The Literacy Needs Of English Language Learners

Lara Logan
La Sierra University
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English Language Learners make up one fifth of students in California schools.
To create a alanced and educationally rich e!perience for these EL students" teachers
need to e cogni#ant of the historical events and ma$or issues that have shaped current
policy and practices. Educators must understand the language and literacy needs of these
students and key strategies to assist them.
What are the History and Major Issues of Language Learners and Instruction?
English language learners in the United States have had a long" complicated
history. %uring colonial times" multilingualism &as encouraged. 'mmigrants from
(rance" )ermany" Spain" *olland" and England spoke their native languages. (ederal and
state la&s &ere printed in )erman and (rench" and English. %aily life &as conducted in
the +home, language along &ith English. Church services" ooks and ne&spapers" and
cultural events &ere all done in non-English languages. .ulic" private" and parochial
schools all used native languages to preserve language and culture. /any European
languages &ere used in schools in the /id&est. 0ilingualism in )erman and English in
Ohio" and Spanish and English in Ne& /e!ico" also ecame popular in certain states
1%e 2ong" 34115.
%espite the acceptance of multilingualism among immigrants and colonists"
repression e!isted for Native 6mericans and 7est 6frican slaves. Slaves &ere separated
from their families and others &ho spoke their o&n language. To communicate" a ne&
language &as created 8 0lack English or 6frican 6merican 9ernacular English. Native
6mericans &ere also forced to assimilate. There &ere some ilingual schools in the
1:34s ut these didn;t last long. The United States systematically attacked the language
and culture of Native 6mericans. Land &as taken a&ay and the people &ere moved to
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reservations. Some children &ere taken a&ay and put in English only oarding schools.
6ny schools on the reservation &ere taught strictly in English 1%e 2ong" 34115.
6round the time of 7orld 7ar '" the 6mericani#ation movement &anted to assimilate
ne& immigrants into 6merican society. 'n 1<4=" the Naturali#ation 6ct made spoken
English a re>uirement for nationali#ation. The 1<1? 'mmigration 6ct kept any aliens
&ho &ere illiterate from entering. /ore than @4 states et&een 1<1? and 1<33 passed
legislation re>uiring non-English speakersAreaders to take night school. 'n this
atmosphere" speaking anything other than English in school &as +un-6merican.,
'mmigrant children during the early 1<44;s &ere put into English-only classrooms
&ithout accommodations. Ne& students &ere placed in first grade classrooms" regardless
of age. 'mmigrant children &ere given intelligence tests in English" though they &eren;t
necessarily proficient in the language. Lo& '.B. results 1due to the language arrier5
resulted in many entering special education classes. Some cities created segregated
classes for immigrant children that centered on oral English skills. Segregated schools
&ere also created for /e!icans ecause it &as thought that +*ispanic students attended
school less regularly and so disrupted classroom continuity, 1%e 2ong" 34115.
Unfortunately" many immigrant children did not finish school ecause their parents
needed them to &ork to help support the family 1%e 2ong" 34115.
'mportant court decisions and legislation have shaped US policy regarding
e>uitale educational opportunities for ELL and other minority students. 1%e 2ong" 34115
'n 1<CD" Brown v. Board of Education re>uired states to provide +e>ual educational
opportunities, for all students. The focus of this ruling &as on the segregation of 6frican
6merican students" ut it made ilingual education more possile in the future. Three
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court cases" Meyers v. Newbraska in 1<3@" Farrington v. Tokushige in 1<3?" and
Stainback v. Mo Hock Ke Kok Po in 1<D?" supported the right of minority communities to
offer private language classes &here students could learn their home language.
One of the most important court decisions effecting EL students &as that of au v.
Nicho!s. The resulting +Lau Eemedies, re>uired school districts to create ilingual
education programs. 't specified ho& to identify and evaluate English language skills"
determine instruction" decide &hen students &ere ready to mainstream" and set
professional standards for teachers 1%e 2ong" 34115.
