Meet the Needs of English Language Learner Students

The ability to communicate in English is essential to academic success

See below: Association Efforts to Meet the Needs of English Language Learners

America’s public schools enroll about 5 million English language learners (ELLs) – twice the number from just 15 years ago, and that number is expected to double again by 2015. English language learners are the fastest growing group of students in the United States today.

Most of these students with limited English proficiency are not immigrants or recent arrivals. More than three-fourths of the ELL elementary students are native-born; more than half of secondary ELL students are native born. Nearly 8 out of 10 English language learners speak Spanish, but some districts have students who represent more than 100 different language groups. (National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Education Programs (NCLEA), 2007)

More than 60 percent of English language learners are in six states: Arizona, California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois. Between 1995 and 2005, seven states had a 300 percent increase in English language learners: Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

The backgrounds of immigrant ELL students vary widely, and their formal education in their first language also varies widely, which can challenge their ability to flourish academically in U.S. schools.

Growth in the number of English Language learners has continued to explode in many states, particularly those without a history of serving ELL students.

Change the Structure of the Student Assessment System

No matter what students’ backgrounds are, their ability to communicate in English is essential to academic success. America’s public schools are committed to helping all children learn and meet high standards. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is drawing some much-needed attention to the achievement gap of ELL students, but the way the law is treating these students is not helping to raise their academic performance levels. Ironically, the way states are attempting to meet the testing provisions of NCLB is making it more difficult to meet the law’s intent and promise.

Assessment Absurdities

For ELL students to meet the federal Adequate Yearly Progress standard, they must demonstrate progress in reading and math on an assessment that is usually given in English. Students struggling to learn even rudimentary English are expected to master content in reading and math and demonstrate progress in learning English. Too often ELL students are being given reading and math tests in English before they are proficient in English.

As the new Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a February 2008 letter:

“We’ve called, cajoled, conferred, and corresponded with state and federal officials on countless occasions to fight the prospect of giving our students a test they won’t be able to read..
I’m convinced that this test will not accurately assess what our ELL students have learned. These students may very well know the answers, but simply won’t be able to read the questions.”

Among the unintended consequences of NCLB is that – with 37 categories of subgroups to make AYP – the same student’s score can count against a school three or four times: as limited English proficient, economically disadvantaged, diagnosed with a specific learning disorder, and Hispanic.

Few states have satisfactory methods for assessing their rapidly growing populations of English language learners. States often use commercial tests because they are available, even when they are not aligned to state standards. While NCLB provides for assessments in students’ native languages, according to the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), “only 11 states offer native-language assessments statewide.”

States with large ELL populations such as Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas have developed their own English proficiency tests, but none of them are comparable with other states. Even after seven years of NCLB implementation, there are few valid and reliable assessments that meet the needs for accuracy and fairness. Again, according to NCLR, “most states are using invalid and inappropriate testing instruments to assess ELLs in academic content.”

The lack of clear federal standards and definitions adversely affects the ability of students to get the help they need. For example, the fact that there is no standard definition for English language learner means that a student may be considered an English language learner in one district or state but not in another. States or districts may define limited English proficiency according to their capacity to provide services. States or districts may also select different cut scores on the same test of English proficiency to represent the ELL category. The result? Students may not get the help they need when screening procedures are inadequate or inconsistent.

It is essential to disaggregate data and determine how all students are progressing. In this instance, however, the subgroup is constantly changing as new students move in and other students gain sufficient English skills to move out of the category. As in other areas, a growth model would provide a better gauge of progress in academics and English proficiency.

The way the test results now are measured and scored, it often makes it appear as if no progress is being made, when the opposite is true.

    
    NEA calls on Congress and the Adminstration to:
    
            Extend the time for newly arrived immigrant English language learners to master English from one year to three years if appropriate native language or other assessments are not available, before counting the results of these reading and math tests for AYP. 
Improve the quality of assessments for English language learners, including the provision of additional native language tests and more appropriate and valid accommodations. 
Establish a common definition of English language proficiency. Consistency across district and state lines will better ensure that students get the help they need. 
Require states to provide tests for native or other languages when the proportion of ELL students in any one language group exceeds 10 percent of ELL students in the state or district. 
Expand technical assistance and resources from the U.S. Department of Education to help states develop better assessments for ELL students. 
Coordinate English language acquisition services with the special education and related services to be provided to English language learners with disabilities. 
Ensure that all ELL students receive the full range of services they need – both to bring them to English proficiency as well as to improve their performance on academic content areas. 
Provide professional development in the teaching of diverse learners to help educators learn how to engage, teach, and help facilitate learning for these students, including students learning English. Professional development in this area should address effective parental involvement strategies for these student populations, as well as strategies designed to promote dropout prevention, and close achievement and skills gaps. 
Support dual language instruction programs where English-speaking students and ELL students become fluent in both English and another language. NEA supported the Providing Resources to Improve Dual-Language Education(PRIDE) Act introduced in the 110th Congress.

