English Language Learners: Bilingual Education

English Language Learners (hereafter referred to as ELLs) currently comprise 10% of the total school population in the United States (National Center for Education Statistics, 2005). It is a population that is going to continue to increase in American public education and their specific needs for learning literacy are of great importance to teachers. Since schools and teachers are increasingly judged based upon the academic achievement of students, then the success of the growing population of ELLs is going to be increasingly important. In the present paper the role of the teacher and specific research-based literacy strategies for ELLs is investigated.

One Misconception regarding ELL students is that immersion into an English-speaking classroom is enough for students to learn English.

Selecting materials relevant to ELL’s experience or culture; strategically using students’ first languages to make the content delivered in a second language more comprehensible teaching word learning strategies that build on first language knowledge such as using cognates; and frequently using partner talk to give low-English-proficient students more opportunities to talk with more English-proficient

be English Language Learners, (ELL) for them to benefit from this lesson or to meet state

For teachers, I believe they are lacking in having efficient data, practices, and resources. These three categories play an essential role in educating, evaluating, and caring for ELL students. Communication is a huge factor when it comes to instruction in the classroom. In the past research has shown poor communication between teachers, students and families. Schools often lack in providing differentiated methods and tools to teach ELL students. Schools in the past have failed to 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.

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.

Within this paper we will take a brief look at the Language Acquisition Principles and how they work on the behalf of ELL students. We will see how these principles can be applied within our own learning environment. There is much information from Walqui article that gives a brief overview of ELL students and how things looked in the past for these students. Now that times has change we will see how educators can make the requirements for ELL students better and more effective for teacher and students. Hopefully, as we look at ways of changing learning for our ELL students we must remember that every student learns differently. Even if you follow the principles from

Growing up in an incredibly diverse area, I completely overestimate the availability of ESL (English as a second language) and ELL teachers. Because all ELL students do not have access to such help, educators can do well to make a personal effort to reach out to their ELL students. By making a personal effort to connect with ELL students, educators can better understand how to help them get the most out of their education. Giving them special attention will not only help them succeed but also make them feel more comfortable and welcome. Educators could go above and beyond by making special copies of homework assignments for students that feature both English and the students first language. This way they will no doubt understand what is being asked of them, but also learn new words at the same time! Another way educators could show a personal effort could be by making time to work with the students outside of classroom time, further explaining anything that was taught

During the nineteenth and early twentieth century there was no set way of how to teach an English-language learner. Some schools practiced bilingual education. Other schools placed immigrant children in English-language learner programs to prepare them for the English-only classroom. Other schools segregated schools specifically for the immigrants aimed at teaching them the language. Some schools just placed immigrant children in English-only classrooms and hoped they would learn. Even though schools like those in New York reported that 60 percent of their student body was immigrants in the early twentieth century, there was no law or regulation of how to teach the students. This varied across the country and two counties in the same state could have differing policies. It depended on the superintendent’s and school board’s view on language programs.

Krashen and Terrell (1983) authored the book “The Natural Approach” in which they identified the following five stages through which ELLs progress when learning English as a second language: preproduction, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advance fluency. Mora-Flores (2011) indicates that the way in which ELLs’ language development is monitored and labeled varies across the country. The most important aspect is the teachers’ understanding of what students bring to the classroom in terms of language since this allows teachers to build toward the following level in the student

learning a word of English, and without prior access to educational programs outside of school which can hinder their learning. Also, minorities tend to be more segregated and put into groups of their own race. There are many ways to help, like offering courses for ELL (English language learners) and bilingual students to keep their native language and culture alive. Also, according to National Center for Education Statistics, “In 2013, about 4.6 million public school students participated in English language learner (ELL) programs. Hispanic students made up the majority of this group (78 percent)” (NCES). Moreover students are away from home and may feel like outcasts, which could lead to them having bad grades and feelings of isolation. Teachers

The United States of America is host to a large population of immigrants from all over the globe. For this reason, bilingual education has been a topic of discussion for decades, as children who have migrated with their families need an adequate education that will allow them to succeed. In order to provide English language learners (ELLs) with the best educational experience, it is important to recognize that bilingual education and bilingualism can support academic achievement and brain development.

Imagine coming to the U.S. and not being able to communicate with others just because you can’t speak english. This is a problem that millions of latinos have to suffer through every day as they come to a new country and have to adapt to something their not used to. I have dealt with this problem in my personal life because I help interpret for a girl in my ceramics class and she has told me numerous times that she does not understand the teacher and she receives no help from classmates or the teacher. This is why public schools should offer bilingual education to non-english speaking students. Even though some people believe that public schools should not offer bilingual education and non-english classes to non-spanish speaking students because it’s too expensive we should give students in public schools the opportunity to have spanish classes where they learn in their own language while at the same time they get to learn english (Armario 2013) . It will better the community, make people smarter and more fluent in other languages (Lynch 2014) and it will be necessary for life as more people come from spanish speaking countries and it will better the future of tomorrow.

English language learners (ELLs) need instructional accommodations and modifications in order to succeed in the classroom. In order to help ELLs develop their English language proficiency I would recommend a variety of instructional strategies. Using visuals, gestures and hand motions are extremely helpful for students with little to no English comprehension. Explicitly teaching vocabulary, modeling the vocabulary and proper English, and using word walls are also beneficial to ELLs. Another good way to model and reinforce English is by using audio recordings of books that ELLs can follow along with, doing read-alouds, and providing opportunities to use and practice English in small groups and think-pair-shares. I would also recommend given

Reflecting back on my field experience, I was able to gain quality insight as well as a better understanding of the teaching and the learning process of ESOL in a mainstream classroom. My experience in Mrs. Little’s classroom has shown that the role of the ESOL teacher is to educate students in functional language skills, offer content that is academically challenging, and helps students acculturate to the new language and culture.