COMMONELLTERMS

ANDDEFINITIONS
SarahBardack

EnglishLanguageLearnerCenter
AmericanInstitutesforResearch

April2010

1000 THOMAS JEFFERSON ST, NWWASHINGTON, DC 20007-3835TEL 202 403 5000FAX 202 403 5001WEBSITE WWW.AIR.ORG

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ContributorstothisglossaryincludeLibiaGil,PhD;JenniferODay,PhD;AnestineHector
Mason,PhD;andCarlosRodriguez.

INTRODUCTION

ThisglossaryisaresourceforprofessionalsinvolvedinEnglishlanguagelearner(ELL)education,
andrepresentsafirststeptowarddevelopingacomprehensivecatalogueoftermsanddefinitions
toaideducatorsintheirworkwiththeincreasingpopulationofELLsacrossthecountry.
ThecomplexityandheterogeneityoftheELLpopulationintheUnitedStateshasincreased
dramaticallyinrecenthistory.ELLshavedifferentlevelsoflanguageproficiencyanddifferent
socioeconomicstatus,academicexperiences,andimmigrationhistory.Thus,theydonotfitasingle
profile.Inaddition,ELLsrepresentthefastestgrowingsegmentofthestudentpopulationinthe
UnitedStates.Anestimated70%ofELLsareconcentratedin10%ofU.S.schools,andnearly45%of
theadultsenrollednationwideinstateadministeredadulteducationprogramsattendEnglishasa
secondlanguage(ESL)orEnglishliteracyclasses(Clewell&ConsetinodeCohen,2007;U.S.
DepartmentofEducation,OfficeofVocationalandAdultEducation,2006).
ThisglossaryincludesthemostcurrentvocabularyregardingELLsandELLeducation.Italso
identifiesthetermsordefinitionsthatareobsolete,includingsomethatmayperpetuatenegative
stereotypes.Theglossaryisdividedintotwomajorsections;thefirstsectionfocuseson
terminologythatreferstoELLs,aswellastoinstructionalandprogrammaticpractices,andthe
secondsectionfocusesonELLprogrammaticmodels.Overall,thevarietyoftheseexpressionsand
theirdefinitionsillustratesthechallengeofdevelopingconsistentandcurrentlanguagethat
accuratelyappliestoELLs.

Note:ManyofthedefinitionsinthisdocumentarebasedonaglossarypreparedbytheMichigan
AssociationforBilingualEducation(n.d.).

COMMONELLTERMSANDDEFINITIONS

I. ELLTerminology
1st(first)generation
ForeignbornandoftenforeigneducatedELLs.
2nd(second)generation
UnitedStatesbornchildrenofimmigrants.
Accommodation1
AppropriatemodificationsorchangestotestsandtestingproceduressothatELLcontentknowledge
ismoreaccuratelymeasured.Appropriateaccommodations(e.g.,allowingextratimetotakeatest,
providingdictionaries,andmakingchangestomaterials,protocols,orthetestingconditions)are
usedtofacilitatethevalidparticipationofELLsinassessmentswithoutunderminingthetest
construct.
Additivebilingualism
Aphilosophythatisreflectedininstructionalapproachessuchasduallanguageanddevelopmental
bilingualeducation.Suchapproachespromotetheacquisitionofasecondlanguagewithout
impedingthedevelopmentofthefirstlanguage.
Alternativelanguageprogram
AtermusedbytheOfficeofCivilRights(OCR)torefertoaninstructionalprogramthattheoffice
deemsappropriateforELLs.OCRdoesnotrequireorencourageaspecifictypeofprogramor
approachtoinstructionforELLs;itallowsdistrictssubstantialfreedomwhenchoosingalternative
languageprograms(OfficeofCivilRights,n.d.).Alternativelanguageprogramsincorporateeithera
bilingualeducationapproachoranEnglishonlyapproach,dependingonthephilosophyofthe
implementingschooloragency.
Ancestrallanguage
Homeorfamilylanguage.InEnglishspeakingcountries,forexample,alanguageotherthanEnglish
thatisspokenathomeorwasspokenbyanindividualsancestorsisconsideredanancestral
language.
Annualmeasurableachievementobjective(AMAO)
AMAOsarestaterequirementsorindicatorsformeasuringELLprogressinlearningEnglish,the
attainmentofEnglishlanguageproficiency,andELLannualyearlyprogress(AYP)inmeetingstate
standards.LocaleducationagenciesthatreceiveTitleIIIfunding(theEnglishLanguageAcquisition,
LanguageEnhancement,andAcademicAchievementAct)undertheElementaryandSecondary

Thetermaccommodationhashistoricallybeenusedtodiscussstrategiestoaccommodatetestingorteaching
proceduresforstudentswhohavespecialneedsandhasrecentlybeenusedtorefertoaccommodationsfor
Englishlanguagelearners.

