score or lower, showed little to no improvement and in many cases even regressed, scoring lower on an end-of-the-year reading test than they did at the beginning of the year. Even more astounding is that many students who achieved higher Lexile scores than students who passed that year’s AZELLA were unable to pass the AZELLA, causing me to question the accuracy of the test in determining a student’s reading …show more content…
That contradicts many prominent language acquisition theories, including Vygotsky’s social interactionist theory, which say that language learning is most effective when it involves cooperative learning so that students may “grow into the intellectual life of those around them.” (Vygotsky 1978, p. 81) Grouping students by level gives them an opportunity to work with people who may not be the people who they would have otherwise chose to work with, as well. This could have the added benefit of helping them build more language skills - as the pairs often do not speak the same L1 Language - which would further increase reading comprehension and thereby further increase the grade level at which they can comfortably read. Finally, since their only English/Language Arts instruction comes in sheltered ELL classrooms, it only seems appropriate to give them cooperative learning opportunities, as they may be expected to do these in their other classes, and therefore could benefit from the extra practice – as they would likely be doing similar discussion in a mainstream English
Much research was completed for the making of this article. It was found that ELL’s need time to develop oral English proficiency, teachers need to use ongoing authentic formative assessments throughout the year due to
Everywhere in the U.S., ELL students keep coming in as states try to figure out what to do with them. With this in mind, Arizona seems to have provided an example of such problems. In September 2007, the Arizona State Board of Education adopted the Structured English Immersion (SEI) model. The SEI progra...
Due to the rise in immigration and the demographics of classrooms in America are changing. As a result, English Language Learners are becoming more common in schools. English Language Learners make up one of the largest demographics in the American Classroom (Flynn & Hill, 2005). These students have been observed to have a major achievement gap because many of these students are placed in mainstream classrooms with basic literacy skills. Many English Language Learners are born in the United States (Goldenberg, 2008). These students have only attended the school system in America. However, the achievement levels are nowhere near the level of their peers. According to Calderon, Slavin, and Sanchez (2011) “these students, who have been in U.S. schools since kindergarten, are still classified as limited English proficient when they reach middle or high school— suggesting strongly that preschool and elementary programs are not adequately addressing the needs of English learners.” The achievement gap between English Language Learners and native English speaking students is extremely high. English Language Learners tests scores are low. According to the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress, “fourth grade ELLs scored 36 points lower than their peers on the reading section of the test and 25 points below their peers in math. The results in eighth grade were worse with a difference of 42 points in reading and 37 points in math” (Goldenberg, 2008). The gap between ELLs and non-ELLs are three to eighteen points larger then students from low-income households.
This essay will consist of two analyses of significant legislations. One is the reauthorization of 1994 regarding the Bilingual Education Act (BEA). Two is Title III or English Language Acquisition Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement Act. The three states discussed in this essay regarding English language learner issues are California, Arizona, and Massachusetts. However, these three states share the anti-bilingual education law. California enacted the law in 1998. Arizona initiated the law in 2000. Massachusetts approved by legislature the law in 2002. This essay will also discuss the comparisons with the anti-bilingual law passed in these three states, explanation of challenges with the anti-bilingual law in the three states and an explanation of the benefits of the anti-bilingual law in the three states.
Education is the key to individual opportunity, the strength of our economy, and the vitality of our democracy. In the 21st century, this nation cannot afford to leave anyone behind. While the academic achievement and educational attainment of Hispanic Americans has been moving in the right direction, untenable gaps still exist between Hispanic students and their counterparts in the areas of early childhood education, learning English, academic achievement, and high school and college completion.
By including a group of students from a lower level class (preferably 1 grade level lower), in an upper level class, both students would benefit. The upper level students would benefit by working with a lower level student and mentoring/tutoring them in their (the upper level) subject. The lower level students would gain extra knowledge, which they would normally learn in their next year of school. Along with getting a leg up on the next year of school, the lower level students would be exposed to different teaching techniques when the teacher of the upper level class was teaching his or her lesson.
In the United States, there has been an increase in in the number of children from Spanish speaking backgrounds. The English Language Learners, commonly known as ELL’s, are being placed in Special Education without being properly tested for a learning disability. However there are a large number of ELL’s with learning disabilities in elementary grades that truly have a learning disability and are over looked. Many school districts have problems placing ELL’s. As a result these students end up in special education whether they have a learning disability or language impairment. Teachers are also indecisive when dealing with ELL’s. Most teachers recommend that ELL’s be placed in special education from day one. It is not because the child has a learning disability, it’s because most teachers are not properly trained to interact with ELL’s. Teachers also find it difficult, due to lack of training, having ELL’s with learning disabilities in their classrooms. More teachers would find their selves comfortable if they had training in dealing with ELL’s and ELL’s with learning disabilities. This paper discusses the issues and the concerns teachers have in dealing with ELLs and ELLs with disabilities, the challenges of identifying individuals with learning disabilities, and what type of assessments classify English Language Learners as having a learning disability.
