English Learners (ELs) in School

2.  Limited English Proficient (LEP)
 English Learner (EL)
 English as a Second Language (ESL)
 English Language Development (ELD)
 English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
 English Language Learner (ELL)
 English for Speakers of Other Languages
(ESOL)

3.  Most ELs were born in the U.S.-
a smaller percentage emigrated here
 Immigrants and their children:
 To have a better life
 To get away from war
 To unite with their families
 For educational/economic purposes

4.  Getting basic information about students:
 Personal information
 Prior school experience?
Literacy in their home language?
 Home culture- research!
 Classroom activities:
 Autobiography
 Dialogue journal
 Specific themes

5.  Teacher is both observer of & participant in class
culture:
Notice cultural differences and try to interpret them
 Sociolinguistic interactions in the classroom
Observe ~ Listen ~ Keep your own journal/notes
 Culturally related responses to classroom organization
Teach expected behavior for each participation structure
 Literacy traditions from home and community
Some students do and others do not have prior
schooling experience in the first language.

6.  Safety and security
 Assign a personal buddy
 Follow predictable classroom routines
 Develop a support system for each child
 Creating a sense of belonging
 Assign a “home group” table
 Provide familiar language texts in the classroom
 Value special cultural knowledge/experience

7. Students NEW to the culture of the classroom may
experience “culture shock.”
4 Stages of “Culture Shock”
1. Excitement : “honeymoon” stage
very positive about the new culture
2. Withdrawal : “frustration” stage
things appear different, strange and difficult
3. Adjustment: “understanding” stage
a routine develops, less isolated, more confident
4. Enthusiasm: “acclimation” stage
feeling 'at home‘ and functioning well in new
culture

8. Peregoy,
page 10
Family-
Life-
Relationships-
Discipline-
Time/
Space-
Religion-
Food-
Health/
Hygiene-
History/
Traditions-

9. Academic standards and assessment
movement
◦ Congress found in 1983 that improvement was
needed- formed the NAEP program
(National Assessment of Education Progress)
High-stakes testing is now used nationwide
◦ No-Child Left Behind (NCLB), 2001
◦ Socioeconomic status correlates to test-scores
Education policies/Standards for ELLs
◦ World-class Instructional Design and Assessment
(WIDA) TESOL English Standards

10. TEKS : Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills
◦ Standards for content learning at each grade
STAAR : State of Texas Assessment of Academic
Readiness
 Assessments for content learning at each grade
English Language Learners also get:
ELPS: English Language Proficiency Standards
◦ Standards for language proficiency learning at each level of
development (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced,
Advanced High)
TELPAS: Texas English Language Proficiency
Assessment System
◦ Assessments for language learning progress at each level of
development

11. Overarching goals of federal guidelines:
1) Teach English 2) Provide access to
curriculum
How are ELs students identified?
 Multiple assessments are administered at
the beginning of the school year
 Assessments determine if English language
proficiency is sufficient to “access and
process the curriculum content without
support”
 If not, students are granted the ELs status

12. English Language Learner (ELs)
"Student of limited English proficiency (LEP)"
is a student whose primary language is other
than English and whose English skills are such
that the student has difficulty performing
ordinary classwork in English. LEP and ELs
(English Learner) are used interchangeably.
English as a Second Language (ESL)
 English is the only language used as the
medium of instruction
 Four program examples in textbook

13. Texas State Education Code:
 Districts with enrollment of 20 or more ELs
students in any language classification in the
same grade level shall offer a bilingual
education or special language program.
 Bilingual education is required in Grades K-6
 Bilingual education, instruction in ESL, or
other transitional language instruction in
Grades 7-8
 Instruction in ESL in Grades 9 through 12.
 817,165 ELs students in Texas (2010)

14. ESL
 English is the only language used as the
medium of instruction
 Four program model examples in textbook
Bilingual Education
 English and another language used as the
media of instruction.
 Five program model examples in textbook

15. Bilingual Programs are either:
Additive:
Both home language and target language
(English in the U.S.) are developed
concurrently with the goal of proficiency in
both languages.
OR
Subtractive:
Target Language (English in the U.S.) is
developed with a gradual shift away from
knowledge/identity with the home language.

16.  Source:
 Peregoy, S. & Boyle, O., (2008)
 Reading, Writing, and Learning in ESL: A
Resource Book for K-12 Teachers, 5th Edition,
USA: Pearson.