EducationAct(ESEA)forELLprogrammingareheldaccountablefortheachievementofELLs;
AMAOshelpsupportstateaccountabilityefforts.

Audiolingualapproach
Aninstructionalmethodstemmingfromabehavioristtheorythatpositsthatmakingasoundor
usingcorrectgrammarisanautomatic,unconsciousact.Accordingly,instructionissometimes
teachercentered,andtypicallyinvolvespatterndrillsandtheuseofalanguagelaboratory.In
addition,thisapproachusesdialoguestocarefullyintroducevocabularyandsentencestructureina
givensequence.Listeningandspeakingskillsareintroducedpriortoreadingandwritingskills,and
emphasisisplacedonaccuracyofpronunciationandgrammar.Theobjectiveisforthelistenerto
developanautomatic,accuratecontrolofbasicsentencestructure,sounds,andvocabulary.
Authenticlanguage
Thetypeofgenuine,ornatural,languageusedbynativespeakersinreallifecontexts,ratherthan
thecontrivedlanguageusedsolelytolearngrammaticalformsorvocabulary.
Basicinterpersonalcommunicationskills(BICS)
BICSareoftenreferredtoasplaygroundEnglishandaretypicallylearnedin3to5years.These
languageskillsincludebasic,everydayspeechthatcanbesupportedcontextuallybygestures.This
conceptwasintroducedbyJimCumminsin1979todistinguishbetweenfundamental
conversationalspeechandcognitiveacademiclanguageproficiency(CALP).
BICSCALPgap
TheBICSandCALPgapisthediscrepancybetweenELLsconversationalandacademicEnglish
languageabilities.ThisdiscrepancyisduetothefactthatELLsoftenacquireconversationalEnglish
thatseemstobefluentandmoreadequateforbasicinterpersonalcommunication(BICS).Onthe
otherhand,thesestudentsmaycontinuetostrugglewithCognitiveAcademicLanguageProficiency
(CALP)(academiclanguage)andhavedifficultyinacademicsubjectareasbecausetheylackthe
conceptualunderstanding(whichtheyhavenotlearnedintheirfirstlanguage)tosupportthe
languagethattheyhear,speak,orread.Thereisatendencyamongsomeprofessionalstoassume,
wrongly,thatELLshavelanguagelearningdisabilitiesduetotheBICSCALPgap.(See
cognitive/academiclanguageproficiencybelowformoreinformationonCALP).
Bilingualism
Theabilitytocommunicatesuccessfullyintwolanguages,withthesamerelativedegreeof
proficiency.Itisimportanttonotethatbilingualsarerarelyperfectlybalancedintheiruseoftwo
languages;onelanguageisusuallydominant(Baker,2000).
Biliteracy
Theabilitytocommunicateandcomprehendthoughtsandideasusinggrammaticalsystemsand
vocabularyfromtwolanguages,aswellastowritebothlanguages.
Codeswitching
Theabilityortendencytoswitchamonglanguages/dialectsinthecourseofaconversation.Code
switchingtendstooccurwhenpeoplewhoarebilingualorbidialectalareinthepresenceofothers
whospeakthesamelanguage.Codeswitchingmayinvolvealternatingbetweentwolanguagesor

tonalregisters,orcouldrepresentadialecticalshiftwithinthesamelanguage,suchasbetween
StandardEnglishandBlackorAfricanAmericanEnglish(GreeneandWalker,2004).

