English Language Learners are the fastest growing group in the U.S. school system. Twenty percent of school age children between the ages of five and seventeen speak a language other than English at home (U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). The number of ELLs in the U.S. is approximately 5 million. ELLs are also the group most at risk (Shin, 2013). California has a third of the U.S.’s ELLs. Most of the schools that have failed to meet NCLB benchmarks are those that have a high number of ELLs (Gándara & Hopkins, 2010).
Among ELLs, approximately 150 languages are spoken, with Spanish being the most common. Some ELLs are recent immigrants; others were born in the U.S. (Batalova, Fix, & Murray, 2007). Some ELLs come from families who speak mostly in the first language; others come from families where mostly English is spoken. Some ELLs are economically disadvantaged; others live in wealthy neighborhoods. Some ELLs are high achievers; others struggle in school.
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Should they be taught using English only or should the first language be used along with the English? Many studies indicate that there are benefits to bilingualism and teaching the students in two languages. English only supporters feel that bilingual education keeps the students from learning English which they need to be successful in school and that immersion in English is the way for them to improve. However, in looking at ELLs scores five or more years after anti-bilingual legislation was passed in California (Proposition 227), Arizona and Massachusetts, there is no marked improvement; the achievement gap still exists.
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
After viewing the panel discussion about how our local school districts have implemented English Language Learning in their school, I am very intrigued. From what I gathered the field of ELL is a growing industry in education, especially in Colorado Springs. We have ELL’s students coming from all over the world. Here in Colorado Springs alone, school districts have to accommodate for over fifty different languages spoken by ELL’s. I can only imagine the challenge that comes with such a diverse group of non- English speakers in our community schools.
Recently immigrated parents often learn English from their children. Over 70% of Hispanic Americans in California are English Language Learners (ELL) and are given the resour...
Bilingual teaching in American schools is it good, bad, or both? Who is right in this national debate? Both sides make some impressive arguments for their side of the issue. Even the government has mixed issues when it comes to bilingual teaching. However, the government has shown their views in their budgets and their law making. Another question comes up with the bilingual teaching is should America make English its official language? Some say there is no need for it, and yet 22 states as of 1996 declared English their official language. Looking into some of these issues may bring some insight as to what the problem may be.
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.
America’s educational system is home to an increasing number of English language learners. Some research indicates that by the year 2030, over 40% of elementary and secondary students served by schools in the United States will come from homes where a language other than English is spoken (Thomas & Collier, 2001). In an effort to accommodate these students, the United States has adopted policies at both the federal and state levels. Generally, the direction taken to meet the needs of English language learners has depended on the climate of the nation. During times of peace and prosperity, policies reflect the nation’s tolerance of other languages and cultures. However, during times of war or conflict, policies have reflected intolerance or fear of anything deemed “un-American.”
Just as the Native Americans had to learn English from the Pilgrims, immigrant children need bilingual education to help them learn English. Everyone expects the immigrants to be able to speak English immediately, but that is rarely the case; they need time to learn our culture. In order for immigrants to succeed in this nation it is recommended that they learn English and every American should try to help them learn it. By immigrant children learning English through bilingual education they not only get keep their culture, but also learn the language to help them become successful in America. The Encyclopedia of Education says, “In most areas of the United States approximately 70 percent of the native-born currently are adopting English as their usual language” (Glenn). This ...
Every year, the number of immigrants in the U.S. has grown “significantly.” Chen predicts that by the year of 2020, public schools will have at least 50 percent of students that are non-English speakers (¶5). This shows that it is important that public schools have a successful ESL program. The purpose of ESL programs is “to enhance” ESL students learning, to help students’ “emotional well-being”, and to accelerate students’ ability to learn the new language. According to Chen, some district schools have failed to support ESL students’ learning. For example, Chen stated that “...[some] school districts [have been] accused of not meeting t...
The number of English language learning (ELL) students in the U.S. has grown dramatically in the last decade. According to a 1991 national study, there are over 2,300,000 students in grades K through 12 who are English language learners (August & Hakuta, 1997). This number has grown by over 1,000,000 since 1984. The majority of these students are Spanish-speakers (73%), followed by Vietnamese-speakers (3.9%). Because the overwhelming proportion of ELL students are Spanish speakers, the issue of bilingual education is largely a Latino one.
“In recent years the Hispanic population in America has achieved status as the largest minority group in the United States surpassing African-Americans (Baker, p.438).” This sudden increase in the Hispanic-American population is monumental when looking at the past few hundred years when African-Americans held the spot as the largest minority group in the United States. Across the United States this sudden and unprecedented influx of primarily native Spanish speakers has become more visible in some areas than others. Due to the rapid growth and migration of this group it can be seen that many migrant children have not had the time or the opportunity to learn English well enough to achieve success at their particular grade level in the public school system. Many of these bright and eager to learn migrant students fall by the wayside upon entering the public school system. Due to the rapid increase in populations of migrant students in various parts in the United States it has become necessary for localized school systems to adopt and implement programs, utilizing assistive technology, to incorporate English language proficiency programs to help teach migrant students so that they might have a chance at achieving success and continuing to higher education taught exclusively in English.
When do English language learners need to be placed in special education? 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.
racie Allen of the comedy team of Burns and Allen was once asked how one should speak French. She replied, “Well, you speak it the same way you speak English; you just use different words.” When trying to assist in instructing English language learners, they usually have many concepts and language abilities that they need to master, as do the teachers that are trying to teach them. With the incorporation of the concepts and approaches to identify and assess the issues and concerns that we have learned in our classroom instruction, such as lesson preparation, building background, and comprehensible input, we can indeed teach our future English language learners all the right moves with all the right words.
When I started teaching years ago, I worked with teachers that firmly believed that all instruction should be given in the target language. If students are to learn English, than English is what should be taught. The idea of supporting the student with their first language was considered not good teaching. There was no sign of bilingual books, because the purpose was to directly teach English. Thankfully, the misconception has become more obvious, and there is now more support for English language learners.
Bilingual education is important to enforce in schools because it not only helps students but their parents as well. Since their first language is not English, bilingual education will really help them because it not only helps them succeed in mainstream classes that give instructions in English, but also aims to preserve the native language as on is mastering English; they cannot learn if they do not understand what the teacher or professor is saying.
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