Educating English Language Learners

Considering that English Language Learners (ELLs) are one of the fastest growing groups of students in the United States, I found this article very concerning. According to this, many states are not keeping track of the graduation rates for ELLs. Even though NCLB requires that this data is reported by different subgroups, including ELL status, 13 states still do not report the information to the public or the U.S. Department of Education. Some states don't even report the numbers accurately.

While I believe that graduation rates for ELLs is an important data point, I think it is also important to keep track of other areas of student achievement for ELLs. Achievement data has shown that ELL students lag behind their peers. Comparing achievement by the different methods of language instruction would shed some light on which methods are working the best and for whom.

In 2001, NCLB requires that states have English-language-proficiency standards that are linked to state academic standards to ensure that student improvement in English-language proficiency also results in a better understanding of the academic content. Furthermore, NCLB mandates that states must implement English-language-proficiency tests to ensure that their is progress for ELLs.

At the moment, there are four commonly used teaching methods for ELLs:

• English immersion - instruction is in English


• English as a second language - may be similar to immersion, but also may include some support to the students' native languages (classes can consist of students with different native languages)


• Transitional bilingual education - some subjects are taught in the students' native language for part of the day and the rest of the day is spent on developing English skills (classes consist of students who share the same native language)


• Two-way bilingual education - instruction is in two languages

With the ELL population becoming a higher proportion of the student poplation in the United States, I think it would be beneficial to have a study on which programs have the best student achievement and the highest graduation rates for ELLs. Obviously for this study to occur, we need clearer data. This would especially help the states with little previous experience with immigrants, but now have an increased number of ELL students, such as Arkansas, Georgia and North Carolina.

Educating English Language Learners