Cognitive/academiclanguageproficiency(CALP)
ThelevelofproficiencyrequiredbyanELLtounderstandacademicallychallengingsubjectmatterin
aclassroomsetting(Cummins,1979).Thisreferstolanguagethatisoftenabstract,andisnot
accompaniedbyanycontextualsupportssuchasgesturesorvisualsignals.ItmaytakeanELLabout
4to7yearstoreachthisleveloffluency(Hakuta,2000).
Commonunderlyingproficiency
AtheorydevelopedbyJimCumminsin1983whichpositsthattwolanguagesareintegratedthrough
oneunderlying,centralthinkingsystem.Anyskillsthatarenotdirectlyconnectedtoaparticular
language,suchasmath,computerskills,orreading,arepartofacommonproficiencyandthuscan
betransferredfromonelanguagetoanother.Theopposingtheoryisseparateunderlying
proficiency(SUP),whichsuggeststhattheindividuallanguagesarelearnedseparatelyinthebrain.
Communitydialect(CD)speakers
ELLswhobelongtoacommunitythatisinfluencedbymultipleethnic/regionaldialectsandthus
demonstratedialectfeaturesintheiruseofEnglish.Manygeneration1.5ELLs,forexample,canbe
consideredcommunitydialectspeakersbecausetheyhavelearnedEnglishasanoral,ratherthana
literate,skill.
Compoundbilingual
Aformofadditivebilingualisminwhichabilinguallearnstwolanguagesinthesamecontextand
consequentlyprocessesconceptsthesamewayinbothlanguages.Thecompoundbilingual
languageuserislikelytointegratebothlanguagesduringcommunication,andcommunicatefullyin
eachlanguage.Examplesofcompoundbilingualsincludechildrenwithbilingualparentswholearn
bothEnglishandSpanishathomeandwho,forexample,makeanexpressioninSpanishbututilize
anEnglishgrammaticalstructureasopposedtoaSpanishone.
Comprehensiveadultstudentassessmentsystem(CASAS)
Acompetencybasedsystemusedtoplaceandassesstheprogressofindividualadultstudentsin
basiceducationandEnglishlanguagelearning.
Culturallyandlinguisticallydiverse
AnothertermthatcanapplytoEnglishlanguagelearners.Theseareexpressionsthatareoftenused
tocharacterizeELLsandtohighlighttheirdistinctbackgrounds.
Duallanguage
Duallanguageisaformofbilingualeducationinwhichstudentsaretaughtliteracyskillsandcontent
intwolanguages.Duallanguageinstructionusuallybeginsinkindergartenorfirstgrade;itextends
foratleast5years,andmaycontinueintomiddleschoolandhighschool.Thegoalofthisapproach
istopromotebilingualism,biliteracy,enhancedawarenessoflinguisticandculturaldiversity,and
highlevelsofacademicachievementthroughinstructionintwolanguages.Induallanguage
programs,thesecondlanguagemaybetaughtforatleasthalfoftheinstructionaldayinthe
elementaryyears.

ELL(Englishlanguagelearner)
AnindividualwhoisintheprocessofactivelyacquiringEnglish,andwhoseprimarylanguageisone
otherthanEnglish.Thisstudentoftenbenefitsfromlanguagesupportprogramstoimprove
academicperformanceinEnglishduetochallengeswithreading,comprehension,speaking,and/or
writingskillsinEnglish.OthertermsthatarecommonlyusedtorefertoELLsarelanguageminority
students,EnglishasaSecondLanguage(ESL)students,culturallyandlinguisticallydiverse(CLD)
students,andlimitedEnglishproficient(LEP)students.
EFL(Englishasaforeignlanguage)students
NonnativeEnglishspeakingstudentswhoareintheprocessofacquiringEnglishproficiencyina
countrywhereEnglishisnottheprimarylanguage.
Englishasasecondlanguage(ESL)
AtermoftenusedtodesignatestudentswhosefirstlanguageisnotEnglish;thistermhasbecome
lesscommonthanthetermELL.Currently,ESLismorelikelytorefertoaneducationalapproach
designedtosupportELLs.
Englishlanguageproficiency(ELP)assessment
AtestthatmeasurestheEnglishlanguage(oral,reading,andwriting)skillsofstudentswithlimited
Englishproficiency.SuchatestisrequiredbyTitleIIIoftheElementaryandSecondaryEducationAct
(reauthorizedastheNoChildLeftBehindActof2001)forallschoolsservedbythestateeducational
agencyineverystate.
Englishlanguageproficiency(ELP)standards
PrinciplesorcriteriaforidentifyinganddescribingtheEnglishlanguageoral,reading,andwriting
skillsthatarenecessaryforELLstobeabletocommunicateeffectivelyandparticipatefullyin
school.
Englishonly
MainstreamclassesfornativeEnglishspeakersorELLswhohavebeendesignatedfluentEnglish
proficient(FEP)orredesignatedfluentEnglishproficient(RFEP).Dependingonthestateandthe
modelused,allinstructionisprovidedinEnglish,andtheremaybelittleornoaccommodationor
specialassistanceforLEPstudents.ThetermEnglishonlycanalsorefertoapoliticalmovement
advocatingthattheEnglishlanguagebetheonlyofficiallanguageintheUnitedStates(Lu,1999).
Englishplus
AmovementmotivatedbythebeliefthatallU.S.residentsshouldbeencouragedtoandshould
havetheopportunitytobecomeproficientinEnglishplusoneormoreadditionallanguages.
First(1st)generation
ForeignbornandoftenforeigneducatedELLs.
Firstlanguage,primarylanguage,orhomelanguage
ThesetermshaveseveralpossiblemeaningsforELLs:thefirstlanguagelearned,thestronger
language,thenativelanguage,and/orthelanguagemostfrequentlyused.

