Supporting English Learners in the Elementary Classroom
Who are English learners?
English learners (ELs) are students in an English-speaking country who use another language in addition to or other than English.
English learners are...
DIVERSE
Over 400 languages are spoken by English learners across the U.S. (Bialik, Scheller, & Walker, 2018).
ELs have various ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
ELs differ in language proficiency, native language background, and history of formal schooling, among many other variables.
GROWING
percentage of U.S. English learners in public schools:
Fall 2000: 8.1%, (3.8 million students)
Fall 2016: 9.6% (4.9 million students)
ELs who speak Spanish comprise the majority of this group, followed by Asian language groups (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019).
IN NEED OF SUPPORT
There is concern about lower levels of academic achievement as compared to English proficient peers (Niehaus & Adelson, 2013).
ELs are at an increased risk for dropping out of school as they move up through the grade levels (Niehaus & Adelson, 2013).
In 2015–16, 84% of students nationwide graduated from high school on time (in four years, and accounting for transfersa). For ELs the rate was 67%, up from 57 percent in 2010–11 (U.S. Department of Education, ED Data Express, 2015-16).
EL students are more likely that other students to live in poverty, experience discrimination, deal with a variety of external stressors (Suárez-Orozco, Suárez-Orozco, & Todorova, 2008).
Results of a study suggested that Spanish-speaking ELs are at a greater risk for internalizing (depression, anxiety) and externalizing (aggression, acting out) problems compared to their English proficient peers in third grade (Niehaus & Adelson, 2013).
A PART OF OUR CLASSROOM COMMUNITIES!
Percentage of public school students who were English language learners, by state: Fall 2017.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “Local Education Agency Universe Survey,” 2017–18.Most English learners were born in the United States and are U.S. citizens.
(Sanchez, 2017)