Address Issues Facing Teachers of English Language Learners

English language learner students come to the classroom from very different backgrounds and often face multiple challenges in the classroom. Teachers need practical, research-based information, resources, and strategies to teach, evaluate, and nurture ELL students.

A 2005 survey of California teachers who work with English language learners identified some key issues for educators. They needed better tools, including assessments, materials, and software, to teach non-native English speakers, and they needed more time to help ELL students. Elementary teachers expressed concern about their ability to pass the standardized tests, while high school teachers worried about efforts to drive students through high school without adequate skills.

The study noted the wide range of abilities in both language and academic ability, which means that educators must be skilled both in teaching English literacy and content area knowledge. (Gandara, P., Maxwell-Jolly, J., Driscoll,A. (2005). Listening to Teachers of English Language Learners. A Survey of California Teachers’ Challenges, Experiences, and Professional Development Needs. Santa Cruz, CA: Policy Analysis for California Education, The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, and U.C. Linguistic Minority Research Center.

ELL students could benefit greatly from special support and enrichment activities, such as afterschool programs, as well as from smaller class sizes that allow teachers to better adapt instruction to their needs.

As the number of ELL students grows, more educators face the challenges of effective second language instruction. For some time, ELL students have been seen as the responsibility of bilingual or ESL teachers, but today ELL students spend the largest percentage of their school time in the regular classroom. Increasingly, general education teachers are called on to teach this population, and many of them say they do not feel well prepared to meet their needs.

Schools serving English language learners need additional federal resources, more qualified ELL instructors, better materials and other learning tools, and a more thoughtful assessment system that measures progress and measures the impact of programs and approaches on students and student populations. Educators must be aware of and use knowledge about different students, including an understanding and appreciation of the different cultures, to help close achievement gaps for ELL students.

Language Acquisition Grants under Title III of ESEA are the most significant source of federal funds supporting services to English language learners. Investments in these programs have been static while district needs have exploded. Helping public school students and their families learn English enhances academic achievement, helps close achievement gaps, and enhances worker productivity in every field.

NEA calls on Congress and the Administration to:

Ensure all English language learners receive the full range of services they need to improve their English proficiency and academic performance.
Improve professional development opportunities so all teachers and paraprofessionals can better meet the needs of such students.
Significantly increase funding for Title III grants, starting with a first year increase of $150 million. Funding for these English Language Acquisition State Grants has been essentially frozen with the FY 2008 level virtually unchanged from the FY 2002 level.

Association Efforts to Meet the Needs of English Language Learners

Achievement gaps among ELL students are deeply rooted, pervasive, and complex, and NEA is working with members individually and collectively to help address the learning needs of English language learners.

The Association has developed a training model, English Language Learners: Culture, Equity and Language, to support and assist educators in understanding how to apply the best research-based ELL, culture, and equity practices in the classroom and to further educators’ professional development. The goal for the 2008-09 school year is to train 3,500 educators in at least 12 states to deliver this course on best practices in educating ELL students.

Among the many issues covered in this comprehensive training are these:

Curriculum design and lesson planning based on sound pedagogical principles, practices, and high standards.
Strategic methods to employ for making grade-level materials and resources comprehensible for English language learners.
Research-based training on theory, culture, diversity, social status, and policy of language acquisition.
Resources that will help increase educators’ knowledge about effective, differentiated teaching strategies.

NEA has also developed another important resource related to ELL students: C.A.R.E.: Strategies for Closing the Achievement Gaps. This 2006 publication offers concrete ways to improve curriculum and classroom practices. Its research-based strategies address the C.A.R.E. themes of cultural, economic, and language differences; unrecognized and undeveloped abilities; resilience, effort, and motivation.