FluentEnglishproficient(FEP)
AppliestoprimaryorhomelanguageotherthanEnglish(PHLOTE)studentswhohave
demonstratedfullorfluentproficiencyinEnglish.Theyareabletospeak,read,write,and
understandEnglishatlevelsthatareonaparwiththoseoftheirgradelevelclassmates,and
consequentlydonotneedanyadditionallanguageaccommodationinamainstreamEnglish
classroom.
Generation1.5students
StudentswhograduatedfromaU.S.highschoolwhilestillacquiringEnglishlanguageskills.These
studentscouldincluderefugees,naturalizedandnativebornU.S.citizens,andpermanentresidents,
whotypicallydemonstratelimitedproficiencyintheirfirstlanguage.Thesestudentsmayhave
strongoralEnglishskillsbutarelessproficientintheacademiclanguageassociatedwithschool
achievement(Harklau,2003).
Heritagelanguage
ThelanguagethatanELLconsiderstobehisorhernative,home,orancestrallanguage.Thisterm
canbeusedtodescribeanyassociationbetweenanondominantlanguage,suchasanindigenous
orimmigrantlanguage,andaperson,afamily,oracommunity(Keheller,n.d).
L1
AnELLsfirstlanguageornativelanguage.Thistermmaybeusedtorefertopersonswhoare
speakingintheirnativelanguage.

L2
AnELLssecondlanguage,oftenusedinthecontextofL2studenttodesignatestudentswhoare
nonnativespeakersofalanguage.

Languageexperienceapproachtoreading
AnapproachthatencouragesliteracydevelopmentamongELLsaccordingtothetheorythat
studentscanlearntoreadandwritethroughactivitiesandstoriesthatarebasedonpersonal
experiences.Inthisapproach,thestudentdictatespersonalexperiencestoriestoaninstructorand
thenreadsthestorieswiththehelpoftheinstructor.Theinstructorshelpfacilitatesthestudents
abilitytothenreadwrittenexpressionsorwritewhattheyhear(SILInternational,1999).Thebasic
premiseofthisapproachisthatchildrenlearnthatreadingisspeechwrittendown.
LEP(limitedEnglishproficiency)
AtermusedbytheU.S.DepartmentofEducationtorefertoELLswhoareenrolledorgettingready
toenrollinelementaryorsecondaryschoolandwhohaveaninsufficientlevelofEnglishtomeeta
statesEnglishexpertiserequirements.However,theexpressionEnglishlanguagelearner(ELL)has
startedtoreplaceLEP,toavoidtheimplicationthatnonnativeEnglishspeakingstudentsare
deficient(NationalCouncilofTeachersofEnglish,2008).TheformertermforLEPwaslimitedEnglish
speaking(LES),andwasusedinthefirstauthorizationoftheBilingualEducationAct(TitleVIIof
ESEA,priortoNCLB),in1968.
Linguisticenclavecommunity
Thistermisusedtodescribespeechcommunitieswherethelanguagespokenbypeopleina
particularcommunityisfreefromtheinfluencesofthedominantlanguageusedoutsideofthe

community.Linguisticenclavespreservecommunitylanguages,becausethepresenceanduseof,as
wellastheneedfor,thedominantlanguageisnonexistent.