The Lau ruling resulted in the E>ual Educational Opportunities 6ct of 1<?D.
Since the 1<?4s" the ma$or issue revolving around English language development is
&hether to instruct in an English-only setting" or a ilingual one. The English-only
model is a sink or s&im techni>ue. The ilingual model uses English and the native
language to teach concepts. The deate has evolved in more recent years. There are t&o
ma$or ilingual approaches. The +Native Language Emphasis", says that people are more
likely to learn if they understand &hat they are eing taught. 't also states that EL
students &ill not fall ehind their peers if they keep up &ith su$ect matter content in
their native language &hile they are mastering English. The other ma$or approach is
+Sheltered English or Structured 'mmersion., The focus of sheltered English is to
comine English language instruction &ith content-area instruction. Teachers in this later
model ad$ust and adapt their use of English during content area instruction so that
concepts are understandale. They use gestures" visuals" and concrete o$ects to aid in
meaning. Current practices emphasi#e a program that uses the est comination of
instructional methods 1Coyne F Carnine" 344?5.
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How Many Students in California are Classified as English Learners?
The California Language Census &as taken in the spring of 341@. 't sho&ed that
English Learners 1ELs5 make up a large portion of students in California pulic schools.
6ccording to the census" there are 1"@D="@@@ ELs" or 31.=G of the total enrollment of
pulic schools. 6out D@.1G of all California students speak a language other than
English in their home. ?3G of ELs are in grades Hindergarten through si!th" and 3:G
are in grades seven through t&elve. The top C languages spoken are Spanish &ith
:D.=?G" 9ietnamese is 3.@G" (ilipino 1or Tagalong5 is 1.DG" Cantonese is 1.@ G" and
/andarin is 1.1G. 1IOur /ission"I n.d.5
How Do We Assess for Language Proficiency?
The California English Language %evelopment Test" or CEL%T" is a result of
oth federal and state legislation re>uiring a language proficiency test for students in
grades kindergarten through t&elve. Local schools must administer the CEL%T to
students &hose primary language is not English" and those that have een identified as
English learners" ut not reclassified as fluent English proficient 1E(E.5. 6ccording to
the California %epartment of Education" the CEL%T &as developed to8
1. 'dentify students &ith limited English proficiency.
3. %etermine the level of English language proficiency of those students.
@. 6ssess the kno&ledge of limited English-proficient students in ac>uiring the
skills of listening" speaking" reading" and &riting English.
The CEL%T performance levels are eginning" early intermediate" intermediate" early
advanced and advanced. 1IOur /ission"I n.d.5
What are Soe Areas of Language and Literacy !eeds?
C
(ive areas of language and literacy needs should e considered &hen planning
instruction for English learners. 1. .honemic a&areness is the aility to identify and
manipulate phonemes in spoken &ords and understand that these sounds lend together to
make &ords. .oems &ith rhymes and repetition are a good tool to teach phonemic
a&areness. 3. .honics instruction emphasi#es the relationship et&een letters and their
sounds and using this information in reading and &riting. @. 9ocaulary development is
another important literary need of EL students. Students need e!plicit" daily vocaulary
instruction to e!tend their academic language as &ell as their social language. D. Eeading
fluency is the aility to read &ith speed and accuracy. Students that can read fluently are
more likely to understand and rememer their material. C. Eeading comprehension is the
last and most important of the reading skills. Comprehension skills need to e taught.
Teachers need to share >uality literature" push students to ans&er higher order >uestions"
use graphic organi#ers" model think-alouds" and summari#e te!ts 16ntune#" n.d.5.
What are Soe Coon !eeds of English Learners and Strategies to Hel" #he?
EL students need a safe" supportive environment &here they are challenged.
