English Language Learners: A growing yet underserved student population

Posted by on January 13, 2014

ELLs and the policies around them

English Language Learners: A growing—yet underserved—student population

A new brief from the Education Commission of the States examines reform issues around English Language Learners (ELLs), who as of 2010-11 were one in every 10 public school students in the United States. More than 25 percent of ELLs speak a language other than Spanish, and 10 percent speak a language that is not in the top ten; in some states, a majority of ELLs don’t speak top-ten languages. The brief reports that ELLs’ academic performance significantly lags non-ELL peers, a situation that more rigorous state standards and assessments may exacerbate. Students in ELL programs over a number of years — “long-term English learners” — fare the worst; many drop out. The means to demonstrate English proficiency — and thereby exit an ELL program — vary from state to state and district to district. And many classroom teachers lack the specific knowledge and skills to bring ELLs to proficiency in the four domains of language acquisition: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The brief recommends that ELL intervention and training be extended to early childhood programs to encourage English acquisition as early as possible. Teachers need specific knowledge and skills (not necessarily knowledge of a student’s native language) to bring ELLs to proficiency. Pull-out programs should be minimized, and ELL access to core standards and the general curriculum be ensured.

http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/01/10/20/11020.pdf