Multilingualism
Theabilitytospeakmorethantwolanguages,withpossibleproficiencyinmanylanguages.
Nationalreportingsystem(NRS)
Anoutcomebasedreportingsystemforadulteducationprogramsthatarestateadministeredand
federallyfunded.NRSidentifiessixeducationallevelsforESL,whichincludebeginningliteracy,low
beginning,highbeginning,lowintermediate,highintermediate,andadvanced.Thelevelscomprise
setsofskillsandcompetencesinthereading,writing,speaking,listening,functional,andworkplace
areas.
Nativebornnonnativespeakers

UnitedStatesbornstudentswhoarefromcommunitieswherealanguageotherthanEnglishisthe
dominantlanguage,oralinguisticenclavecommunity.Anexampleofnativebornnonnative
speakerswouldbegeneration1.5students.
Nativelanguagesupport
Theincorporationofastudentshomelanguage,typicallybyateachersaide,totranslateany
unfamiliartermsand/orprovideclarificationonlessonstaughtinEnglish.
NonEnglishproficientstudent(NEP)
AnELLwhohasminimalornoproficiencyinEnglish.
Parachutekids
ELLswhocomealonetotheU.S.tolivewithextendedfamilymembersandattendK12schools.The
termmayhaveapejorativeconnotation.
PrimaryorhomelanguageotherthanEnglish(PHLOTE)
AtermusedbytheOfficeforCivilRightstoidentifyastudentwhosenativeorhomelanguageisone
otherthanEnglish.ThisacronymcanalsobeshortenedtoLOTE.
RedesignatedfluentEnglishproficient(RFEP)
ELLswhoareinitiallyassessedaslimitedEnglishproficientbutwhohavebeenreclassifiedafter
demonstratingfluentEnglishskills.
Second(2nd)generation
ReferstoUnitedStatesbornchildrenofimmigrants.
Semilingualism
Atermthathasbeenusedtodescribebilingualstudentswhodemonstratedifficultymasteringskills
ineithertheirnativeortheirsecondlanguage.JimCummins(2000)originallyintroducedtheterm
semilingualismtodescribestudentswhowerehavingdifficultiesindevelopingtheirlanguage
abilitiesineitherlanguage.Sincethenthetermhasbeencriticizedbecauseofitsimplicationof
deficiency,andhastakenonapejorativeconnotation.

SpeakersofotherEnglishes
ELLswhohavelearnedtospeakEnglishlanguagevarietiesthatdifferfromAmericanEnglish.
ExamplesincludeimmigrantstudentsfromEnglishspeakingCaribbeancountriesorfromplaces
suchasBritain,Canada,andAustralia.
Subtractivebilingualism
AformofbilingualeducationthatencouragesanddevelopsanenvironmentinwhichanELLs
secondlanguageislikelyorintendedtoreplacethefirstlanguage.Thisisincontrasttoaclassroom
environmentthatsupportsthedevelopmentofbothlanguagessimultaneously.
TitleIII
TitleIIIoftheNoChildLeftBehindActof2001(NCLB)isapartofthelegislationenactedtoensure
thatlimitedEnglishproficient(LEP)students,includingimmigrantchildrenandyouth,develop
Englishproficiencyandmeetthesameacademiccontentandachievementstandardsthatother
childrenareexpectedtomeet.
WorkplaceESL/ESOL
InstructionforELLsthattakesplaceattheworkplaceandusuallyhasaworkspecificfocus.

II.