Students need time to uild their receptive language efore they are comfortale using
much independent speech. /anipulatives" realia" visuals" and other techni>ues should e
used in instruction to enhance understanding. 6rtifacts" videos" photos" maps" and picture
ooks are e!amples that can help EL students make real life connections. Once EL
students have uilt a comfortale level of spoken English" they need authentic
opportunities to use their vocaulary. They need time to interact" share" and solve
prolems &ith peers. This could e in pairs for a read-pair-share activity or other small
groupings &here roles are assigned" ut must e in a non-stressful environment.
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6ctivities that provide active involvement such as discussions" games" art pro$ects" and
self directed learning centers enhance understanding for ELs. Teachers should use
scaffolding to uild on prior kno&ledge and create a &orking support that guides students
through the curriculum 1*errell F 2ordan" 344D5. 6cademic language must e taught so
students can understand the speciali#ed vocaulary used in each su$ect area. 7ord &alls
can e used to so students can access vocaulary for their speech and &riting 1Tompkins"
341@5. /odeled talk and story reenactments are also good strategies for language
development 1*errell F 2ordan" 344D5. 'nstruction should e ased on the /ultiple
'ntelligence theory of varying learning styles and use differentiated instruction
techni>ues.
What are y District$s #raining %e&uireents for #eaching EL students?
'n my e!perience in a small" 6dventist school" ' have not een re>uired to get
special training to teach EL students efore eing ale to teach. *o&ever" the California
Commission on Teacher Credentialing states that" +6ny teacher assigned to provide
instruction to English learners 1ELs5 &ill need an authori#ation for instruction to ELs in
addition to an authori#ation in the content area of instruction. The authori#ation is ased
on the rights and needs of the students to an appropriate education, 1California
Commission on Teacher Credentialing" 34115. %ifferent training options e!ist. One of
these is the S'T TESOL Certificate. This program is a 1@4 hour course that includes
&orkshops" lesson planning" and practice teaching 1TESOL 'nternational 6ssociation"
n.d.5.
What are y Personal 'eelings a(out ELD?
?
' have en$oyed this class and learning teaching strategies to help English learners.
Unfortunately" ' have not seen or used these strategies &ith ELs. 0ecause ' don;t have
any ELs in my class" and am not likely to have any in the near future" ' &ill have to set
some of these ideas aside until later. *o&ever" ';ve found that many of the strategies are
techni>ues that are appropriate for 6LL learners. 6ll students need to e!pand on their
academic vocaulary" need a safe" supportive environment" en$oy visuals and
manipulatives" and re>uire scaffolding in some area. 6ll students should e taught &ith
%' methods and engage the multiple intelligences. 6ll students have special needs that a
teacher must emrace to create a successful learning e!perience.
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Eeferences
6ntune#" 0. 1n.d.5. English language learners and the five essential components of
reading instruction. Eetrieved from http8AAreading rockets.org
California commission on teacher credentialing. 13411" 6ugust 1C5. Eetrieved from
http8AA&&&.ctc.ca.govA
Coyne" /. %." F Carnine" %. 7. 1344?5. Effective teaching strategies that acco""odate
diverse !earners. Eetrieved from education.com
%e 2ong" E. 134115. Language policy in the United States. 'n Foundations for
"u!ti!ingua!is" in education# Fro" $rinci$!es to $ractice. Eetrieved from
http8AA&&&.colorincolorado.orgA
*errell" 6. L." F 2ordan" /. 1344D5. Fifty strategies for teaching Eng!ish !anguage
!earners 1pp. ?4-11?5. Upper Saddle Eiver" N28 .earsonA/errill .rentice *all.
Our /ission. 1n.d.5. Eetrieved from http8AA&&&.cde.ca.govA
TESOL 'nternational 6ssociation. 1n.d.5. Eetrieved from http8AA&&&.tesol.orgA
Tompkins" ). E. 1341@5. Learning and the language arts. 'n anguage arts# Patterns of
$ractice 1p. 3D5. Upper Saddle Eiver" N28 .earsonA/errillA.rentice *
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