Arizona’s English learner standards can be used as a guide for differentiating instruction by incorporating English language learner (ELL) activities and manipulating lesson planning to include ELL learning components that are equivalent to the English learner components. On the Arizona’s department of education website (www.azed.gov), they do a great job of breaking down the standards for each academic area by grade levels. For example… If I were a kindergarten teacher interested in educating my students about the art of dance, I would download ...
...EP students, one student is identified as Level 3: Developing level of language proficiency. Students in this level of performance have some language proficiency, but not extensive academic English language proficiency. This student is not at a grade level reading ability in the English language. The remaining LEP student is identified as a Level 4: Expanding level. At this level, this student is approaching grade level literacy in the English language, but is still challenged by specialized academic vocabulary. This student is able to hear and speak with understanding; however, writing skills in the English language may be underdeveloped at present. This student is approaching an English proficiency and will likely exit direct services within the next academic year. It is important to note that some students may represent more than one demographic area.
This is a program that targets middle and high school aged immigrant students with limited proficiency in English who may have limited prior experience with schooling and or need assistance in filling the gaps preparing them to participate in mainstream classrooms. The newcomer program has multiple goals relating to the goals of the other educational models that promote additive bilingualism. For example, students acquire beginning English language skills along with core academic skills and knowledge and Acculturate to the United States school system. Some characteristics of the model include; it addresses the unique literacy needs of English Language Learners, provides a welcoming and nurturing environment, provides core academic skills and knowledge that fill gaps and move them closer to their age-level peers and establishes and reinforces connection between school and students’ families and
If I were to create a class, it would explore the topic of English Language Learners (ELL) and their transition into the United States school system with an emphasis on the lack of participation in after school activities. Throughout my volunteer work, I have noticed within my community that often times ELL students only partake in activities during school hours. Whether the inability to obtain transportation or apathy on the part of the caregiver, students miss out on crucial social and academic experiences. Financial issues, language barriers, or insecurity are other reasons possible gaps in participation between ELL and non-ELL students exist. The opportunities for these students to get involved, such as sports, music, and academic clubs
The backbone of sociocultural learning theory is that “social interaction is the basis of learning and development” (Walqui, 2006, p. 160). Students are best able to learn in an environment where they are working with "more capable peers". Teachers who are trying to work within the context of sociocultural theory are best to pair English Language Learners (ELL) with students who may also speak the language of the ELL "capable peer", but also understand the content being discussed, and not having the students work alone. One who understands this theory knows that “solitary work…is incompatible with Vygotsky’s conception of appropriate pedagogy... as all knowledge and ability arises in social activity” (Walqui, 2006, p. 162). The more interactions the students engage in the better, especially in the academic context to assist those students who need more assistance in order to fully understanding the
Imagine coming into a new country with no knowledge of their language. Now, imagine being a young child having to come in a new country with no knowledge of their language and having to go to school with the native students. That student who is in a new country and school will feel left out and frustrated. They are around new customs and people, the teaching that they were once used to has change and the teachers, they might speak fast and the student is even more confused and they might want to give up. This is where the school board comes into place and help students that is new to their county learn English with the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages(TESOL) program; to include the English Language Learners(ELL) students in the curriculum and have them interact with other students.
With the pressures of state testing and the College and Career Readiness Performance Index, our school’s Better Seeking Team examined what we could do to increase student achievement. During our investigation, we realized our students in grades three and five were not doing well in the literacy area, specifically with their Lexile scores. First of all, Lexile was not something we knew much about because our school had always used grade equivalency, not Lexile to measure students’ reading ability. This curriculum-based issue would need more concentration, not just for our students but for our teachers as well. Secondly, we realized the impact these Lexile scores had on our students’ overall GA Milestones scores. After all, it is the Lexile score
Current literature indicates that English Language Learners face a particularly __ challenge as they navigate the ____ of constructing an argument in ways that might clash with their own cultural practices, as well as writing about texts that were not written in their primary language. Silva et al. (2012) assert that argument organization is a culturally constructed process, suggesting that the accepted structure of written argument in the Common Core era of the US is neither natural nor _______ With this, multilingual students emerging from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds are often met with the difficult task of shedding the norms for argument construction that might actually oppose what is generally accepted in the US. So