ELL Program Models

AdultbasiceducationandESLprograms
Localeducationagencies,communitycolleges,andcommunitybasedorganizationsthatprovide
instructionalopportunitiesforadultELLstolearnEnglishliteracyandlanguageskills.
Bilingualeducation
Bilingualeducationinvolvesprovidingacademiccontentinstructioninastudentsnativeand
secondarylanguages.Themostcommonbilingualeducationmodelsincludethefollowing:EarlyExit
Transitional,LateExitTransitionalDevelopmentalorMaintenance,BilingualImmersion,Integrated
TransitionalBilingualEducation,andDualLanguageImmersion.Withineachtypeofprogrammodel,
thereareseveraloptions,withvaryingamountsoftimespentoneachofthetargetlanguages.One
waybilingualprograms(boththeTransitionalandDevelopmentaltypes)canfollowseveralmodels,
suchasa90/10or50/50model.Inthe90/10model,studentsinitiallyreceive90percentofthe
instructionintheirnativelanguage,whichisgraduallyreducedtoabout50percentbythefifth
grade.Inthe50/50model,oneortwoteachersuseboththenativelanguageandEnglishin
approximatelyequalamountsoftimeforinstructionalpurposesthroughouttheimplementation
process.
ContentbasedESL
Amodeloflanguageeducationthatintegrateslanguageandcontentinstructioninthesecond
languageclassroom.Secondlanguageteachersuseinstructionalmaterials,learningtasks,and
classroomtechniquesfromacademiccontentareasasthevehiclesfordevelopingsecondlanguage,
content,cognition,andstudyskills.
Culturaldeficiencymodel
AnargumentthatattributesanELLstudentsinabilitytosucceedinschooltoaproblemlocatedin
thestudentsculturalbackgroundratherthanintheschoolsystemorsociety;thisistheoppositeof
anenrichmentmodel.Culturaldeficiencywasusedtorationalizetheacademicachievement
disparityamongracialorethnicminoritiesintheUnitedStates,butisnolongerconsideredtobea
credibleorvalidrationale.
Duallanguageprogram/dualimmersion
AprograminwhichELLsaretaughtliteracyandcontentintwolanguages.Duallanguageortwoway
bilingualprogramsoftenfocusonenrichmentforbothnativeandnonnativespeakersofEnglish.
DuallanguageprogramsusedintheUnitedStatestendtofallintooneofthefollowingtwo
categories:
Minoritylanguagedominantprograms:Theseprogramsfollowaninstructionalpatternof
usingastudentsnativelanguageforeither90percentor80percentofthetime.
Balancedprograms:Intheseprograms,instructionaltimeisequallydividedbetweenthe
minoritylanguageandEnglish.
Englishasasecondlanguage(ESL)
StudentswhoareidentifiedasELLsreceivespeciallydesignedlanguageandacademicinstructionin
Englishfortheentireschoolday,orsomepartofit,dependingontherequirementsofthestate.

StudentswhoaremoreproficienttendtospendfewerhourswithanESLspecialist.ESLprograms
mayhaveseveralformats,whichinclude"pullout"or"pushin"programs.

EnglishImmersionstrategyprogram
AtypeofESLprograminwhichEnglishistheprimarylanguageofinstructionandistailoredtothe
developmentallinguisticneedsofLEPstudentstoensureachievementofcontentknowledge.This
programcontrastswithatransitionalbilingualeducationprogram,inwhichcontentistaughtinthe
LEPstudentsnativelanguage.ImmersionteachersmayormaynothaveabackgroundintheLEP
studentshomelanguage,anduseEnglishexclusivelytoteachstudentsinstructionalcontent.
Englishlanguagedevelopment(ELD)
AnimmersioneducationmodelintendedforELLs.Traditionally,thismethodseparatesEnglish
languagedevelopmentfromcontentinstructionundertheassumptionthatEnglishlanguage
proficiencymustbeachievedpriortolearningsubjectmatter.ELLswhoareacquiringbasic
communicationskillsinEnglishand/orarestrugglingwiththecurriculumparticipateinthese
courses.ThisapproachissimilartothepulloutESLprogrammodel.
Englishlanguagemonolingualprogram
AprograminwhichELLsareinaregularEnglishlanguagemonolingualclassroom,anddonot
receiveanyspecializedinstructionforlanguageminoritystudents.
EnglishmonolingualplusESLprogram
AprograminwhichELLsareinaregularEnglishlanguagemonolingualclassroom,butalsoreceive
additionalinstructioninanEnglishasasecondlanguage(ESL)classorprogram.
Globalcommunityclassrooms(GCC)
Analternativetoanewcomerschoolorprogram,dependingonthenumberofrecentimmigrants
andthelevelofcommunitysupport.Thismodeluseselementsoftheshelteredinstructionapproach
tointegratethebenefitsofanewcomerprogramwhilepromotinglinguisticinclusion.Inthese
classrooms,onefourthtoonethirdofthestudentsareELLsandtherestarenativeEnglish
speakers.GCCclassesareoftentaughtbyacontentareateacherwhoistrainedinELLmethodsand
secondlanguageacquisition.ThegoalistoencourageteachersandclassmatestoviewELLsas
resourcesratherthanliabilities.
Lateexitbilingualeducation
Anothertermfortheprovisionofbilingualinstruction;specificallyrefersto3ormoreyearsof
maintenancebilingualeducation.Theseprogramstendtoplacemoreemphasisonthefirst
languageasalinktodevelopingEnglishlanguageproficiency.Asignificantamountofinstruction
takesplaceinthestudentsnativelanguage,withanincreaseinEnglishinstructionover4to6years
(Linquanti,1999).
Maintenancebilingualeducationprogram
Likestudentsintransitionalbilingualeducationprograms,thestudentsinamaintenanceprogram
areplacedinabilingualeducationclassroomandreceivesomeformofEnglishlanguageinstruction.
BothEnglishandthenativelanguageareusedregularlyaslanguagesofinstruction.The

fundamentaldifferencebetweenatransitionalandamaintenancebilingualeducationprogramis
thatthegoalofthelatteristodevelopfullproficiencyinbothlanguages.

Migranteducation
Educationprogramsthataredesignedprimarilytomeettheneedsofchildrenoffarmworkers.
Thesechildrentendtobepoor,oftenhavelimitedaccesstohealthcareandlimitedEnglish
proficiency,andareoftensubjecttotheconstantreadjustmentsoffrequentlymovingfromone
schooltoanother.
Newcomerprogram
AtypeofprogramestablishedspecificallyforELLswhoarerecentimmigrants.Theseprogramsare
usuallyatthemiddleandhighschoollevel,andareaimedatthosewithlimitedorinterrupted
schoolingintheirhomecountries.Majorgoalsofthenewcomerprogramsincludetheacquisitionof
beginningEnglishlanguageskills,coreacademicskills,andacculturationtotheU.S.schoolsystem.
Anothertermusedinreferencetothistypeofprogramisimmigrantyouthprogram.
PulloutESL
AprograminwhichELLsleavetheirmainstreamclassroomstoreceiveindividualizedinstructionin
Englishasasecondlanguage.TheseprogramsarealsoreferredtoasselfstandingESLinstruction,in
whichtheESLspecialistcaneitherfollowauniqueESLcurriculumthatisbasedontheindividual
students'languageandacademicneeds,orfollowamoremainstreamcurriculum.
PushinESL
Inthistypeofprogram,theESLteachergoesintotheregular,mainstreamclassroomtoworkwith
theEnglishlanguagelearner.
SelfcontainedESL
AclassroomwithonlyELLstudentsoranESLresourceclasswheretheteacherprovidesclassroom
instructioninallsubjectmatterwithoutemployingpulloutESLinstruction;typicallyhasstudents
withavarietyoffirstlanguages.
SelfstandingESLinstruction
AnothertermforapulloutESLmodelofinstruction,inwhichELLsleavetheirregular,mainstream
classroomstoreceiveindividualizedinstructioninEnglishasasecondlanguage.
ShelteredEnglishinstruction(SEI)
Ateachingstrategythatuseslanguageandcontexttomakeacademicsubjectmattermore
comprehensibletoELLs.
ShelteredInstructionObservationProtocol(SIOP)
Aresearchbased,explicitmodelofshelteredinstruction,inwhichthelanguageandcontextfor
academicsubjectmatterareadaptedforELLs.AnationalresearchprojectsponsoredbytheCenter
forResearchonEducation,Diversity&Excellence(CRDE)developedtheSIOPmodelonthebasisof
aliteraturereviewofbestpractices.Teachersandresearchersalsocollaboratedindevelopingand
refiningthemodeloverseveralyearsoffieldtesting.

StructuredEnglishimmersion
AprogrammatictechniqueusedwithELLsinwhichEnglishistheprimarymodeofinstructional
communicationandinstructionalmethodsreflectEnglishasaforeignlanguage(EFL)models.This
modelpromotestheacquisitionofEnglishlanguageskillstohelpELLssucceedinanEnglishonly
mainstreamclassroom.Dependingonthestatespolicy,oncestudentshaveacquiredthenecessary
levelofconversationalandacademicEnglishproficiency,theymayberequiredtobetransferredto
Englishlanguagemainstreamclassrooms,whereotherstudentsareeithernativeEnglishlanguage
speakersorhighlyproficientinEnglish.
TitleIIIEnglishproficiency(ELP)standards
PrinciplesdesignedtoidentifyanddescribethelanguageskillsthatELLsneedforsuccessful
communicationandschoolparticipation.TheELPstandardsalsospecifytheEnglishlanguageskills
thatareneededtoperformthetasksacrosscontentareas.
Transitionalbilingualeducationprogram
Intheseprograms,studentsareplacedinabilingualeducationclassroomandreceivesomeformof
Englishlanguageinstruction(e.g.,ESL)aswellasinstructionintheirnativelanguage.Gradually,
instructioninandthroughthenativelanguageisreplacedbyinstructionsolelyinEnglish.Thegoalis
forthestudenttojoinamonolingualEnglishlanguageprogramasquicklyaspossible.
VocationalEnglishasasecondlanguageprograms
Programsthatcombinelanguageeducationwithinstructioninjobspecificskills.

SOURCES
Baker,C.(2006).Foundationsofbilingualeducationandbilingualism(4thed.).Tonawanda,NY:
MultilingualMattersLtd.
CenterforEquityandExcellenceinEducation.(n.d.).Accommdations.RetrievedMarch23,2010,from
http://ceee.gwu.edu/AA/Accommodations.html
Keheller,A.(n.d.)WhatisaHeritageLanguageCenterforAppliedLinguistics(CAL).RetrievedonJune7,
2010fromhttp://www.cal.org/heritage/research/faq1.html.
Clewell,B.,&ConsetinodeCohen,C.(2007,May).PuttingEnglishlanguagelearnersontheeducational
map.Washington,DC:UrbanInstitute.
Hakuta,K.,Butler,Y.G.,&Witt,D.(2000).HowlongdoesittakeEnglishlearnerstoattainproficiency?
RetrievedMarch25,2010,fromhttp://lmri.ucsb.edu/publications/00_hakuta.pdf
Harklau,L.(2003,October).Generation1.5studentsandcollegewriting.CenterforAppliedLinguistics
Digest.RetrievedMarch25,2010,fromhttp://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0305harklau.html
Honigsfeld,A.(2009).ELLprograms:Notonesizefitsall.KappaDeltaPiRecord,45(4),166171.
RetrievedJuly24,2009,from
http://www.kdp.org/publications/pdf/record/summer09/Record_Sm09_Honigsfeld.pdf
Howard,E.R.,Olague,N.,&Rogers,D.(2003).Theduallanguageprogramplanner:Aguidefordesigning
andimplementingduallanguageprograms(p.3).Washington,DC,andSantaCruz,CA:Center
forResearchonEducation,Diversity,andExcellence.
MichiganAssociationforBilingualEducation.(n.d.).Glossary.RetrievedJuly23,2009,from
http://www.mabemi.org/glossary.html
Greene,D.,&Walker,F.(2004).Recommendationstopublicspeakinginstructorsforthenegotiationof
codeswitchingpracticesamongBlackEnglishspeakingAfricanAmericanstudents.TheJournal
ofNegroEducation,73(4),435.
Linquanti,R.(1999).FosteringsuccessinEnglishlanguagelearners:Whatdoweknow?RetrievedMarch
25,2010,fromhttp://www.wested.org/policy/pubs/fostering/
Lu,M.(1999).Englishonlymovement:Itsconsequencesontheeducationoflanguageminoritychildren.
ERICClearinghouseonReadingEnglishandCommunication.RetrievedMarch25,2010,from
http://www.ericdigests.org/19994/english.htm
NationalCouncilofTeachersofEnglish.(2008).Englishlanguagelearners:Apolicybrief.Retrieved
March25,1020,from
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/PolicyResearch/ELLResearchBrief.pdf
OfficeofCivilRights.(n.d).Questions and answers on the rights of limited-English proficient students.
RetrievedMarch23,2010,fromhttp://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/qaell.html
SILInternational.(1999).Whatisthelanguageexperienceapproach?RetrievedApril9,2010,from
http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/referencematerials/GlossaryOfLiteracyTerms/WhatIsThe
LanguageExperienceApp.htm
U.S.DepartmentofEducation,OfficeofVocationalandAdultEducation.(2006).AdultEducationand
FamilyLiteracyAct:ProgramYear20032004.ReporttoCongressonStatePerformance.
RetrievedMarch23,2010fromhttp://www.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/ovae/2004aefla.pdf